أبو بكر وعمر

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was the Prophet's closest friend and the first adult man to believe. He accompanied the Prophet ﷺ on the Hijra (9:40) and spent his wealth for Islam: when the Prophet ﷺ asked for donations, he brought everything and said he had left Allah and His Messenger for his family (Abu Dawud 1678, Tirmidhi 3675). He became the first caliph and held the community together.

Umar ibn al-Khattab was known for his strength and justice. The Prophet ﷺ said: "If there were a prophet after me, it would be Umar" (Tirmidhi 3686), and that Satan takes another way when he meets Umar on a path (Bukhari 3294, Muslim 2396). As second caliph he organised the state, treated people with justice and lived simply.

The Prophet ﷺ asked who the people loved most; of the men he named Abu Bakr then Umar (Bukhari 3662). Lesson: faith shows in generosity and in justice. Accounts of the Companions come from authentic reports, and where a detail is only reported in weaker sources we leave it out. We speak of all the Companions with respect and ask Allah to be pleased with them.