Name	Anwar al-Awlakiأنور العولقي
Residence	Yemen
Ethnicity	Arab
Citizenship	U.S. and Yemen (dual)
Birth name	Anwar bin Nasser bin Abdulla al-Aulaqi
Birth date	April 21, 1971 (UPI gives April 22.)
Birth place	Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.
Death date	September 30, 2011
Death place	al-Jawf Governorate, Yemen
Death cause	Killed by U.S. Hellfire missiles
Occupation	Lecturer, former imam
Religion	Sunni Islam
Children	5
Parents	Nasser al-Awlaki (father)
Relatives	Ali Muhammad Mujawar
Known for	Alleged senior Al-Qaeda recruiter and spokesman
Alma mater	Colorado State University San Diego State University George Washington University
Organization	Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Influences	Sayyid Qutb
Influenced
Height
Weight	}}

Anwar al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi; ''Anwar al-‘Awlaqī''; April 21, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. With a blog, a Facebook page, and many YouTube videos, he had been described by Saudi news station Al Arabiya as the "bin Laden of the Internet". Many of his videos have subsequently been removed from YouTube after a request from US congress.

U.S. officials say that Al-Awlaki spoke with and preached to a number of al-Qaeda members and affiliates, including three of the 9/11 hijackers, alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, and alleged "Underwear Bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab; he was also allegedly involved in planning the latter's attack. The Yemeni government began trying him ''in absentia'' in November 2010, for plotting to kill foreigners and being a member of al-Qaeda, and a Yemenite judge ordered that he be captured "dead or alive".

According to U.S. officials, al-Awlaki was promoted to the rank of "regional commander" within al-Qaeda in 2009. He repeatedly called for ''jihad'' against the United States. In April 2010, American President Obama approved Al-Awlaki's targeted killing, an action unprecedented for an American citizen and an action unsuccessfully challenged by al-Awlaki's father and civil rights groups.

Al-Awlaki was believed to be in hiding in Southeast Yemen in the last years of his life. The U.S. deployed unmanned aircraft in Yemen to search for and kill him, firing at and failing to kill him at least once, before he was killed in an American drone attack in Yemen on September 30, 2011. Two weeks later Al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was born in Denver, was also killed by a CIA-led drone strike in Yemen. Nasser al-Awlaki, the father of Anwar, made an audio recording condemning the killings of his son and grandson as senseless murders.

Early life[link]

Al-Awlaki's parents are from Yemen. His father, Nasser al-Aulaqi, was a Fulbright Scholar who earned a master's degree in agricultural economics at New Mexico State University in 1971, received a doctorate at the University of Nebraska, and worked at the University of Minnesota from 1975 to 1977. Nasser also served as Agriculture Minister and as President of Sana'a University, and is a prominent member of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party. Yemen's Prime Minister since March 2007, Ali Mohammed Mujur, is a relative of al-Awlaki.

Al-Awlaki was born in 1971 in the United States. In 1978, when he was seven years old, he and his family returned to Yemen. He then lived in Yemen for 11 years, and studied at Azal Modern School.

Al-Awlaki returned to the U.S state of Colorado in 1991 to attend college. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University (1994), where he was President of the Muslim Student Association. He attended the university on a foreign student visa and a government scholarship from Yemen, apparently by claiming to be born in that country, according to a former U.S. security agent. He spent a summer of his college years training with the Afghan ''mujahideen''. Al-Awlaki also earned an M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University. He worked on a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development at George Washington University Graduate School of Education & Human Development from January to December 2001.

Islamic education[link]

Al-Awlaki's Islamic education was primarily informal, and consisted of intermittent months with various scholars, and reading and contemplating works by several prominent Islamic scholars. Some Muslim scholars said they did not understand alAwlaki's popularity, because while he spoke fluent English and could therefore reach a large non-Arabic-speaking audience, he lacked formal Islamic training and study.

Ideology[link]

Awlaki developed an animosity towards the U.S. and became a proponent of ''Takfiri'' and ''Jihadi'' thinking, while retaining ''Islamism'', according to one research paper. While imprisoned in Yemen, al-Awlaki became influenced by the works of Sayyid Qutb, an originator of the contemporary "anti-Western ''Jihadist'' movement". He read 150–200 pages a day of Qutb's works, and described himself as "so immersed with the author I would feel Sayyid was with me in my cell speaking to me directly". Terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann referred to al-Awlaki "one of the principal ''jihadi'' luminaries for would-be homegrown terrorists. His fluency with English, his unabashed advocacy of ''jihad'' and ''mujahideen'' organizations, and his Web-savvy approach are a powerful combination." He called al-Awlaki's lecture "Constants on the Path of ''Jihad''", which he says was based on a similar document written by al-Qaeda's founder, the "virtual bible for lone-wolf Muslim extremists". Philip Mudd, formerly of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and the FBI's top intelligence adviser, called him "a magnetic character ... a powerful orator."

U.S. officials and some U.S. media sources called Al-Awlaki an Islamic fundamentalist and accused him of encouraging terrorism.

Later life, and alleged ties to terrorism[link]

In the United States; 1991–2002[link]

In 1993 as a college student in Colorado State's civil engineering program, al-Awlaki visited Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Soviet occupation. He found himself depressed by the country's poverty and hunger, and "wouldn't have gone with al-Qaeda," according to friends from Colorado State, who said he was nevertheless profoundly affected by the trip. At the time of his visit, much of Afghanistan was under the control of various Mujahideen factions; Mullah Mohammed Omar would not form the Taliban until 1994. When Awlaki returned to campus, he showed increased interest in politics and religion, and would quote from the prominent Palestinian scholar Abdullah Azzam, who provided theological justification for the Afghan jihad, and later influenced Osama bin Laden.

In 1994, Awlaki married a cousin from Yemen, and began service as the imam of the Denver Islamic Society, where he preached "eloquently against vice and sin" until 1996, when he was chastised for encouraging a Saudi student to fight in Chechnya against the Russians. He then served as imam of the Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami mosque at the edge of San Diego, California, from 1996–2000, where he had a following of 200–300 people While in San Diego Awlaki was known for the time he spent with youth, for his interest in fishing, for his discussions of travels with friends, and for a popular and lucrative series of lectures that he recorded.

In 1998 and 1999, he served as Vice President for the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), later accused by the FBI of being "front organization to funnel money to terrorists". Though the FBI investigated Awlaki from June 1999 through March 2000 for possible links to Hamas, Bin Laden contact Ziyad Khaleel, and a visit by an associate of Omar Abdel Rahman, it never unearthed sufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution. U.S. officials would later allege that later hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, ultimately hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, attended his sermons and even met personally with Awlaki; the ''9/11 Commission Report'' suggested that the hijackers "reportedly respected [al-Awlaki] as a religious figure".

Awlaki told reporters that he resigned from leading the San Diego mosque "after an uneventful four years," and took a brief sabbatical, traveling overseas to various countries. When al-Awlaki returned to the U.S., he settled in January 2001 on the East Coast in the Washington Metropolitan Area. There, he served as imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque near Falls Church, Virginia, and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University, where he was hired by Esam Omeish. Omeish said in 2004 that he was convinced that al-Awlaki: "has no inclination or active involvement in any events or circumstances that have to do with terrorism". Fluent in English, known for giving eloquent talks on Islam, and with a mandate to attract young non-Arabic speakers, Awlaki "was the magic bullet", according to mosque spokesman Johari Abdul-Malik; "he had everything all in a box;" "he had an allure. He was charming." While in Washington, Awlaki's sermons were again allegedly attended by Al-Hazmi, and also by later 9/11 hijacker Hani Hanjour. Nidal Malik Hasan, now the primary suspect in the Fort Hood shooting, would visit when Awlaki presided over the funeral of Hassan's mother.

Although he hesitated to shake hands with women, he was accused of patronizing prostitutes. Al-Awlaki was arrested in San Diego in August 1996 and in April 1997 for soliciting prostitutes. In the first instance, he pled guilty to a lesser charge on condition of entering an AIDS education program, and paying $400 in fines and restitution. The second time, he pled guilty to soliciting a prostitute, and was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $240, and ordered to perform 12 days of community service.

When police investigating the 9/11 attacks raided the Hamburg, Germany, apartment of Ramzi bin al-Shibh (the "20th hijacker"), al-Awlaki's telephone number was found among bin al-Shibh's personal contact information. The FBI interviewed al-Awlaki four times in the eight days following the 9/11 attacks. One detective told the 9/11 Commission he believed al-Awlaki "was at the center of the 9/11 story". And an FBI agent said that "if anyone had knowledge of the plot, it would have been" him, since "someone had to be in the U.S. and keep the hijackers spiritually focused". One 9/11 Commission staff member said: "Do I think he played a role in helping the hijackers here, knowing they were up to something? Yes. Do I think he was sent here for that purpose? I have no evidence for it." A separate Congressional Joint Inquiry into the 9/11 attacks suspected that al-Awlaki might have been part of a support network for the hijackers, according to its director, Eleanor Hill. "In my view, he is more than a coincidental figure", said House Intelligence Committee member Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA).

