Dialah yang pertama menerima Islam, yang pertama mengumpulkan al-Qur’an, yang pertama dinamakan mushaf (naskhah tertulis) - bukti tentang itu telah pun disebutkan - dan dialah yang pertama digelar “khalifah”. Ahmad meriwayatkan bahawa Abu Bakr ibn Abi Mulaykah berkata: Abu Bakr pernah disapa, “Khalifah Allah!” Beliau menjawab, “Aku ialah khalifah Rasulullah ﷺ, dan aku reda dengan gelaran itu.” Dialah yang pertama memegang jawatan khilafah ketika ayahnya masih hidup.

He was the first to accept Islam, the first to collect the Qur’an together, the first to name it a mushaf (written copy) -The proof of that has already been mentioned - and he was the first to be named “khalifah Ahmad narrated that Abu Bakr ibn Abi Mulaykah said: It was said to Abu Bakr, ‘Khalifah of Allah!’ He said, ‘I am the Khalifah of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I am content with that.’ He was the first to rule the khilafah while his father was alive.

Dia adalah khalifah pertama yang rakyatnya menetapkan baginya satu jumlah wang.

He was the first khalifah whose subjects allocated him a sum.

Al-Bukhari meriwayatkan daripada cA'ishah, semoga Allah meridhainya, bahawa beliau berkata: Apabila Abu Bakr dilantik menjadi khalifah, beliau berkata, 'Kaumku tahu bahawa pekerjaanku tidak menjadikanku tidak mampu menyara keluargaku, dan kini aku telah disibukkan dengan urusan dan hal ehwal kaum Muslimin, maka keluarga Abu Bakr akan makan daripada harta ini sementara beliau bekerja secara profesional untuk kaum Muslimin.' Ibn Sa'd meriwayatkan bahawa cAta' ibn as-Sa'ib berkata: Apabila Abu Bakr dibai'ah, beliau bangun pada waktu pagi dengan sehelai pakaian di lengan bawahnya, dan beliau hendak pergi ke pasar. cUmar bertanya, 'Ke mana engkau hendak pergi?' Beliau menjawab, 'Ke pasar.' Beliau berkata, 'Apakah yang hendak engkau lakukan, sedangkan engkau telah dipertanggungjawabkan dengan urusan kaum Muslimin?' Beliau menjawab, 'Apakah yang akan aku lakukan untuk memberi makan keluargaku?' Beliau berkata, 'Marilah kita pergi. Abu cUbaydah akan memperuntukkan sejumlah wang untukmu.' Maka mereka berdua pergi menemui Abu cUbaydah, lalu beliau berkata, 'Aku memperuntukkan untukmu bekalan seorang lelaki dalam kalangan Muhajirin, bukan yang terbaik dalam kalangan mereka dan bukan yang paling rendah, serta pakaian musim sejuk dan musim panas. Jika engkau mengoyakkan sesuatu, kembalilah dan ambillah gantinya.' Kedua-dua mereka memperuntukkan untuknya setengah ekor kambing setiap hari serta apa yang dapat menutupi kepala dan tubuhnya.

Al-Bukhari narrated that cA’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: When Abu Bakr was appointed khalifah he said, ‘My people know that my profession is not incapable of providing for my family, and I have become occupied with the command and the affairs of the Muslims so the family of Abu Bakr will eat from this property while he works professionally for the Muslims.’ Ibn Sacd narrated that cAta’ ibn as-Sa’ib said: When Abu Bakr was pledged allegiance he arose in the morning and upon his forearm there were some garments and he was going to the market place. cUmar said, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘To the market place.’ He said, ‘What are you going to do, when you have been put in charge of the affairs of the Muslims?’ He said, ‘What am I going to do to feed my family?’ He said, ‘Let us go. Abu cUbaydah will allocate a sum for you.’ So they went to Abu cUbaydah and he said, ‘I allocate you the supplies of a man among the Muhajirun, not the best of them nor the least of them, and the clothing of winter and summer. If you wear out something, return and take something in its place.’ The two of them allocated him half a sheep everyday and what would clothe his head and his person.

