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Sayidina A'ishah ra says: "My
father, Sayidina Abu Bakr ra , had a collection of five hundred Al
haadith. One night I noticed that he was very restless. He was
tossing about in bed and could not sleep. I got worried over this and
asked him 'Are you suffering from any trouble or worried about
anything.' However he did not speak and remained restless throughout
the night. Next morning he called me and said, 'Bring the collection
of Hadith that I gave you to keep.' I brought the book and he set
fire to it, till it was burnt.
He said, 'The collection contained many
Al haadith that I had heard from other people. I thought that if I
died and left behind a Hadith accepted as authentic by me, but really
not authentic, then I should have to answer for that."
It was Sayidina Abu Bakr's ra zeal for
knowledge that caused him to compile a book of five hundred
Alhaadith. But it was due to his extreme carefulness that he burnt
the collection. The Sahabah were very careful and cautious about
Hadith. That is why you find very few Al haadith narrated by the
famous Sahabah. Those people who do not hesitate to quote a Hadith
(without authority) in their sermons from the pulpit should take a
lesson from this story. Sayidina Abu Bakr ra remained in Nabi's SAW
company for most of his time. Many of the Sahabah used to say:
Sayidina Abu Bakr ra was the most learned amongst us,"
After the death of Nabi SAW when the
selection of the Khalifah was being discussed, Sayidina Abu Bakr RA
advised the people quoting all the relevant ayat of the Qur’aan and
all such Ahaadith of Nabi SAW which dealt with the virtues and
qualities of the Ansaar.
This shows how much knowledge of the
Qur’aan he had and how many Al haadith he remembered. In spite of
all this, there are very few Al haadith that have been narrated by
Sayidina Abu Bakr RA . For similar reasons, Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) too
was not so free in reporting Hadith.