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Awlaki was sought as a media source for questions about Islam and the attacks who could speak English well. He was interviewed by ''National Geographic'', ''The New York Times'' and other media. He condemned the attacks, stating "There is no way that the people who did this could be Muslim, and if they claim to be Muslim, then they have perverted their religion." He also pointed to U.S. foreign policy and that others might "say that Muslim land is now invaded by the U.S., there are U.S. soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf. And then, the state of Israel is an occupying force which is supported by the U.S." He presented an image as a moderate who could "bridge the gap between the United States and the worldwide community of Muslims"

Writing on the ''IslamOnline.net'' website six days after the 9/11 attacks, al-Awlaki suggested that Israeli intelligence agents might have been responsible for the attacks, and that the FBI "went into the roster of the airplanes, and whoever has a Muslim or Arab name became the hijacker by default".

Months after the 9/11 attacks, as the U.S. Secretary of the Army was eager to have a presentation from a moderate Muslim as part of an outreach effort to ease tensions with Muslim-Americans, a Pentagon employee invited al-Awlaki to a luncheon in the Secretary's Office of General Counsel.

Al-Awlaki was the Congressional Muslim Staffer Association's first imam to conduct a prayer service at the U.S. Capitol in 2002. The prayers were for Muslim congressional staffers and officials for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He is shown briefly in this capacity in the 2002 PBS documentary Legacy of a Prophet.

Weeks later, he posted an essay in Arabic titled "Why Muslims Love Death" on the ''Islam Today'' website, praising the Palestinian suicide bombers' fervor. Months later, at a videotaped lecture in a London mosque, he lauded them in English. By July 2002, he was under investigation for having been sent money by the subject of a U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation. His name was placed on an early version of what is now the federal terror watch list.

In June 2002, a Denver federal judge signed off on an arrest warrant for al-Awlaki for passport fraud. On October 9, the Denver U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss its complaint, and vacate the arrest warrant. It did so because prosecutors felt ultimately that they lacked evidence of a crime, according to U.S. Attorney Dave Gaouette, who authorized its withdrawal. While al-Awlaki had falsely listed Yemen as his place of birth on his 1990 application for a U.S. Social Security number, which he then used to obtain a passport in 1993, he later changed his place of birth information to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Prosecutors could not charge him, because a 10-year statute of limitations on lying to the Social Security Administration had expired. The motion was approved by a magistrate judge on October 10, and filed on October 11. As a result, agents were unable to arrest him when he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the U.S. on October 10, 2002, the day the judge signed the order rescinding his warrant.

According to an investigative report by Fox News, the arrest warrant for passport fraud was still in effect on the morning of Oct. 10, 2002, when FBI Agent Wade Ammerman ordered al-Awlaki's release. U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) and several congressional committees are urging FBI Director Robert Mueller to provide an explanation about the bureau’s interactions with al-Awlaki, including why he was released from federal custody while there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

''ABC News'' reported that the decision to cancel the arrest warrant outraged members of a Joint Terrorism Task Force in San Diego who were monitoring al-Awlaki, and wanted to "look at him under a microscope". But Gaouette said there had not been any objection to the warrant being rescinded during a meeting attended by Ray Fournier, the San Diego federal diplomatic security agent whose allegation had set in motion the effort to obtain a warrant. Gaouette opined that if al-Awlaki had been convicted, he would have faced about 6 months in custody. "The bizarre thing is if you put Yemen down (on the application), it would be harder to get a Social Security number than to say you are a native-born citizen of Las Cruces," Gaouette said. ''The New York Times'' noted, however, that al-Awlaki apparently did it so he could qualify for scholarship money given to foreign citizens. U.S. Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA) wrote in May 2010 that it was his understanding that by doing so al-Awlaki fraudulently obtained more than $20,000 in scholarship funds reserved for foreign students, for which he was not eligible.

Al-Awlaki's return to the U.S. may have been connected to his return to Northern Virginia, where he visited radical Islamic cleric Ali al-Timimi, and asked about recruiting young Muslims for "violent ''jihad''". Al-Timimi is now serving a life sentence for leading the Virginia Jihad Network, inciting Muslim followers to fight with the Taliban against the U.S.

In the United Kingdom; 2002–04[link]

Al-Awlaki left the U.S. before the end of 2002, because of a "climate of fear and intimidation" according to Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque.

Moving to the UK for several months, he gave talks to up to 200 youths at a time. He urged young Muslim followers: "The important lesson to learn here is never, ever trust a ''kuffar'' [non-Muslim]. Do not trust them! [They] are plotting to kill this religion. They're plotting night and day." "He was the main man who translated the ''jihad'' into English," said a student who attended his lectures in 2003.

He gave a series of lectures in December 2002 and January 2003 at the London Masjid al-Tawhid mosque, describing the rewards martyrs receive in paradise, and developing a following among ultraconservative young Muslims. He was a "distinguished guest" speaker at the U.K.'s Federation of Student Islamic Societies' (FOSIS) annual dinner in 2003. He began a grand lecture tour of Britain, from London to Aberdeen, as part of a campaign by the Muslim Association of Britain. He also lectured for the Islamic Forum Europe (IFE), based at the East London Mosque, and appeared at an event at the East London Mosque in which he told his audience: "A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim... he does not betray him, and he does not hand him over... You don't hand over a Muslim to the enemies."

In Britain's Parliament in 2003, Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside, discussed the relationship between al-Awlaki and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), a Muslim Brotherhood front organization founded by Kemal el-Helbawy, a senior member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

In Yemen; 2004–11[link]

Al-Awlaki returned to Yemen in early 2004, and lived in his ancestral village in the southern province of Shabwa with his wife and five children. He lectured at Iman University, headed by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, who is on the UN 1267 Committee's list of individuals belonging to or associated with Al-Qaida. Some believe that the school's curriculum deals mostly, if not exclusively, with radical Islamic studies, and that it is an incubator of radicalism, and point to the fact that John Walker Lindh and others accused of terrorism are alumni. Al-Zindani denied having any influence over al-Awlaki, or that he had been his "direct teacher".

On August 31, 2006, al-Awlaki was one of a group of five people arrested on charges of kidnapping a Shiite teenager for ransom, and involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to kidnap a U.S. military attaché. Al-Awlaki blamed the U.S. for pressuring Yemeni authorities to arrest him. He was interviewed around September 2007 by two FBI agents with regard to the 9/11 attacks and other subjects, and John Negroponte, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, told Yemeni officials he did not object to al-Awlaki's detention. His name was on a list of 100 prisoners whose release was sought by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen. After 18 months in a Yemeni prison, he was released on December 12, 2007, following the intercession of his tribe, an indication by the U.S. that it did not insist on his incarceration, and—according to a Yemeni security official—because he said he repented. He moved to his family home in Saeed, a tiny hamlet in the rugged Shabwa mountains.

Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg's Cageprisoners organization campaigned for al-Awlaki when he was in prison in Yemen. Shortly after his release, Begg obtained an exclusive telephone interview with him. According to Begg, prior to his incarceration in Yemen al-Awlaki had condemned the 9/11 attacks.

In December 2008, al-Awlaki sent a communique to the Somalian terrorist group Al-Shabaab, congratulating them. He thanked them for "giving us a living example of how we as Muslims should proceed to change our situation. The ballot has failed us, but the bullet has not." In conclusion, he wrote: "if my circumstances would have allowed, I would not have hesitated in joining you and being a soldier in your ranks."

|source=— Yemeni official familiar with counterterrorism operations}} He provided al-Qaeda members in Yemen with the protection against the government of his powerful tribe, the Awlakis. The tribal code required it to protect those who seek refuge and assistance. This is an even greater imperative where the person is a member of the tribe, or a tribesman's friend. The tribe's motto is "We are the sparks of Hell; whomever interferes with us will be burned." Al-Awlaki also reportedly helped negotiate deals with leaders of other tribes.

Sought by Yemeni authorities with regard to an investigation into his al-Qaeda ties, al-Awlaki avoided detection by the authorities. According to his father, al-Awlaki disappeared in approximately March 2009. By December 2009, al-Awlaki was on the Yemen government's most-wanted list. He was believed to be hiding in Yemen's rugged Shabwa or Mareb regions, which are part of the so-called "triangle of evil" (known as such because it attracts al-Qaeda militants seeking refuge among local tribes that are unhappy with Yemen's central government).

Yemeni sources originally said al-Awlaki might have been killed in a pre-dawn air strike by Yemeni Air Force fighter jets on a meeting of senior al-Qaeda leaders at a hideout in Rafd, a remote mountain valley in eastern Shabwa, on December 24, 2009. But he survived. ''Pravda'' reported that the planes, using Saudi Arabian and U.S. intelligence aid, killed at least 30 al-Qaeda members from Yemen and abroad, and that an al-Awlaki house was "raided and demolished". On December 28 ''The Washington Post'' reported that U.S. and Yemeni officials said that al-Awlaki had attended the al-Qaeda meeting. Abdul Elah al-Shaya, a Yemeni journalist, said the former imam called him on December 28, and said that he was well, and had not attended the al-Qaeda meeting. Al-Shaya insisted that al-Awlaki was not tied to al-Qaeda, and declined to comment as to whether al-Awlaki had told him about any contacts he may have had with Abdulmutallab.

