Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abi Bakr (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر; c. 596 or 605–675), was an Arab Muslim military commander in the service of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr (r. 632–634), and Umar (r. 634–644). His mother was Umm Ruman, his father was the first Rashidun caliph Abu Bakr and he was the full brother of Aisha.

Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر
Other name	Ibn Abi Bakr
Born	c. 596 or 605 Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
Died	c. 675 (aged 70–79) Mecca, Umayyad Caliphate
Allegiance	Quraysh (624–628) Muhammad (628–632) Rashidun Caliphate (632–641)
Branch	Rashidun army Rashidun cavalry
Service years	624–641
Commands	Field commander in the Battle of Yamama
Conflicts	Against the Muslims: Battle of Badr (624) Battle of Uhud (625) Under the Rashidun Caliphate Battle of Yamama (632) Battle of Bosra (634) Battle of Ajnadayn (634) Battle of Yarmouk (636)
Spouse	Qurayba bint Abi Umayya
Children	Muhammad Abu Atiq Abdullah Talha Asma (mother of Umm Farwa) Umm Hakim Hafsa
Relations	Abu Bakr (father) Umm Ruman (mother) Aisha (sister) Asma (half-sister) Umm Kulthum (half-sister) Muhammad (half-brother) Abdullah (half-brother)

Unlike the rest of his family, including his father Abu Bakr and sister Aisha, he did not convert to Islam until the Treaty of Hudaybiyah in 628.

Four generations of Abd al-Rahman's family had the distinction of being the companions (sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, namely Abd al-Rahman, his father Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, his grandfather Uthman Abu Quhafa and his son Abu Atiq Muhammad. It was believed that no other family held this distinction.

Biography

While still a non-Muslim, Abd al-Rahman fought on the side of Quraish in the Battles of Badr and Uhud.

In the Battle of Badr, he had an opportunity to kill his father, Abu Bakr, but he turned in another direction. Years later, after becoming a Muslim, he told his father about it. Thereupon Abu Bakr replied: "If I had had such an opportunity, I would not have spared you."

In the Battle of Uhud before the fighting began, he came forward and threw down a challenge for a duel. Abu Bakr accepted the challenge, but Muhammad stopped him, saying, "Sheathe your sword, and let us continue to profit by your wise counsels."

After becoming a Muslim, Abd al-Rahman participated in all the battles fought by the Muslims and gained fame as a fierce warrior, especially in the Muslim conquest of Syria. He was one of the Mubarizun champions and fought duels in the battles for the Muslim army. The mubarizun unit of the Rashidun army was composed of elite warriors who were champion swordsmen, lancers and archers. In the battlefield his role was to undermine the morale of the enemy before the beginning of the battle by slaying their champions in duels.

In the Battle of Yamama he killed Muhakkam al-Yamama, the general commanding the forces of Musaylima.

In the Battle of Yarmouk, the commander in chief of the Byzantine force chose five selected warriors from the Byzantine side, and they challenged the Muslims to duels. It was Abd al-Rahman who accepted the challenge. Scores of duels were fought on the plains of Yarmouk. Abd al-Rahman killed all of them one after the other.

When Umar was stabbed to death, Abdurrahman saw the perpetrator, Abu Lu'lu'ah, preparing the day before, "Last night I passed Abu Lu'lu'ah, while he was meeting secretly with Jufaynah and Hurmuzan. When I came to them, they jumped and a dagger with two blades and a handle fell in the middle of them."

At the Battle of Busra in Syria, he entered the city of Busra through a subterranean passage and then dashing towards the city gates opened them for the main Muslim army to enter.

Later, Abd al-Rahman was mentioned again as being involved in the Muslim campaign to Bahnasa. The Byzantine Sudanese forces fled to Bahnasa town and locked the gates. They were followed by the Muslims who besieged the town, while the enemy were reinforced by the arrival of 50,000 troops according to the report of al-Maqqari. The siege dragged on for months, until Khalid ibn al-Walid commanded Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar and other commanders to intensify the siege. He assigned the commanders to lead around 10,000 Companions of the Prophet, with 70 among them being veterans of the Battle of Badr. Abd al-Rahman was mentioned as one of the Rashidun commanders. The Byzantines and their Copt allies showered the Rashidun army with arrows and stones, until the Rashidun overcame the defenders, as Dhiraar, the first emerge, came out from the battle with his entire body stained in blood, while confessing to personally slaying about 160 Byzantine soldiers during the battle. The Muslim army managed to breach the gate and storming the city forced the surrender of the inhabitants. According to the chronicles, the siege of Bahnasa were so fierce that in this battle alone, 5,000 Companions of the prophet (Sahabah) perished, as the thousands of their tombs could still to be seen there in the modern day.

