Questions About Abou Bakr during the Journey to Yathreb

Published in February 24, 2018

Written by: Dr. Othman M. Ali

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

  One of the many questions I have received within the debates and discussions within the social media networks is the question regarding this verse about the cave-companion (supposedly the man contemporary with Muhammad named Abou Bakr Ibn Abou Qohafa) who allegedly accompanied Prophet Muhammad during his journey of immigration from Mecca to Yathreb: "If you do not help him, God has already helped him, when those who disbelieved expelled him, and he was the second of two in the cave. He said to his friend, "Do not worry, God is with us." And God made His serenity descend upon him, and supported him with forces you did not see..." (9:40). The raised question is as follows: why did serenity descend on Muhammad only inside the cave and never on the cave-companion, who is assumed to be Abou Bakr as per Sunnite books of history?! Some people may surmise that this cave-companion might not be Abou Bakr (who is revered and deified by Sunnites as infallible) and that the verse 9:40 is addressing Muhammad only without a focus on the unnamed cave-companion. Some others have guessed (correctly in my view) that this cave-companion, Abou Bakr, was among those adamant in hypocrisy (as indicated by his leading the crimes/sins called the Arab conquests as caliph, once Muhammad died), and thus, Abou Bakr did not deserve serenity to descend upon him by God. Yet, some who still revere or sanctify  Abou Bakr and the so-called companions of the Prophet (i.e., regarding them as saints) have written that Abou Bakr, for them, is surely included in the serenity mentioned in 9:40 with Muhammad and that I, and my fellow Quranists, might have misunderstood this verse. Before giving my own view, I briefly remind all my friends and readers that the Quranist research methodology is to trace all verses that contain the same term(s) with its cognates and derivations that a researcher should study, examine, and analyze within the entire Quranic text so that one infers the meaning and gleans the Quranic Truth concerning the topic at hand in different contexts of Quranic verses. This tracing and analysis must be done objectively without following any whims, prejudices, desires, or prior notions that one may seek to accommodate or to prove; this way, one will get the Quranic view of any issue or topic without interference of one's cultural background, preferences, or preconceived notions. Once researchers reach the Quranic view regarding any topic at hand, they are to publish it to make it open for discussion and debates while asserting that this is their own opinion (i.e., not God's) as people vary in their understanding and no researcher is infallible; one should benefit from constructive criticism and be open-minded to discuss the ideas within the online arguments while bearing in mind that all Quranists seek the Quranic Truth after all; we must learn from one another and never stick to any view that is proved wrong by the Quran or that shows that someone has twisted, warped, and distorted the meanings of decontextualized Quranic verses to accommodate falsehoods and myths. Within this research methodology, one is to discard all hadiths and narratives, of course. Hence, let me apply this to the topic of serenity descended by God upon people within the two Quranic verses that mention it apart from 9:40. "Then God sent down His serenity upon His messenger, and upon the believers; and He sent down troops you did not see; and He punished those who disbelieved. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers" (9:26); "...But God sent His serenity down upon His messenger, and upon the believers, and imposed on them the words of righteousness - of which they were most worthy and deserving. God is aware of everything." (48:26). We see in the verses 9:26 and 48:26 that serenity descended upon both Muhammad and believers with him in two different situations; in contrast, serenity descended ONLY upon Muhammad in 9:40 and NOT on the cave-companion (whether he was Abou Bakr or not). This means that this cave-companion, Abou Bakr, was NOT a true believer and therefore he did not deserve serenity from God; this means he was a polytheistic hypocrite who feigned conversion to Islam as part of the Qorayish scheme to spy on Muhammad. Thus, this is the hard test for the minds of those Sunnites who sanctify and believe in heritage books of traditions and hadiths: would they (dis)believe in the Quranic verse 9:40 that proves that this cave-companion was not a believer? Would they stick to the Sunnite books that make the so-called companions of Muhammad as infallible deities?! All Sunnite books of hadiths, narratives, and fake biographies of Muhammad assume that Abou Bakr was the cave-companion mentioned in 9:40, and if this is true, this means that 9:40 tells us that he was a hypocrite who pretended to embrace Islam to remain the closest companion of Muhammad for the last 23 years of his life (i.e., Muhammad died at the age of 63 and he began his ministry as a prophet at the age of 40); this means that Abou Bakr the hypocrite watched Muhammad closely and remained near him in Mecca and Yathreb while deceiving him; this aimed at making Abou Bakr later on as a ruler (for he was the spy/agent of the Quran-hating Qorayish tribe) once Muhammad died. Thus, Abou Bakr schemed to reach high stature and fame as the supposedly closest ''friend'' or companion to Muhammad even during his immigration journey from Mecca to Yathreb; he was an evil person who launched the crimes/sins called the Arab conquests; this proves beyond a shadow of doubt that he was a polytheistic hypocrite. Yet, Abou Bakr is sanctified and deified for 1400 years until now within Sunnite hadiths and books that are filled with lies and falsehoods believed only by the brainwashed, gullible masses of the Muhammadans who have lost their awareness, abandoned the Quran, and never pondered the Quranic verses at all; they have disregarded the divine command to ponder the Quranic verses. If the Sunnites who are engaged in this debate with me would choose to declare Abou Bakr as 'innocent' and that he was not the cave-companion who did not deserve serenity from God, as per this understanding of 9:40, the Sunnites must face another question: why are they still believing in the nonsensical books of hadiths and heritage books of traditions since they are filled with nothing but fabrications, lies, and falsehoods?! To believe in such books as part of religion, besides the Quran, is utter polytheism and sheer blasphemy. Such books, that aim to undermine and cast doubt on the Quran and on Muhammad, are merely false testimonies that are unjust towards God, Islam, and Muhammad, and all the contents and texts of hadiths, narratives, fiqh, etc. inside such books contradict the Holy Quran (God' Word and the only source of Islam) in every way and within all aspects and topics. I tend to think that it is high time for Sunnites and for all of the polytheistic Muhammadans to reconsider their stances and recheck their faith and belief tenets so that they may repent before it is too late for them when they die. Real Quran-believing people are monotheists who obey God's commands in the Quran, including never to resort to any other sources besides the Quran as it is the only source of Islam in which the pious ones believe, as per this verse: "Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord, and do not follow other allies beside Him. Little you recollect." (7:3). As always, God says nothing but the Absolute Truth.