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Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr), or Abd Allah ibn Uthman (), as his father Uthman was widely known by the ''kunya'' Abu Quhafa.}} (; 27 October 573 CE23 August 634 CE), was a senior companion, closest friend, and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who served as the first Rashidun caliph, ruling from 632 until his death in 634. Abu Bakr was granted the honorific title }} (lit. the Veracious or Truthful) by Muhammad, a designation that continues to be used by Sunni Muslims to this day.

Born to Abu Quhafa and Umm al-Khayr of the Banu Taym, Abu Bakr was among the earliest converts to Islam and preached dawah to the polytheists. He is considered the first Muslim missionary, as several companions of Muhammad converted through him. He accompanied Muhammad on his migration to Medina and became one of his bodyguards. Abu Bakr participated in all of Muhammad's campaigns against the polytheists and served as the first ''Amir al-Hajj'', the leader of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. In Muhammad's absence, Abu Bakr led the prayers.

Following Muhammad's death in 632, Abu Bakr succeeded him as the first caliph. During Abu Bakr's reign, he overcame a number of uprisings, collectively known as the Ridda Wars, thereby consolidating and expanding Islam over the entire Arabian Peninsula. He commanded the initial incursions into the neighbouring Sasanian and Byzantine Empires, which in the years following his death, would result in the Muslim conquests of Persia and the Levant under his successor, Umar (). Apart from politics, Abu Bakr is credited for the compilation of the Quran, of which he had a personal caliphal codex. Along with Muhammad and Umar, Abu Bakr is buried in the Green Dome at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the second holiest site in Islam. He died of illness after a reign of two years, two months, and fourteen days, making him the only Rashidun caliph to die of natural causes.

Though Abu Bakr's reign was brief, he initiated campaigns against both the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires, the two most powerful empires of the time, which had been weakened by decades of internal conflict and war with each other. Under Abu Bakr's successor, Umar, the Rashidun Caliphate defeated the Sasanian Empire and conquered more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire, including the Levant and Egypt. Abu Bakr thus set in motion a historical trajectory that, within a few decades, would lead to the establishment of one of the largest empires in history. His decisive victory over the local Arab rebel forces marked a significant chapter in Islamic history. Sunni tradition reveres Abu Bakr as the first of the Rashidun caliphs and the greatest individual after the prophets and messengers, while Shia tradition holds that his accession to the caliphate bypassed Ali's rightful succession and regards him as an adversary of the Ahl al-Bayt. Provided by Wikipedia