Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr

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Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr
عبد الله ابن أبي بكر
Native name
Arabic: عبد الله ابن أبي بكر التيمي, romanizedʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr al-Taymī
Bornc. 605–608
Mecca, Hijaz,Arabia (present-day KSA)
Diedc. 633
Hijaz, Rashidun Caliphate (present-day KSA)
Years of service629–630
Ranksoldier
Battles/warsConquest of Mecca (629)
Battle of Hunayn (630)
Siege of Ta'if (630)
Spouse(s)Atiqa bint Zayd
Relations

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr al-Taymī (Arabic: عبد الله ابن أبي بكر التيمي; c. 608–633) was a son of the first caliph Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) and a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Early life[edit]

Abd Allah was born in Mecca around c. 605-608. His father Abu Bakr hailed from the Banu Taym of the Quraysh tribe. His mother was Qutaylah bint Abd al-Uzza, from the Banu Amir ibn Luayy clan.[1]: 28–29 [2]: 140–141 [3] His parents were divorced soon before or after his birth.[4]: 178 

When Muhammad and Abu Bakr migrated from Mecca in September 622, Abu Bakr instructed young Abdullah to listen to people's conversations and report the day's news to them at the cave on Mount Thawr each night. Abdullah duly reported that the Quraysh had offered a hundred camels to anyone who captured Muhammad. Each morning, when he left the cave, the family servant would lead a flock of sheep over the same route to cover his tracks.[5]: 224 [1]: 131 

Emigration to Medina[edit]

A few months later, Abdullah emigrated to Medina in the company of his stepmother Umm Ruman and two sisters Asma and Aisha.[6]: 8 [3]: 172 

In 630 Abdullah fought at the Siege of Ta'if, where the Thaqafite poet, Abū Miḥjan al-Thaḳafī, shot him with an arrow. This wound ultimately caused his death, although he survived for nearly three years afterwards.[5]: 591 [7]

Marriage[edit]

He married Atiqa bint Zayd, a poetess from the Banu Adi clan of the Quraysh. This marriage was childless.[4]: 186  It was said that Abdullah deferred to Atika's judgment and that he spent so much time with her that he neglected his duties to the Islamic state. Abu Bakr punished his son by ordering him to divorce her. Abdullah did as he was told but was grief-stricken. He wrote poetry for Atika:[8][9]

I have never known a man like me divorce a woman like her,
nor any woman like her divorced for no fault of her own.[8]

In the end, Abdullah was allowed to take Atika back before her waiting period was completed.[8][9]: 87 

Death[edit]

Abdullah died in January 633, when his old wound from Ta'if flared up.[7][10]: 76 [11]: 101  His wife composed an elegy for him.

I vow that my soul will remain in sorrow over thee
and my skin will remain dusty.[4]: 187 

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). The Companions of Badr. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  2. ^ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Blankinship, K. Y. (1993). Volume 11: The Challenge to the Empires. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  3. ^ a b Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Volume 39: The Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  4. ^ a b c Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  5. ^ a b Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  6. ^ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by McDonald, M. V. (1987). Volume 7: The Foundation of the Community. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  7. ^ a b Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Donner, F. M. (1993). Volume 10: The Conquest of Arabia, p. 39. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  8. ^ a b c Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. Al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba vol. 8 #11448.
  9. ^ a b Abbott, N. (1942). Aishah - the Beloved of Mohammed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  10. ^ Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. History of the Caliphs. Translated by Jarrett, H. S. (1881). Calcutta: The Asiatic Society.
  11. ^ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Smith, G. R. (1994). Volume 14: The Conquest of Iran. Albany: State University of New York Press.