In March 2010, a tape featuring al-Awlaki was released in which he urged Muslims residing in the U.S. to attack their country of residence. In the video, he stated:

To the Muslims in America, I have this to say: How can your conscience allow you to live in peaceful coexistence with a nation that is responsible for the tyranny and crimes committed against your own brothers and sisters? I eventually came to the conclusion that ''jihad'' (holy struggle) against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding upon every other able Muslim.

In July 2010, a Seattle cartoonist was warned by the FBI of a death threat issued by al-Awlaki in the al-Qaeda magazine ''Inspire''. Eight other cartoonists, journalists, and writers from Britain, Sweden and Denmark were also threatened with death. "The prophet is the pinnacle of ''Jihad''", al-Awlaki wrote. "It is better to support the prophet by attacking those who slander him than it is to travel to land of ''Jihad'' like Iraq or Afghanistan."

Reaching out to the United Kingdom[link]

Despite being banned from entering the United Kingdom in 2006, al-Awlaki spoke on at least seven occasions at five different venues around Britain via video-link in 2007–09. The East London Mosque provoked the outrage of ''The Daily Telegraph'' by allowing Noor Pro Media Events to hold a conference on New Year's Day 2009, showing a videotaped lecture by al-Awlaki; former Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve expressed concern over al-Awlaki's involvement.

He also gave video-link talks in England to an Islamic student society at the University of Westminster in September 2008, an arts center in East London in April 2009 (after the Tower Hamlets council gave its approval), worshipers at the Al Huda Mosque in Bradford, and a dinner of the Cageprisoners organization in September 2008 at the Wandsworth Civic Centre in South London (at which he said: "We should make ''jihad'' for our brothers"). On August 23, 2009, al-Awlaki was banned by local authorities in Kensington and Chelsea, London, from speaking at Kensington Town Hall via videolink to a fundraiser dinner for Guantanamo detainees promoted by Cageprisoners. His videos, which discuss his Islamist theories, have also been circulated across the United Kingdom, and until February 2010 hundreds of audio tapes of his sermons were available at the Tower Hamlets public libraries. In 2010 it was reported that the London-based Islam Channel had in 2009 carried advertisements for DVDs of al-Awlaki's sermons and for at least two events at which he was due to be the star speaker via video link.

Other connections[link]

FBI agents had identified al-Awlaki as a known, important "senior recruiter for al Qaeda", and a spiritual motivator.

Al-Awlaki's name came up in a dozen terrorism plots in the U.S., UK, and Canada. The cases included suicide bombers in the 2005 London bombings, radical Islamic terrorists in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case, radical Islamic terrorists in the 2007 Fort Dix attack plot, the ''jihadist'' killer in the 2009 Little Rock military recruiting office shooting, and the 2010 Times Square bomber. In each case the suspects were devoted to al-Awlaki's message, which they listened to on laptops, audio clips, and CDs.

Al-Awlaki's recorded lectures were also an inspiration to Islamist fundamentalists who comprised at least six terror cells in the UK through 2009. Michael Finton (Talib Islam), who attempted in September 2009, to bomb the Federal Building and the adjacent offices of Congressman Aaron Schock in Springfield, Illinois, admired al-Awlaki and quoted him on his Myspace page. In addition to his website, al-Awlaki had a Facebook fan page with a substantial percentage of "fans" from the U.S., many of whom were high school students.

Al-Awlaki influenced several other extremists to join terrorist organizations overseas and to carry out terrorist attacks in their home countries. Mohamed Alessa and Carlos Almonte­, two American citizens from New Jersey who attempted to travel to Somalia in June 2010 to join Al Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group based there­—allegedly watched several al-Awlaki videos and sermons in which al-Awlaki warned of future attacks against Americans in the U.S. and abroad. Zachary Chesser (nicknamed Abu Talha al-Amrikee), another American citizen who was arrested for attempting to provide material support to Al Shabaab, also told federal authorities that he watched online videos featuring al-Awlaki and that he exchanged several e-mails with al-Awlaki. In July 2010, Paul Rockwood pleaded guilty to, and received an eight-year prison sentence for, assembling a hit list of 15 targets for assassination or bomb attacks within the U.S. of people who he felt had desecrated Islam. Rockwood admitted to having become a "strict adherent to the violent ''jihad''-promoting ideology of cleric [Awlaki]", which "included a personal conviction that it was [Rockwood's] religious responsibility to exact revenge by death on anyone who desecrated Islam", and following al-Awlaki's ideology, "including devotion to [Awlaki's] violence-promoting works, ''Constants on the Path to Jihad'' and ''44 Ways to Jihad''".

In October 2008, Charles Allen, U.S. Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, warned that al-Awlaki "targets U.S. Muslims with radical online lectures encouraging terrorist attacks from his new home in Yemen." Responding to Allen, Al-Awlaki wrote on his website in December 2008: "I would challenge him to come up with just one such lecture where I encourage 'terrorist attacks'".

Fort Hood shooter[link]

Fort Hood shootings suspect Nidal Malik Hasan was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted at least 18 e-mails between him and al-Awlaki between December 2008 and June 2009. Even before the contents of the e-mails were revealed, terrorism expert Jarret Brachman said that Hasan's contacts with al-Awlaki should have raised "huge red flags". According to Brachman, al-Awlaki is a major influence on radical English-speaking ''jihadis'' internationally. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that "There is no indication Mr. Awlaki played a direct role in any of the attacks, and he has never been indicted in the U.S."

In one of the e-mails, Hasan wrote al-Awlaki: "I can't wait to join you [in the afterlife]". "It sounds like code words," said Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. "That he's actually either offering himself up, or that he's already crossed that line in his own mind." Hasan also asked al-Awlaki when ''jihad'' is appropriate, and whether it is permissible if innocents are killed in a suicide attack. In the months before the attacks, Hasan increased his contacts with al-Awlaki to discuss how to transfer funds abroad without coming to the attention of law authorities.

A DC-based Joint Terrorism Task Force operating under the FBI was notified of the e-mails, and reviewed the information. Army employees were informed of the e-mails, but they didn't perceive any terrorist threat in Hasan's questions. Instead, they viewed them as general questions about spiritual guidance with regard to conflicts between Islam and military service, and judged them to be consistent with legitimate mental health research about Muslims in the armed services. The assessment was that there was not sufficient information for a larger investigation.

Charles Allen, no longer in government, said: "I find it difficult to understand why an Army major would be in repeated contact with an Islamic extremist like Anwar al-Awlaki, who preaches a hateful ideology directed at inciting violence against the United States and the West... It is hard to see how repeated contact would in any legitimate way further his research as a psychiatrist." And former CIA officer Bruce Riedel opined: "E-mailing a known al-Qaeda sympathizer should have set off alarm bells. Even if he was exchanging recipes, the bureau should have put out an alert."

Al-Awlaki had set up a website, with a blog on which he shared his views. On December 11, 2008, he condemned any Muslim who seeks a religious decree "that would allow him to serve in the armies of the disbelievers and fight against his brothers".

In "44 Ways to Support ''Jihad''", another sermon posted on his blog in February 2009, al-Awlaki encouraged others to "fight ''jihad''", and explained how to give money to the ''mujahideen'' or their families after they've died. Al-Awlaki's sermon also encouraged others to conduct weapons training, and raise children "on the love of ''Jihad''". Also that month, he wrote: "I pray that Allah destroys America and all its allies." He wrote as well: "We will implement the rule of Allah on Earth by the tip of the sword, whether the masses like it or not." On July 14, he criticized armies of Muslim countries that assist the U.S. military, saying, "the blame should be placed on the soldier who is willing to follow orders ... who sells his religion for a few dollars." In a sermon on his blog on July 15, 2009, entitled "Fighting Against Government Armies in the Muslim World", al-Awlaki wrote, "Blessed are those who fight against [American soldiers], and blessed are those shuhada [martyrs] who are killed by them."

A fellow Muslim officer at Fort Hood said Hasan's eyes "lit up" when gushing about al-Awlaki's teachings. Some investigators believe that Hasan's contacts with al-Awlaki are what pushed him toward violence.

After the Fort Hood shooting, on his now temporarily inoperable website (apparently because some web hosting companies took it down), al-Awlaki praised Hasan's actions:

Nidal Hassan is a hero.... The U.S. is leading the war against terrorism, which in reality is a war against Islam..... Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.

The fact that fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right—­rather the duty­—to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.... May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance, and steadfastness, and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act. Ameen.

Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Hider Shaea interviewed al-Awlaki in November 2009. Al-Awlaki acknowledged his correspondence with Hasan. He said he "neither ordered nor pressured ... Hasan to harm Americans." Al-Awlaki said Hasan first e-mailed him December 17, 2008, introducing himself by writing: "Do you remember me? I used to pray with you at the Virginia mosque." Hasan said he had become a devout Muslim around the time al-Awlaki was preaching at Dar al-Hijrah, in 2001 and 2002, and al-Awlaki said 'Maybe Nidal was affected by one of my lectures.'" He added: "It was clear from his e-mails that Nidal trusted me. Nidal told me: 'I speak with you about issues that I never speak with anyone else.'" Al-Awlaki said Hasan arrived at his own conclusions regarding the acceptability of violence in Islam, and said he was not the one to initiate this. Shaea said, "Nidal was providing evidence to Anwar, not vice versa."

