Abu Bakr the Genealogist

There is another narration, narrated by Abū Nuʿaym, al-Ḥākim and al-Bayhaqī, a fascinating account showing the qualities of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him). ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is the one narrating this account. ʿAlī says: "When Allah ordered His Messenger to present himself to the tribes of the Arabs, he left along with myself and Abū Bakr for Minā" — Minā being where the camps are set, just as today in Ḥajj it is where people spend the three days of Ayyām al-Tashrīq, and where the tents are. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was visiting these different Arab tribes, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) always took Abū Bakr with him, because Abū Bakr was an expert in genealogy: he knew the history of the tribes, their names, their legends, and this was an asset the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) made use of, for Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq was a walking encyclopedia of Arab tribal genealogy. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) always took Abū Bakr with him. Abū Bakr was, besides this, a well-known man who had travelled widely and was known by the various Arab tribes.

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib says that Abū Bakr — Allah's blessing upon him — went forward and made his greetings, being in the very vanguard of good, and an expert in genealogy. He came to the gathering of a particular clan and walked up to them. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib says of him, "kāna asbaqanī ilā kulli khayr" — he was at the vanguard of every good; in everything good, Abū Bakr was found ahead of everyone else, Abū Bakr was first.

There is the account of when ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: "Tonight I am going to do something Abū Bakr has not done," and went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and gave him half of his money, asking: "O Messenger of Allah, did anybody else come to you?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Yes, Abū Bakr came to me and gave all of his money." ʿUmar said: "I will never compete with him after this." So it is said that Abū Bakr is ahead in every good; in everything good, Abū Bakr is found first.

He was the one who walked up to the delegation of Rabīʿah. He greeted them and said: "From whom do you people come?" They said: "We are from Rabīʿah" — the tribe of Rabīʿah, which was in the north-eastern part of Arabia, perhaps in the area of Iraq; Rabīʿah is a large tribe, and Abū Bakr wanted to narrow it down further. He said: "a-min ḥāmmatihā am min lawzaʿihā?" — translated as "from its mainstream, or from its branch," though a more accurate rendering would be, "Are you from the forehead" — ḥāmmah meaning the forehead — "or are you from the branches, the limbs," meaning the lower parts of the tribe. They said they were from its greatest mainstream, meaning they were the best of it. Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) wished to verify that claim, to establish whether they were the elite of their people or from the laymen.

Abū Bakr began asking whether particular men, renowned among the Arabs, were their kinsmen — and, in the culture of pre-Islamic Arabia, strength and power, and sometimes even violence, were viewed with respect; this is one of the things Islam came to change, that oppression is not good. Abū Bakr asked: "Is there among you one of whom it was said, 'there is no free man in the valley of al-Aws'?" They said no. "Does Basṭām ibn Qays, Abū al-Liwāʾ, and Munthā al-Aḥyāʾ belong to you?" They said no. "Is al-Ḥawfazān ibn Sharīk, the killer of kings and the robber of their souls, a kinsman of yours?" No. "Is Jassās ibn Murrah, the protector of honour and defender of the neighbour, from you?" They said no. "Is al-Muzdalif, he of the unique turban, from you?" They said no. "Are you related to the kings of Kindah?" No. "Are you related to the kings of Lakhm?" No. Abū Bakr said: "so you are not from the mainstream, but from the branch." This shows the detailed information Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) had about these people.