Later, the Muslim forces besieged Barqa (Cyrenaica) for about three years to no avail. Then Khalid ibn al-Walid, who had previously participated in the conquest of Oxyrhynchus, offered a radical plan to erect a catapult that would be filled with sacks of cotton. Then as the night came and the city guard slept, Khalid ordered his best warriors including Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, his son Abd Allah, Fadl ibn Abbas, Abu Mas'ud al-Badri, and Abd al-Razzaq to step into the catapult platform which was then filled with cotton sacks. The catapult launched them one by one to the top of the wall and allowed these warriors to climb the top of the city walls, open the gates and kill the guards, thus allowing the Muslim forces to enter and capture the city.

After his death, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr was buried in Mecca. ^{[citation needed]}.

Role in the First Fitna

Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr had a limited role in the First Fitna. Although he served as the supervisor of Basra’s treasury after its capture by forces aligned with his half-sister Aisha, he did not take part in the Battle of the Camel or the Battle of Siffin. During the Umayyad invasion of Egypt, he sought the assistance of Amr ibn al-As on behalf of his half-brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Muhammad was later captured and killed by Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj.

During the caliphate of Mu'awiya I

During the caliphate of Mu'awiya I, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr became a primary voice of opposition in Medina against Mu'awiya's plan to install his son, Yazid, as his successor.

In 56 AH (675–676 CE), Mu'awiya called on all subjects, including those in the outlying territories, to pledge allegiance to Yazid as the future Caliph. Several prominent figures withheld their allegiance, including Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Abd Allah ibn Umar, al-Husayn bin Ali, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, and Abd Allah ibn Abbas. When Mu'awiya later visited Medina, he summoned and threatened these five individuals. Ibn Kathir notes that Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr was the sharpest and firmest in his address to Mu'awiya, contrasting with the soft-spoken nature of Abd Allah ibn Umar.

See also

• Companions of the Prophet
• Abu Bakr
• Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
• Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr
• Aisha
• Asma bint Abi Bakr
• Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
• Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr

Appendix

Notes

1. The first version narrated the siege of Bahnasa were led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, who also brought an ex Sassanid Marzban and his 2,000 Persian convert soldiers in this campaign. The Persian Marzban suggested to Khalid to form a suicide squad who will carry a wooden box filled with mixture of sulphur and oil and placing it at the gates, ignited it and blasting the gates(or melting the iron gate, according to the original translation), allowing the Muslim army to enter the city.
2. The second version were the Muslim army led by Qays ibn Harith without much details of how the Muslims managed to subdue the city. However, this source mention that Qays ibn Harith name were used temporarily to rename Oxyrhynchus for while to honor his deeds in this campaign, before being renamed to be al-Bahnasa.^[14]

References

1. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore OCLC 3478821
2. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and Published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore OCLC 3478821
3. As-Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa. Translated by Jarrett, H. S. (1881). The History of the Caliphs, p. 35. Calcutta: Asiatic Society.
4. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and Published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd., 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore OCLC 3478821
5. Hadrat 'Umar Faroo By prof. Masud-ul-Hassan Published by AshfaqMmirza, MD, Islamic Publications Ltd 13-E, Shah Alam Market, Lahore, Pakistan Published by Syed Afzal-ul-Haqq Quddusi, Quddusi Printers, Nasir Park, Bilal Gunj, Lahore, Pakistan
6. Tabari, Imam (1993). History of al-Tabari Vol.14. New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-0851-5
7. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan OCLC 3478821
8. H. Blumell 2012, pp. 295–300
9. Norris 1986, p. 81.
10. Hendrickx 2012, p. 109-110.
11. "دفن بها 5 آلاف صحابي.. البهنسا قبلة الزائرين من كل حدب وصوب". Gulf News. Gulf News. 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
12. Waqidi, Muhammad ibn Umar. "Futuh Sham, complete second version". modern comprehensive library. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
13. Waqidi, Muhammad ibn Umar (2008). فتوح الشام (نسخة منقحة) (Revised ed.). p. 48. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
14. Al Shinnawy, Mohammed (2019). "مدينة الشهداء خارج حساب محافظ المنيا" [The city of martyrs is outside the account of the governor of Minya]. Shada al-'Arab. Shada al-'Arab. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
15. الشاعر (2020). "البهنسا .. مدينة الشهداء وبقيع مصر" [Bahnasa .. the city of martyrs and Baqi’ of Egypt] (in Arabic). صحيفة الساعة 25 (25 O'Clock news). صحيفة الساعة 25 (25 O'Clock news). Archived from the original (website news) on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2022. عبد اللطيف عبد الرحمن, أبي عبد الله محمد بن عمر/الواقدي · 2005; فتوح الشام
16. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and Published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore, Pakistan OCLC 3478821
17. Madelung 1997, p. 164.
18. Hawting 1996, p. 157.
19. The Caliphate of Banu Umayyah the first Phase, Ibn Kathir, Taken from Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir, Ismail Ibn Omar 775 ISBN 978-603-500-080-2 Translated by Yoosuf Al-Hajj Ahmad Page 82

Sources

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