Asked whether Hasan mentioned Fort Hood as a target in his e-mails, Shaea declined to comment. However, al-Awlaki said the shooting was acceptable in Islam because it was a form of ''jihad'', as the West began the hostilities with the Muslims. Al-Awlaki said he "blessed the act because it was against a military target. And the soldiers who were killed were ... those who were trained and prepared to go to Iraq and Afghanistan".

Al-Awlaki released a tape in March 2010, in which he said, in part:

:To the American people ... Obama has promised that his administration will be one of transparency, but he has not fulfilled his promise. His administration tried to portray the operation of brother Nidal Hasan as an individual act of violence from an estranged individual. The administration practiced to control on the leak of information concerning the operation, in order to cushion the reaction of the American public.

:Until this moment the administration is refusing to release the e-mails exchanged between myself and Nidal. And after the operation of our brother Umar Farouk, the initial comments coming from the administration were looking the same – another attempt at covering up the truth. But Al-Qaeda cut off Obama from deceiving the world again by issuing their statement claiming responsibility for the operation.

In addition to the point made by al-Awlaki himself about the failure to release his e-mails, despite wide press coverage of al-Awlaki's role as a spiritual guide to Hasan, and many previous anti-terrorism investigations dating back pre-9/11, al-Awlaki has not been placed on an FBI Most Wanted or other terror list, indicted for treason, or publicly named as a co-conspirator with Hasan. The U.S. government has been reluctant to classify the Fort Hood shooting as a terrorist incident, or identify Hasan's motive.

Christmas Day "Underwear Bomber"[link]

Al-Awlaki and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspected al-Qaeda attempted bomber of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on December 25, 2009, had contacts according to a number of sources. In January 2010, CNN reported that U.S. "security sources" said that there is concrete evidence that al-Awlaki was Abdulmutallab's recruiter and one of his trainers, and met with him prior to the attack. In February 2010, al-Awlaki admitted in an interview published in ''al-Jazeera'' that he taught and corresponded with Abdulmutallab, but denied having ordered the attack.

Representative Pete Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said officials in the Obama administration and officials with access to law enforcement information told him the suspect "had contact [with al-Awlaki]".

''The Sunday Times'' established that Abdulmutallab first met al-Awlaki in 2005 in Yemen, while he was studying Arabic. During that time the suspect attended lectures by al-Awlaki. The two are also "thought to have met" in London, according to ''The Daily Mail''.

''NPR'' reported that according to unnamed U.S. intelligence officials he attended a sermon by al-Awlaki at the Finsbury Park Mosque. Khalid Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, who resigned as trustee of the mosque, pointed to the NPR report in expressing "grave misgivings" with regard to the stewardship of the mosque. The Finsbury Park Mosque stated, however:

neither Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nor Anwar al-Awlaki has ever been invited to attend NLCM since we took charge of the mosque in February 2005. We can be certain that neither man has been given a platform at the mosque in any form and in the case of Anwar al-Awlaki we can be confident that he would not have been able to enter the mosque without his presence being brought to our attention.

Abdulmutallab was also reported to have attended a talk by al-Awlaki at the East London Mosque, which al-Awlaki may have attended by video teleconference, according to ''CBS News'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', and ''The Sunday Telegraph''. However, ''The Sunday Telegraph'' later removed the report from its website following a complaint by the East London Mosque, which stated that "Anwar Al Awlaki did not deliver any talks at the ELM between 2005 and 2008, which is when the newspaper had falsely alleged that Abdullmutallab had attended such talks".

Evidence collected during searches of flats connected to Abdulmutallab in London indicated that he was a "big fan" of al-Awlaki, as web traffic showed he followed al-Awlaki's blog and website.

The suspect was "on American security watch-lists because of his links with ... al-Awlaki", according to University of Oxford historian, and professor of international relations, Mark Almond.

The two were communicating in the months before the bombing attempt, reported ''CBS News'', and ''CBS'' reported that sources said that al-Awlaki at a minimum was providing spiritual support. According to federal sources, over the year prior to the attack, Abdulmutallab intensified electronic communications with al-Awlaki. "Voice-to-voice communication" between the two was intercepted during the fall of 2009, and one government source said al-Awlaki "was in some way involved in facilitating [Abdulmutallab]'s transportation or trip through Yemen. It could be training, a host of things." ''NPR'' reported that intelligence officials it did not name suspect al-Awlaki may have directed Abdulmutallab to Yemen for al-Qaeda training.

Abdulmutallab told the FBI that al-Awlaki was one of his al-Qaeda trainers in remote camps in Yemen. And there were confirming "informed reports" that Abdulmutallab met with al-Awlaki during his final weeks of training and indoctrination prior to the attack. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that according to a U.S. intelligence official, intercepts and other information point to connections between the two:

Some of the information ... comes from Abdulmutallab, who ... said that he met with al-Awlaki and senior al-Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it. Other intelligence linking the two became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with "a Nigerian" in preparation for some kind of operation.

Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, said Yemeni investigators believe that in October 2009 the suspect traveled to Shabwa. There, he met with al-Qaeda members in a house built by al-Awlaki and used by al-Awlaki to hold theological sessions, and Abdulmutallab was trained there and equipped there with his explosives. A top Yemen government official said the two met with each other.

In January 2010, al-Awlaki acknowledged that he met and spoke with Abdulmutallab in Yemen in the fall of 2009. In an interview, al-Awlaki said: "Umar Farouk is one of my students; I had communications with him. And I support what he did." He also said: "I did not tell him to do this operation, but I support it," adding that he was proud of Abdulmutallab. Separately, al-Awlaki asked Yemen's conservative religious scholars to call for the killing of United States military and intelligence officials who assist Yemen's counter-terrorism program. ''Fox News'' reported in early February 2010 that Abdulmutallab told federal investigators that al-Awlaki directed him to carry out the bombing.

In his March 2010 tape, al-Awlaki also said:

To the American people ... nine years after 9/11, nine years of spending, and nine years of beefing up security you are still unsafe even in the holiest and most sacred of days to you, Christmas Day....

Our brother Umar Farouk has succeeded in breaking through the security systems that have cost the U.S. government alone over 40 billion dollars since 9/11.

In June 2010 Michael Leiter, the Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), said al-Awlaki had a "direct operational role" in the plot.

Sharif Mobley[link]

Alleged al-Qaeda member Sharif Mobley, who is charged with having killed a guard during a March 2010 escape attempt in Yemen, left his home in U.S state of New Jersey to seek out al-Awlaki, hoping that al-Awlaki would become his al-Qaeda mentor, according to senior U.S. security officials as reported by ''CNN''. He was in contact with al-Awlaki, according to officials from the U.S. and Yemen, ''The New York Times'' reported. A Yemeni embassy spokesman in Washington, D.C., said he was not surprised by al-Awlaki's apparent links to Mobley, calling al-Awlaki: "a fixture in ''jihad'' 101".

Times Square bomber [link]

Faisal Shahzad, convicted of the attempted car bombing of Times Square in May 2010, told interrogators that he was "inspired by" al-Awlaki. Shahzad said he was moved to action, at least in part, by al-Awlaki's English-language writings calling for holy war against Western targets, and he was a "fan and follower" of al-Awlaki. On May 6, 2010 ''ABC News'' reported that unknown sources told them Shahzad made contact with al-Awlaki over the internet, a claim that could not be independently verified.

Stabbing of British former minister Stephen Timms[link]

After becoming radicalized by online sermons of al-Awlaki, Roshonara Choudhry stabbed British former Cabinet Minister Stephen Timms in May 2010. On November 4, 2010, she was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London to life imprisonment for attempted murder.

''Seattle Weekly'' cartoonist death threat [link]

In 2010, cartoonist Molly Norris at ''Seattle Weekly'' had to stop publishing, and at the suggestion of the FBI change her name, move, and go into hiding due to a ''Fatwā'' calling for her death issued by al-Awlaki, after Everybody Draw Mohammed Day. Al-Awlaki cursed her and eight other cartoonists, authors, and journalists who are Swedish, Dutch, and British citizens for "blasphemous caricatures" of the Prophet Muhammad, in the June 2010 issue of an English-language al-Qaeda magazine that calls itself ''Inspire'', writing "The medicine prescribed by the Messenger of Allah is the execution of those involved" . Daniel Pipes observed in an article entitled "Dueling Fatwas", "Awlaki stands at an unprecedented crossroads of death declarations, with his targeting Norris even as the U.S. government targets him."

British passenger plane plot[link]

British Home Secretary, Theresa May, said on November 3, 2010, that an associate of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who was in touch with al-Awlaki, had been arrested in 2010 for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on passenger planes in Britain.

Cargo planes bomb plot[link]

''The Guardian'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that U.S. and British counter-terrorism officials believe that al-Awlaki was behind the cargo plane PETN bombs that were sent from Yemen to Chicago in October 2010. ''The New York Times'' also reported that some analysts believe the attempted bombing may be linked to al-Awlaki. In addition, when U.S. Homeland Security official John Brennan was asked about al-Awlaki's suspected involvement in the plot, he said: "Anybody associated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a subject of concern." U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein said "al-Awlaki was behind the two ... bombs."