Ibnu Sa'd meriwayatkan bahawa Maymun berkata: Apabila Abu Bakr dilantik sebagai khalifah, mereka memperuntukkan kepadanya dua ribu, lalu beliau berkata, ‘Tambahkanlah untukku, kerana aku mempunyai tanggungan dan kamu telah menyibukkanku sehingga aku tidak dapat berniaga,’ maka mereka menambahnya sebanyak lima ratus.

Ibn Sacd narrated that Maymun said: When Abu Bakr was appointed khalifah they allocated him two thousand, so he said, ‘Increase me, for I have dependants and you have kept me busy so that I cannot engage in trade,’ so they increased him five hundred.

At-Tabarani meriwayatkan dalam Musnadnya bahawa al-Hasan bin 'Ali bin Abi Talib berkata: Ketika Abu Bakar hampir meninggal dunia, beliau berkata, "'A'ishah, lihatlah unta perahan yang susunya kita minum dahulu, mangkuk tempat kita menyediakan makanan, dan pakaian luar yang kita pakai, kerana kita dahulu mengambil manfaat daripadanya ketika kita memegang tampuk pemerintahan kaum Muslimin. Apabila aku mati, kembalikanlah semua itu kepada 'Umar." Apabila Abu Bakar meninggal dunia, 'A'ishah menghantarnya kepada 'Umar. 'Umar berkata, "Semoga Allah merahmati engkau, wahai Abu Bakar! Engkau telah menyusahkan orang yang datang selepasmu." Ibnu Abi'd-Dunya meriwayatkan bahawa Abu Bakar bin Hafs berkata: Ketika hampir meninggal dunia, Abu Bakar berkata kepada 'A'ishah, semoga Allah meredainya, "Wahai anak kecilku, kita telah diamanahkan dengan urusan kaum Muslimin, dan kita tidak mengambil untuk diri kita satu dinar pun atau satu dirham, tetapi kita hanya memakan tepung kasar daripada makanan mereka untuk mengisi perut kita, dan kita berpakaian dengan pakaian kasar mereka di belakang tubuh kita. Tiada yang tinggal pada kita daripada harta rampasan kaum Muslimin, sedikit atau banyak, kecuali hamba Habsyi ini, unta untuk menimba air ini, dan pakaian luar yang usang dan lusuh ini. Apabila aku mati, hantarlah semua itu kepada 'Umar." Beliau adalah orang pertama yang membina bait al-mal (bangunan tempat zakat dan hasil pendapatan lain disimpan sementara menunggu untuk diagihkan).

At-Tabarani narrated in his Musnad that al-Hasan ibn cAli ibn Abi Talib said: When Abu Bakr was near to death, he said, ‘cA’ishah, look to the milch camel whose milk we used to drink, the bowl in which we used to prepare food, and the outer garments we used to wear, for we used to benefit from that when we were in charge of the command of the Muslims. When I die, return them to cUmar.’ When Abu Bakr died she sent them to cUmar. cUmar said, ‘May Allah show mercy to you, Abu Bakr! You have exhausted the one who comes after you.’ Ibn Abi’d-Dunya narrated that Abu Bakr ibn Hafs said: When lie was close to death, Abu Bakr said to cA’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, ‘My little daughter, we were put in charge of the affairs of the Muslims, and we didn’t take for ourselves a dinar nor a dirham, but we ate of the coarse flour of their food in our bellies, and we dressed with their rough clothing upon our backs. Nothing remains with us of the booty of the Muslims, neither a little nor a lot, but for this Abyssinian slave, this camel for drawing water, and this threadbare worn-out outer garment. When I die, send them to ‘Umar.’ He was the first one to make a bait al-mal (a building in which zakat and other revenues were stored while they were being distributed).

Ibn Sa'd meriwayatkan bahawa Sahl bin Abi Khaythamah dan yang lain-lain berkata bahawa Abu Bakr mempunyai bait al-mal di as-Sunh yang tidak dijaga oleh sesiapa pun.

Ibn Sacd narrated that Sahl ibn Abi Khaythamah and others said that Abu Bakr had a bait al-mal at as-Sunh which no-one guarded.

