The First to Believe

So Khadījah (may Allah be pleased with her) was the first to believe, and she stood beside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) until she died. She was the first believer. The first slave to become Muslim was Zayd ibn Ḥārithah. The first child to become Muslim was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. And the first free man to become Muslim was Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him).

Now, there's an old discussion between our scholars on who was the first man to become Muslim. Some would say Abū Bakr, and then some would say ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. We know the first woman was Khadījah, and she was first among everyone — but among men, who was first? Was it Abū Bakr or ʿAlī? And this is an old discussion between our scholars. Al-Ṣiddīq is the one who believes: people rejected the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Abū Bakr accepted him. There was a saying that everyone hesitated in accepting Islam, except Abū Bakr — as soon as it was presented to him, he accepted it. Everyone else thought about it, gave it a second thought, but with Abū Bakr, it was an immediate response, and he would never have second thoughts about serving Islam. He was the one who came with all of his wealth. He was the one who first believed in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in Makkah. He was the one who first believed in al-Isrāʾ wa al-Miʿrāj. He was the one who accompanied the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the difficult journey of al-Hijrah. That was the status of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him.