Final years[link]

Al-Awlaki's father proclaimed his son's innocence in an interview with CNN's Paula Newton, saying: "I am now afraid of what they will do with my son. He's not Osama bin Laden, they want to make something out of him that he's not." Responding to a Yemeni official's claims that his son was hiding in the southern mountains of Yemen with al-Qaeda, Nasser said: "He's dead wrong. What do you expect my son to do? There are missiles raining down on the village. He has to hide. But he is not hiding with al-Qaeda; our tribe is protecting him right now." The Awlaq tribe is large and powerful, with a number of connections to the Yemeni government. "He has been wrongly accused, it's unbelievable. He lived his life in America; he's an all-American boy", said his father.

The Yemeni government negotiated with tribal leaders, trying to convince them to hand al-Awlaki over. Yemeni authorities offered guarantees they would not turn al-Awlaki over to the U.S. or let him be questioned. The governor of Shabwa said in January 2010 that al-Awlaki was on the move with a group of al-Qaeda elements from Shabwa, including Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, who was wanted in connection with the bombing of the USS ''Cole''.

In January 2010, White House lawyers considered the legality of attempting to kill al-Awlaki, given his U.S. citizenship. Opportunities to do so "may have been missed" because of legal questions surrounding such an attack. But on February 4, 2010, ''New York Daily News'' reported that al-Awlaki was "now on a targeting list signed off on by the Obama administration".

On April 6, ''The New York Times'' also reported that President Obama had authorized the targeted killing of al-Awlaki. The CIA and the U.S. military both maintain lists of terrorists linked to al-Qaeda and its affiliates who are approved for capture or killing. Because he is a U.S. citizen, his inclusion on those lists was approved by the National Security Council. U.S. officials said it is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing. ''The New York Times'' reported that international law allows the use of lethal force against people who pose an imminent threat to a country, and U.S. officials said that was the standard used in adding names to the target list. In addition, Congress approved the use of military force against al-Qaeda after 9/11. People on the target list are considered military enemies of the U.S., and therefore not subject to a ban on political assassinations approved by former President Gerald Ford. Nevertheless, the authorization was controversial.

The powerful Al-Awalik tribe responded "We warn against cooperating with America to kill Sheikh Anwar al-Awlaki. We will not stand by idly and watch." Al-Awlaki's tribe wrote that it would "not remain with arms crossed if a hair of Anwar al-Awlaki is touched, or if anyone plots or spies against him. Whoever risks denouncing our son (Awlaki) will be the target of Al-Awalik weapons," and gave warning "against co-operating with the Americans" in the capture or killing of al-Awlaki. Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, the Yemeni foreign minister, followed by announcing that the Yemeni government had not received any evidence from the U.S., and that "Anwar al-Awlaki has always been looked at as a preacher rather than a terrorist and shouldn't be considered as a terrorist unless the Americans have evidence that he has been involved in terrorism".

Al-Awlaki's e-mail conversations with Hasan were not released, and he was not placed on the FBI Most Wanted list, indicted for treason, or officially named as a co-conspirator with Hasan. The U.S. government was reluctant to classify the Fort Hood shooting as a terrorist incident, or identify any motive. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported in January 2010 that al-Awlaki: "has never been indicted in the U.S." Al-Awlaki's father, tribe, and supporters have denied his alleged associations with Al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorism.

|source=— Sajjan M. Gohel, Asia-Pacific Foundation}} In a video clip bearing the imprint of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, issued on April 16 in al-Qaeda's monthly magazine ''Sada Al-Malahem'', al-Awlaki said: "What am I accused of? Of calling for the truth? Of calling for ''jihad'' for the sake of Allah? Of calling to defend the causes of the Islamic nation?". In the video he also praises both Abdulmutallab and Hasan, and describes both as his "students".

In late April, Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) introduced a resolution urging the U.S. State Department to issue a "certificate of loss of nationality" to al-Awlaki. He said al-Awlaki "preaches a culture of hate" and had been a functioning member of al-Qaeda "since before 9/11", and had effectively renounced his citizenship by engaging in treasonous acts.

By May, U.S. officials believed he had become "operational", plotting, not just inspiring, terrorism against the West. Former colleague Abdul-Malik said he "is a terrorist, in my book", and advised shops not to carry even the earlier, non-jihadist al-Awlaki sermons. In an editorial, ''Investor's Business Daily'' called al-Awlaki the "world's most dangerous man", and recommended that he be added to the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list, a bounty put on his head, that he be designated a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" like Zindani, charged with treason, and extradition papers filed with the Yemeni government. ''IBD'' criticized the Justice Department for stonewalling Senator Joe Lieberman's security panel's investigation of al-Awlaki's role in the Fort Hood massacre.

On July 16, the U.S. Treasury Department added him to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. As a result, any U.S. bank accounts he may have would be frozen, Americans were forbidden from doing business with him, and he was banned from traveling to the U.S. Stuart Levey, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said al-Awlaki:

has proven that he is extraordinarily dangerous, committed to carrying out deadly attacks on Americans and others worldwide ... [and] has involved himself in every aspect of the supply chain of terrorism—fundraising for terrorist groups, recruiting and training operatives, and planning and ordering attacks on innocents.

A few days later, the United Nations Security Council placed al-Awlaki on its UN Security Council Resolution 1267 list of individuals associated with al-Qaeda, saying in its summary of reasons that he is a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was involved in recruiting and training camps. That required U.N. member states to freeze his assets, impose a travel ban on him, and prevent weapons from landing in his hands. The following week, the Canadian government ordered financial institutions to look for and seize any property linked to al-Awlaki, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's senior counter-terrorism officer Gilles Michaud singled out al-Awlaki as a "major, major factor in radicalization". In September 2010, Jonathan Evans, the Director General of the United Kingdom's domestic security and counter-intelligence agency (MI5), said that al-Awlaki was the West's Public Enemy No 1.

In October 2010, U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) urged YouTube to take down al-Awlaki's videos from its website, saying that by hosting al-Awlaki's messages, "We are facilitating the recruitment of homegrown terror." Pauline Neville-Jones, British security minister, said "These Web sites ... incite cold-blooded murder." In November 2010, YouTube removed from its site some of the hundreds of videos featuring al-Awlaki calls to ''jihad''.

Al-Awlaki was charged ''in absentia'' in Sana'a, Yemen, on November 2 with plotting to kill foreigners and being a member of al-Qaeda. Ali al-Saneaa, the head of the prosecutor's office, announced the charges as part of a trial against another man, Hisham Assem, who had been accused of killing a Frenchman, also saying that al-Awlaki corresponded with Assem for months, encouraging him to kill foreigners. The prosecutor said:

Yesterday a regular visitor of bars and discotheques in America ... Awlaki today has become the catalyst for shedding the blood of foreigners and security forces. He was chosen by Al-Qaeda to be the lead in many of their criminal operations in Yemen. Awlaki is a figure prone to evil devoid of any conscience, religion, or law.

A lawyer for al-Awlaki denied he was linked to the Frenchman's murder. On November 6, Yemeni Judge Mohsen Alwan ordered that al-Awlaki be caught "dead or alive".

In a video posted to the internet on November 8, 2010, al-Awlaki called for Muslims around the world to kill Americans "without hesitation", and overthrow Arab leaders. He said that no ''fatwa'' (special clerical ruling) is required to kill Americans: "Don't consult with anyone in fighting the Americans, fighting the devil doesn't require consultation or prayers or seeking divine guidance. They are the party of the devils." That month, Intelligence Research Specialist Kevin Yorke of the New York Police Department's Counterterrorism Division called him "the most dangerous man in the world".

Targeted killing order and lawsuit against the U.S.[link]

In July 2010, his father, Nasser al-Aulaqi, contracted the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to represent his son in a lawsuit that sought to remove Anwar from the targeted killing list. ACLU's Jameel Jaffer said:

the United States is not at war in Yemen, and the government doesn't have a blank check to kill terrorism suspects wherever they are in the world. Among the arguments we'll be making is that, outside actual war zones, the authority to use lethal force is narrowly circumscribed, and preserving the rule of law depends on keeping this authority narrow.

Lawyers for Specially Designated Global Terrorists must obtain a special license from the U.S. Treasury Department before they can represent their clients in court. The lawyers were granted the license on August 4, 2010.

On August 30, 2010, the groups filed a "targeted killing" lawsuit, naming Barack Obama, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as defendants. They sought an injunction preventing the targeted killing of al-Awlaki, and also sought to require the government to disclose the standards under which U.S. citizens may be "targeted for death". Judge John D. Bates dismissed the lawsuit in an 83-page ruling, holding that the father did not have legal standing to bring the lawsuit, and that his claims were judicially unreviewable under the political question doctrine inasmuch as he was questioning a decision that the U.S. Constitution committed to the political branches.

On May 5, 2011, the U.S. tried to kill Anwar Awlaki by firing a missile from an unmanned drone onto a car in Yemen but Awlaki survived the attempted killing. A Yemeni security official said that two al-Qaeda operatives in the car died.

Death [link]

On September 30, 2011, in northern Yemen's al-Jawf province, two Predator drones fired Hellfire missiles at a vehicle containing al-Awlaki and three other suspected al-Qaeda members. A witness said the group had stopped to eat breakfast while traveling to Ma'rib Governorate. A Predator drone was spotted by the group, which then tried to flee in the vehicle. According to U.S. sources, the strike was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command, under the direction of the CIA. U.S. President Barack Obama said:

The death of Awlaki is a major blow to Al-Qaeda's most active operational affiliate. He took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans ... and he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda. [The strike] is further proof that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.