Seseorang berkata kepadanya, ‘Tidakkah engkau akan menugaskan seseorang untuk menjaganya?’ Beliau berkata, ‘Ada kunci padanya,’ dan beliau biasa memberikan apa yang ada di dalamnya sehingga ia kosong. Apabila ia dipindahkan ke Madinah, beliau menukarnya dan meletakkannya di dalam rumahnya. Harta datang kepadanya dan beliau biasa membahagikannya kepada orang-orang yang paling miskin, dan beliau akan membahagikannya secara sama rata di antara mereka. Beliau akan membeli unta, kuda dan senjata, lalu meletakkannya di sana untuk digunakan pada jalan Allah. Beliau akan membeli pakaian luar yang datang dari kawasan padang pasir terpencil dan mengagihkannya di kalangan janda-janda Madinah. Apabila Abu Bakr wafat dan dikebumikan, ʿUmar memanggil para pemegang amanah, antaranya ʿAbd ar-Rahman ibn ʿAwf dan ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan, lalu bersama mereka beliau memasuki bait al-mal Abu Bakr. Mereka membuka bait al-mal itu dan mendapati tiada apa-apa di dalamnya, tidak sekeping dinar mahupun sekeping dirham.

Someone said to him, ‘Will you not put someone in charge of it to guard it?’ He said, ‘There is a lock on it,’ and he used to give away what was in it until it was empty. When it was moved to Madinah, he changed it and put it in his house. Property came to him and he used to divide it up among the poorest of the people and he would divide it equally among them. He would buy camels, horses and weapons and put them there to be used in the way of Allah. He would buy outer garments which came from the outlying desert tracts and distribute them among the widows of Madinah. When Abu Bakr died and was buried, cUmar summoned the trustees, amongst them cAbd ar-Rahman ibn cAwf and cUthman ibn cAffan, and with them entered the bait al-mal of Abu Bakr. They opened the bait al-mal and found nothing in it, neither a dinar nor a dirham.

Saya berkata bahawa riwayat ini menolak kata-kata al-cAskari dalam al-Awa'il (Permulaan-permulaan), "Orang pertama yang mengambil bait al-mal ialah cUmar. Nabi ﷺ tidak mempunyai bait al-mal, begitu juga Abu Bakr, semoga Allah meridhainya." Saya telah membantah perkara ini dalam kitab saya yang saya karang tentang "permulaan-permulaan", kemudian saya dapati bahawa al-cAskari juga mengisyaratkan perkara ini di bahagian lain kitabnya, dengan katanya, "Orang pertama yang memegang tanggungjawab bait al-mal ialah Abu cUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah bagi pihak Abu Bakr." Al-Hakim berkata: Gelaran kasih sayang yang pertama dalam Islam ialah gelaran Abu Bakr, semoga Allah meridhainya, iaitu "cAteeq."

I say that this tradition refutes the words of al-cAskari in al-Awa’il (Firsts), ‘The first to take a bait al-mal was cUmar. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had no bait al-mal nor had Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.’ I had refuted this in my book which I composed on ‘firsts’, then later I saw that alcAskari alluded to this in another part of his book saying, ‘The first to take charge of a bait al-mal was Abu cUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah on behalf of Abu Bakr.’ Al-Hakim said: The first affectionate nickname in Islam was the nickname of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, ‘cAteeq.’

Kedua-dua Shaykh meriwayatkan bahawa Jabir, semoga Allah meredainya, berkata: Nabi ﷺ bersabda, "Jika harta dari Bahrain datang, aku akan memberimu sekian dan sekian." Maka ketika harta dari Bahrain datang selepas kewafatan Nabi ﷺ, Abu Bakar berkata, "Sesiapa yang mempunyai hutang atau janji daripada Nabi ﷺ, hendaklah datang kepada kami." Aku pun datang dan memberitahunya. Maka dia berkata, "Ambillah." Aku pun mengambil, dan aku dapati jumlahnya lima ratus.

The two Shaykhs narrated that Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘If the wealth of Bahrain were to come, I would give you so much and so much.’ So when the wealth of Bahrain came after the death of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Abu Bakr said, ‘Whoever was owed anything by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, let him come to us.’ I came and told him. He said, ‘Take.’ I took and found it to be five hundred.

Kemudian dia memberiku seribu lima ratus.

Then he gave me one thousand and five hundred.