IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA'IL IBN KATH~ R 273"'Ali went on, 'Once I saw the Messenger of God (SAAS) in the hands of
some Quraysh men, some blocking his way, others jostling him, and saying,
"You made the gods into just one!" And, I swear, the only one of us who inter-
vened was Aba Bakr, striking and pushing and jostling them, saying, "Shame on
you! Would you kill a man for saying that God is his Lord?"'
"'Ali then raised up the mantle he wore and wept, his beard wet with tears. He
said, 'Were the believers among Pharoah's people better than him?' The crowd
was silent, and <Ali went on, 'By God, an hour of Aha Bakr is better than an earth
full of the believers from among Pharoah's people. Those were people who con-
cealed their belief, while he was a man who made his faith public."'
Al-Bazzar then stated, "We know of this anecdote only from this account."
This reflects the special distinction of Aba Bakr; it was he who was with the
Messenger of God in the shelter, just as he had been with him in the cave. May
God be pleased with him and please him!
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) was meanwhile making invocations, pleas
and prayers saying, among other things, '0 God, if this force perishes, You will
never again be worshipped on earth!' He cried out to God the Almighty and
Glorious, '0 Lord, fulfil what You promised me; 0 God, give me aid!'
"In saying this he would raise his hands so high that his cloak would slip down
over his shoulders, and Aba Bakr, God bless him, would stand close behind him
repositioning it for him and saying, in sympathy at the effusiveness of his sup-
plication, '0 Messenger of God, lessen your appeals to your Lord; He will fulfil
His promise to you."'
This, then, is how it is related by al-Suhayli, from @sim b. Thxbit. Abii Bakr
only used the words meaning "lessen your appeals to your Lord" out of his con-
cern for what he saw as his being so engrossed in his prayer and supplications
that his mantle had slipped down over his shoulders. By saying these words he
was in effect asking, "Why are you so exhausting yourself; God has made you a
promise of His help." Aba Bakr, God bless hi, was a tender-hearted man with
great empathy and compassion for the Messenger of God (SAAS).
Al-Suhayli related that his teacher, Sheikh Aba Bakr b. al-'Arabi, said, "The
Messenger of God (SAAS) was in a situation of khawf; fearing, while Aba Bakr
was in one of raj~',~' hoping. And this was really a time of fearing." By this he
meant that khawf (in this instance) was more appropriate, "because it was up to
God to do as He wished; and he feared that God would not be worshipped there-
after. His fear was therefore worship."
I would comment that the view of some Sufi ascetics that this situation was
analogous to that of the day in the cave is to be rejected. For this person did not
make mention of the weakness of his viewpoint, nor the consequences thereof.
- These are terms used especially by Muslim mystics to describe the attitudes one can adopt
in one's relationship to the Divine being.