Yemen's Defense Ministry announced that al-Awlaki had been killed in the country. Also killed was Samir Khan, an American born in Saudi Arabia, who was editor of al-Qaeda's English-language web magazine, ''Inspire''.

One American critic of the War on Terror Paul Craig Roberts wrote Awlaki gave "sermons critical of Washington’s indiscriminate assaults on Muslim peoples" who "told Muslims that they did not have to passively accept American aggression." He called the operation "The Day America Died" as the U.S. lacked evidence either Awlaki or Khan were real threats or Al Qaeda operatives.

Family[link]

Abdulrahman al-Awlaki[link]

Anwar Al-Awlaki and Egyptian-born Gihan Mohsen Baker had an American son, born on September 13, 1995, in Denver. His name was transliterated on the Colorado birth certificate as "Abdulrahman Anwar Al-Aulaqi". Abdul-Rahman al-Awlaki was killed at the age of 16 in an American drone strike on Friday, October 14, 2011, in Yemen, along with alleged al-Qaeda members. Nine other people were killed in the same CIA-led attack. Among the dead was a 17-year-old cousin of Abdulrahman. Family members have said that he was on his way to a barbeque. Five Facebook pages have been set up to condemn the killing as a human rights violation.

Nasser al-Awlaki[link]

Nasser al-Awlaki is the father of Anwar and grandfather of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki. After the deaths of his son and grandson, Nasser published a 6 minute audio message condemning the U.S. for the killings. In the audio he described Obama: :"I urge the American people to bring the killers to justice. I urge them to expose the hypocrisy of the 2009 Nobel Prize laureate. To some, he may be that. To me and my family, he is nothing more than a child killer."

He claimed his son was far from any battlefield. After the audio, Nasser al-Awlaki began to deny he was endorsing violence after some media outlets interpreted his audio in that way.

A brother-in-law of Awlaki is Tariq al-Dahab, who leads al-Qaeda insurgents in Yemen. On Thursday, February 16, 2012, the terrorist organization stated he had been killed by agents, although it is speculated by the media that he was killed by his brother in a bloody family-type feud.

Works[link]

The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation says Al-Awlaki's ability to write and speak in fluent English enabled him to be a key player in inciting English-speaking Muslims to commit terrorist acts. As al-Awlaki himself wrote in ''44 Ways to Support Jihad'':

Most of the ''Jihad'' literature is available only in Arabic and publishers are not willing to take the risk of translating it. The only ones who are spending the time and money translating ''Jihad'' literature are the Western intelligence services ... and too bad, they would not be willing to share it with you.

Written works[link]

''44 Ways to Support Jihad''—Essay (January 2009)—A practical step-by-step guide to pursuing or supporting ''jihad''. Writes: "The hatred of ''kuffar'' [those who reject Islam] is a central element of our military creed," and asserts that all Muslims must participate in ''Jihad'' in person, by funding it, or by writing. Says all Muslims must remain physically fit, and train with firearms "to be ready for the battlefield". According to U.S. officials, considered a key text for al-Qaeda members. Al-Awlaki also wrote for ''Jihad Recollections'', an English language online publication published by Al-Fursan Media. ''Allah is Preparing Us for Victory'' – short book (2009).

Lectures[link]

'' Lectures'' on the book ''Constants on the Path of Jihad'' by Yousef Al-Ayyiri—concerns leaderless ''jihad''. Numerous lectures have been posted to YouTube on various channels such as this and this A U.K. government analysis of YouTube in 2009 found 1,910 videos of his videos, one of which had been viewed 164,420 times.

''The Battle of Hearts and Minds''

''The Dust Will Never Settle Down''

''Dreams & Interpretations''

''The Hereafter''—16 CDs—Al Basheer Productions

''Life of Muhammad: Makkan Period''—16 CDs—Al Basheer Productions

''Life of Muhammad: Medinan Period''—Lecture in 2 Parts—18 CDs—Al Basheer Productions

''Lives of the Prophets (AS)''—16 CDs—Al Basheer Productions

''Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA): His Life & Times''—15 CDs—Al Basheer Productions

''Umar ibn al-Khattāb (RA): His Life & Times''—18 CDs—Al Basheer Productions

''25 Promises from Allah to the Believer''—2 CDs—Noor Productions

''Companions of the Ditch & Lessons from the Life of Musa (AS)''—2 CDs—Noor Productions

''Remembrance of Allah & the Greatest Ayah''—2 CDs—Noor Productions

''Stories from Hadith''—4 CDs—Center for Islamic Information and Education ("CIIE")

''Hellfire & The Day of Judgment''—CD—CIIE

''Quest for Truth: The Story of Salman Al-Farsi (RA)''—CD—CIIE

''Trials & Lessons for Muslim Minorities''—CD—CIIE

''Young Ayesha (RA) & Mothers of the Believers (RA)''—CD—CIIE

''Understanding the Quran''—CD—CIIE

''Lessons from the Companions (RA) Living as a Minority'''—CD—CIIE

''Virtues of the Sahabah''—video lecture series promoted by the al-Wasatiyyah Foundation

See also[link]

Extrajudicial killing

Targeted killing

CIA transnational anti-terrorism activities

Protocol I

Church Committee

Executive Order 12333

References[link]

External links[link]

Ruling of Judge Bates in Al Aulaqi v Obama

Anwar al Awlaki Lectures

Internet Archive of anwar-alawlaki.com

;Statements

Anwar al-Awlaki video conferences recordings and statements

;Interviews

PBS, October 30, 2001">"Exclusive; Ray Suarez: My Post-9/11 Interview With Anwar al-Awlaki", PBS, October 30, 2001

"Al-Jazeera Satellite Network Interview with Yemeni-American Cleric Shaykh Anwar al-Awlaki Regarding his Alleged Role in Radicalizing Maj. Malik Nidal Hasan", The NEFA Foundation, December 24, 2009

;Media coverage

The imam's very curious story: A skirt-chasing mullah is just one more mystery for the 9/11 panel, Ragavan, Chitra, ''US News and World Report'', June 13, 2004

Further reading[link]

al-Ashanti, AbdulHaq and Sloan, Abu Ameenah AbdurRahman. (2011) ''A Critique of the Methodology of Anwar al-Awlaki and his Errors in the Fiqh of Jihad''. London: Jamiah Media, 2011 ISBN 978-0956728142

Category:1971 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century imams Category:21st-century imams Category:Abdullah Yusuf Azzam Category:Al-Qaeda propagandists Category:American al-Qaeda members Category:American imams Category:American Islamists Category:American Muslims Category:American people of Yemeni descent Category:Anwar al-Awlaki Category:Colorado State University alumni Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Muslim activists Category:People associated with the September 11 attacks Category:People from Las Cruces, New Mexico Category:San Diego State University alumni Category:Yemeni imams Category:Yemeni al-Qaeda members Category:Yemeni Muslims Category:Islamic terrorism Category:Islamism Category:Islam-related controversies Category:People designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee Category:Deaths by drone attack Category:Antisemitism in the United States

ar:أنور العولقي be:Анвар аль-Аўлакі de:Anwar al-Awlaki es:Anwar al-Awlaki eo:Anŭar al-Aŭlaki fa:انور العولقی fr:Anwar al-Awlaqi ko:안와르 알아울라키 it:Anwar al-Awlaki he:אנוואר אל-אוולקי ka:ანვარ ალ-ავლაკი ml:അൻവർ അൽ - അവ്‌ലാകി ms:Anwar al-Awlaki nl:Anwar al-Awlaki ja:アンワル・アウラキ no:Anwar al-Awlaki pl:Anwar al-Awlaki pt:Anwar al-Awlaki ru:Анвар аль-Авлаки sh:Anvar al-Avlaki fi:Anwar al-Awlaki zh:安瓦爾·奧拉基

name	Abu Bakr
title	Khalifat-ul-Rasūl(Muhammad's successor according to Sunni Islam)
reign	8 June 632 – 23 August 634
predecessor	Muhammad (according to most Sunnis)
successor	Umar
birth date	c. 573
birth place	Mecca, Arabia
death date	August 23, 634
death place	Medina, Arabia
buried	Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Madinah
other titles	Assiddiq الصدِّيق Companion of the CaveCompanion of the TombShaikh AkbarAttique }}

Abu Bakr (Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafa) (, c. 573 CE - 634 CE) also known as Abū Bakr as-Șiddīq (Arabic: أبو بكر الصديق) was a senior companion (''Sahabi'') and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632–634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death. As Caliph, Abu Bakr succeeded to the political and administrative functions previously exercised by Muhammad, since the religious function and authority of prophethood ended with Muhammad's death according to Islam. He was called ''Al-Siddiq'' (The Truthful) and was known by that title among later generations of Muslims.

As a young man, Abu Bakr became a cloth merchant and he traveled extensively in Arabia and neighboring lands in the Middle East, through which he gained both wealth and experience. He eventually came to be recognized as the chief of his clan. On his return from a business trip to Yemen, he was informed that in his absence Muhammad had openly declared his prophethood. Not long after, Abu Bakr accepted Islam and was the first person outside the family of Muhammad to openly become a Muslim. He was instrumental in the conversion of many people to the Islamic faith and early in 623, Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha was married to Muhammad, strengthening the ties between the two men.

Abu Bakr served as a trusted advisor and close friend to Muhammad. During the lifetime of Muhammad, he was involved in several campaigns such as the Battle of Uhud, the Battle of the Trench, the Invasion of Banu Qurayza, Battle of Khaybar, the Conquest of Mecca, the Battle of Hunayn, the Siege of Ta'if, and the Battle of Tabuk where he was reported to have given all of his wealth for the preparation of this expedition. He also participated in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and was made one of the witnesses over the pact.

Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for a little over two years (or 27 months), ending with his death after an illness. Though the period of his caliphate was not long, it included successful invasions of the two most powerful empires of the time, a remarkable achievement in its own right. He set in motion a historical trajectory that in few decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history.

Lineage and title[link]

Abu Bakr's full name was 'Abd Allah ibn 'Uthman ibn Aamir ibn Amr ibn Ka'ab ibn Sa'ad ibn Tamim ibn Murrah ibn Ka'ab ibn Lu'ai ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr al-Quraishi at-Taymi. In Arabic, the name 'Abd Allah' means "servant of God". One of his early titles, preceding his conversion to Islam, was ''atiqe'', "the saved one". Muhammad later reaffirmed this title when he said that Abu Bakr is the 'atiqe' (the one saved from hell fire by God). He was called 'Al-Siddiq' (the truthful') by Muhammad after he believed him in the event of Isra and Mi'raj when other people didn't, and Ali confirmed that title several times.

He was mentioned in the Quran as the "second of the two who lay in the cave" in reference to the event of hijra, with Muhammad where they hid in the cave in Jabal Thawr from the Meccan search party that was sent after them, thus being one of few who were given direct reference to in the Quran.

Imam Jafar al Sadiq famously narrated how the title ''Siddiq'' was given to Abu Bakr from Muhammad. He was also a direct descendant of Abu Bakr from his maternal side, as well as being a paternal descendant of Ali from his father's side. Jafar al-Sadiq was also the successor of the Naqshbandi Sufi order originating from Abu Bakr himself.

Imam Muhammad al Baqir, the father of Imam Jafar Sadiq also called Abu Bakr with the title Siddiq.

Early life[link]

Abu Bakr was born in Mecca some time in 573 CE, to a rich family in the Banu Taym clan of the Quraysh tribe. Abu Bakr's father's name was Uthman Abu Quhafa (nicknamed ''Abu Quhafa'') and his mother was Salma Umm-ul-Khair (nicknamed ''Umm-ul-Khair'').

The lineage of Abu Bakr joined that of Muhammad in the eighth degree in their common ancestor Murrah ibn Ka'b.

The lineage of Abu Bakr was: Abu Bakr; the son of Uthman Abu Quhafa; the son of Amar; the son of Umru; the son of Kaab; the son of Saad; the son of Taym; the son of Murrah.

The lineage of Muhammad was: Muhammad; the son of Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib; the son of Abdul Muttalib; the son of Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf; the son of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai; the son of Qusai ibn Kilab; the son of Kilab ibn Murrah; the son of Murrah.

Abu Bakr was a thin man with white skin. Tabari relates (Suyuti also relates the same through Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi's report) from Aisha her description of Abu Bakr:

He was a man with fair skin, thin, emaciated, with a sparse beard, a slightly hunched frame, sunken eyes and protruding forehead, and the bases of his fingers were hairless.

He spent his early childhood like other Arab children of the time among the Bedouins who called themselves ''Ahl-i-Ba'eer''- the people of the camel, and developed a particular fondness for camels. In his early years he played with the camel foals and goats, and his love for camels earned him the nickname "''Abu Bakr''", the father of the foal of the camel.

When Abu Bakr was 10 years old, he went to Syria along with his father with the merchants' caravan. Muhammad, who was 12 years old at the time, was also with the caravan. In 591 at the age of 18, Abu Bakr went into trade and adopted the profession of cloth merchant, which was the family's business. In the coming years Abu Bakr traveled extensively with caravans. Business trips took him to Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere. These travels brought him wealth and added to his experience. His business flourished and he rose in the scale of social importance. Though his father, Uthman Abu Quhafa, was still alive, he came to be recognized as chief of his tribe.

Like other children of the rich Meccan merchant families, Abu Bakr was literate and developed a fondness for poetry. He used to attend the annual fair at Ukaz, and participate in poetical symposia. He had a very good memory and had a good knowledge of the genealogy of the Arab tribes, their stories and their politics.

A story is preserved that once when he was a child, his father took him to the Kaaba, and asked him to pray before the idols. His father went away to attend to some other business, and Abu Bakr was left alone with the idols. Addressing an idol, Abu Bakr said "O my God, I am in need of beautiful clothes; bestow them on me". The idol remained indifferent. Then he addressed another idol saying "O God, give me some delicious food. See that I am so hungry". The idol remained cold. That exhausted the patience of young Abu Bakr. He lifted a stone, and addressing an idol said "Here I am aiming a stone; if you are a god protect yourself". Abu Bakr hurled the stone at the idol and left the Kaaba. Thereafter, he never went to the Kaaba to pray to the idols.

Acceptance of Islam[link]

On his return from a business trip from Yemen, he was informed by friends that in his absence Muhammad had declared himself the Messenger of God, and proclaimed a new religion. Tabari, the most famous Muslim historian, in his Ta'rikh quotes from Muhammad Bin Sa'ad Bin Abi Waqqas, who said:

"I asked my father whether Abu Bakr was the first of the Muslims. He said, 'No, more than fifty people embraced Islam before Abu Bakr; but he was superior to us as a Muslim. And Umar ibn Khattab had embraced Islam after forty-five men and twenty-one women. As for the foremost one in the matter of Islam and faith, it was Ali ibn Abi Talib'"

Other Sunnis and all Shi'a Muslims maintain that the second person to publicly accept Muhammed as the messenger of God was Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first being Muhammad's wife Khadija; though to Shias Ali always knew of Muhammad's status through pre-knowledge.

Life after accepting Islam[link]

His wife Qutaylah bint Abd-al-Uzza did not accept Islam and he divorced her. His other wife, Um Ruman, became a Muslim. All his children except Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr‎ accepted Islam, and Abu Bakr separated from his son Abdu'l-Rahman.

His conversion brought the most benefit to Islam. Abu Bakr's brought many people to Islam. He persuaded his intimate friends to convert to Islam. and presented Islam to others in such a way that many of his friends accepted Islam.

Those who converted to Islam at the insistence of Abu Bakr were:

Uthman Ibn Affan (who would became the 3rd Caliph)

Al-Zubayr (played a part in the Muslim conquest of Egypt)

Talha Ibn Ubayd-Allah

Abdur Rahman bin Awf (who would remain an important part of the Rashidun Caliphate)

Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas (played a part in the Islamic conquest of Persia)

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (who remained commander in chief of the Rashidun army in Syria )

Abu Salama (Abdullah bin Abdul Asad)

Khalid ibn Sa`id

Abu Hudhaifah ibn al-Mughirah

Abu Bakr's acceptance proved to be a milestone in Muhammad's mission. Slavery was common in Mecca, and many slaves accepted Islam. When an ordinary free man accepted Islam, despite opposition, he would enjoy the protection of his tribe. For slaves however, there was no such protection and they commonly experienced persecution. Abu Bakr felt compassion for slaves, so he purchased eight slaves (four men and four women) and then freed them, paying 40,000 dinar for their freedom.

The men were

Bilal ibn Ribah

Abu Fakih

Ammar ibn Yasir

Abu Fuhayra

The women were:

Lubaynah

Al-Nahdiah

Umm Ubays

Harithah bint al-Muammil

Most of the slaves liberated by Abu Bakr were either women or old and frail men. The father of Abu Bakr asked him to for why doesn't he liberate strong and young slaves who could be a source of strength for him, Abu Bakr replied that he was freeing the slaves for the sake of God, and not for his own sake. According to Sunni tradition the following verses of the Qur'an were revealed due to this:

He who gives in charity and fears Allah And in all sincerity testifies to the Truth; We shall indeed make smooth for him the path of Bliss {92:5-7}.

Those who spend their wealth for increase in self-purification; And have in their minds no favor from any one For which a reward is expected in return, But only the desire to seek the Countenance, Of their Lord, Most High; And soon they shall attain complete satisfaction {92:8-21}.

Shias maintain these verses were revealed about Ali.

Persecution by the Quraysh, 613[link]

For three years after the advent of Islam, Muslims kept secret their faith, and prayed in secret. In 613 Muhammad decided to call people to Islam openly. The first public address inviting people to offer allegiance to Muhammad was delivered by Abu Bakr. In a fit of fury the young men of the Quraysh tribe rushed at Abu Bakr, and beat him mercilessly till he lost consciousness. Following this incident Abu Bakr's mother converted to Islam. Abu Bakr was persecuted many times by the Quraysh. Abu Bakr's beliefs would have been defended by his own clan, but not by the entire Quraysh tribe.

Migrations to Abyssinia, 615[link]

Being the first man to go over to Islam, Abu Bakr had brought upon himself the special anger and hatred of the Meccan chiefs. Soon he felt hard pressed and asked permission of Muhammad to go to Abyssinia. The permission was granted and Abu Bakr set off on his journey. However, on the way he met Ibn-ud-Daghinna, the chief of Qara. Under Ibn-ud-Daghinna's protection, he soon came back to Makkah.

Last years in Mecca[link]

In 617, the Quraysh enforced a boycott against the Banu Hashim. Muhammad along with his supporters from Banu Hashim, were shut up in a pass away from Mecca. All social relations with the Banu Hashim were cut off and their state was that of imprisonment. Before it many Muslims migrated to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Abu Bakr, feeling distressed, set out for Yemen and then to Abyssinia from there. He met a friend of his named Ad-Dughna (chief of the Qarah tribe) outside Mecca, who invited Abu Bakr to seek his protection against the Quraysh. Abu Bakr went back to Mecca, it was a relief for him, but soon due to the pressure of Quraysh, Ad-Dughna was forced to renounce his protection. Once again the Quraysh were free to persecute Abu Bakr.

In 620 Muhammad's wife and uncle died. Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha was engaged to Muhammad, however it was decided that the actual marriage ceremony would be held later. In 620 Abu Bakr was the first person to testify to Muhammad's Isra and Mi'raj (night Journey).

Migration to Medina[link]

In 622, on the invitation of the Muslims of Medina, Muhammad ordered Muslims to migrate to Medina. The migration began in batches. Ali was the last to remain in Mecca, entrusted with responsibility for settling any loans the Muslims had taken, and famously slept in the bed of Muhammad when the Quraysh led by Ikrima attempted to murder Muhammad as he slept. Meanwhile Abu Bakr accompanied Muhammad in his migration for Medina. Due to the danger of the Quraysh, they did not take the road to Medina. They moved in the opposite direction, and took refuge in a cave in Jabal Thawr some five miles south of Mecca. `Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr, would listen to the plans and talks of the Quraysh, and at night he would carry the news to the fugitives in the cave. Asma bint Abi Bakr, the daughter of Abu Bakr, brought them meals every day. Aamir, a servant of Abu Bakr, would bring a flock of goats to the mouth of the cave every night where they were milked. The Quraysh sent search parties in all directions. One party came close to the entrance to the cave, but was unable to sight them. Due to this the following verse of the Qur'an was revealed:

If ye help not (your Leader) (it is no matter): for Allah did indeed help him; when the unbelievers drove him out: he had no more than one companion: they two were in the cave, and he said to his companion "Have no Fear, for Allah is with us": then Allah sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which ye saw not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of Allah is exalted to the heights: for Allah is Exalted in might, Wise.

'Aa'ishah, Abu Sa`eed al-Khudri and ibn 'Abbaas in interpreting this verse said

Abu Bakr was the one who stayed with the Prophet in that cave

It is narrated from al-Barra' ibn 'Azib, he said,

One time, Abu Bakr bought a ride from 'Azib for 10 Dirham, then Abu Bakr said to 'Azib, "Tell your son the Barra to deliver that beast." Then 'Azib said, "No, until you tell us about your journey with the Messenger of Allah when he went out of Makkah while the Mushrikeen were busy looking for you." Abu Bakr said, "We set out from Makkah, walking day and night, until it came the time of Zuhr, so I was looking for a place so that we can rest under it, it came to be that I saw a big rock, so I came to it and there was the place, so I spread a mattress for the Prophet, then I said to him, " Rest O' Prophet of Allah." So he rested, while I surveyed the area around me, are there people looking for us coming here to spy... Suddenly I saw there was a shepherd herding his sheep to the direction of the place under the rock wanting to shade himself like us, so I asked, "Who is your master O' slave?" He answered, "Slave of the fulan, someone of the Quraish." He mentioned the name of his master and I knew him, then I asked, "Does your sheep have milk?" He answered, "Yes!" So he took one of the sheep, after that I ordered him to clean the breasts of the sheep first from dirt and dust, then I ordered him to blow his hand from dust, so he pat his two hands and he started milking, while I prepared a vessel with its mouth wrapped with cloth to contain the milk, so I poured the milk that was milked to the vessel and I waited until the bottom was cold, then I brought to the Prophet and it was that he had waken up, instantly I told him, "Drink O' Messenger of Allah." So he started to drink until I saw that he was full, then I told him, "Are we not going to continue walking O' Messenger of Allah?" He answered, "Yes!" At last we continued the journey while the mushrikeen kept looking for us, not that could pursue us except Suraqah ibn Malik ibn Ju'sham who rode his horse, so I said to the Messenger of Allah, "This man has succeeded in pursuing us O' Messenger of Allah," but he answered, "ﻻ ﺗﺤﺰ ﻥ ﺇ ﻥ ﺍﷲ ﻣﻌﻨﺎ" (Do not worry, verily Allah is with us).

It is narrated from Anas from Abu Bakr he said,

I said to the Prophet when were in the cave, "If only they had looked under their feet we would assuredly be seen" The Messenger answered, "ﻣﺎ ﻇﻨﻚ ﻳﺎ ﺃ ﺑﺎ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺑﺎ ﺛﻨﻴﻦ ﺍﷲ ﺛﺎ ﻟﺘﻬﻤﺎ" (What do you think O' Abu Bakr about two people if Allah is the third, meaning God was with them.)

After staying at the cave for three days and three nights, Abu Bakr and Muhammad proceed to Medina, staying for some time at Quba, a suburb of Medina. While Sunni sources portray Abu bakr in an exalted light in the cave, Shia sources however generally tend to portray the incident in the cave as a Quranic condemndation of Abu Bakr for cowardice and fear.

Life in Medina[link]

In Medina, Muhammad decided to construct a mosque. A piece of land was chosen and the price of the land was paid for by Abu Bakr. Muslims constructed a mosque named Al-Masjid al-Nabawi at the site and Abu Bakr also took part in construction. Abu Bakr was paired with Khaarij ah bin Zaid Ansari (who was from Medina) as a brother in faith. Abu Bakr's relationship with Khaarjah was most cordial, which was further strengthened when Abu Bakr married Habiba, a daughter of Khaarijah.

Khaarij ah bin Zaid Ansari used to live at Sunh, a suburb of Medina, and Abu Bakr also settled there. After Abu Bakr's family arrived in Medina he bought another house near Muhammad's.

The climate of Mecca was dry, but the climate of Medina was damp and this adversely affected the health of the immigrants, so that on arrival most of them fell sick. Abu Bakr also suffered from fever for several days and during this time he was attended to by Khaarijah and his family. At Mecca, Abu Bakr was a trader in cloth and he started the same business in Medina. He was a wholesaler, and had his store at Sunh, and from there cloth was supplied to the market at Medina. Soon his business flourished at Medina. Early in 623, Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha, who was already engaged to Muhammad, was handed over to Muhammad in a simple marriage ceremony, and this further strengthen the relation between Abu Bakr and Muhammad.

Military campaigns under Muhammad[link]

Battle of Badr and Uhud[link]

In 624 Abu Bakr was involved in the first battle between the Muslims and the Quraysh of Mecca, known as the Battle of Badr, but did not fight, instead acting as one of the guards of Muhammad's tent. In 625 he participated in the Battle of Uhud which ended in a rout by the majority of the Muslims. Before the battle begun, Abu Bakr's son Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr, who was still non-Muslim and was fighting from the side of the Quraysh, came forward and threw down a challenge for a duel. Abu Bakr accepted the challenge but was stopped by Muhammad. His son later converted to Islam and gained fame during the Muslim conquest of Syria as a fierce warrior. In the second phase of the battle, Khalid ibn al-Walid’s cavalry attacked the Muslims from behind, changing a Muslim victory to defeat. Many Muslim warriors fled from the battlefield due to fear or to plunder the spoils of war so did Abu Bakr, however he was among the first to return according to few Sunni Hadith. Ali Ibn Abi Talib was the only one who remained guarding Muhammad from the attacks of the Quraysh soldiers, majority of Shia and many Sunni Hadith agree to this. Criticisms of his lacklustre military achievements in comparison with the extremely accomplished Ali should be put into context: Abu Bakr was a middle aged man during these battles, was not a soldier but a merchant by trade, and had never seen battle before - it may thus be unfair to directly compare him with Ali in this regard.

However it is related that once Ali asked his associates as to who did they think was the bravest among men. Everyone replied that Ali was the bravest of all men. Thereupon Ali said:

In Sunni accounts during one such attack, two discs from Abu Bakr's shield penetrated into Muhammad's cheeks. Abu Bakr went forward with the intention of extracting these discs but Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah requested he leave the matter to him, losing his two incisors during the process. In these stories subsequently Abu Bakr, along with other companions, led Muhammad to a place of safety.

Conflict with Jewish tribes[link]

Later in the year Abu Bakr was a part of campaign against the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir.

Battle of the Trench[link]

In 627 he participated in the Battle of the Trench and also in the Invasion of Banu Qurayza. In this battle, Muhammad divided the ditch into a number of sectors and a contingent was posted to guard each sector. One of such contingents was under the command of Abu Bakr. The enemy made frequent assaults in the attempt to cross the ditch. All such assaults were repulsed. Abu Bakr showed great courage in guarding the belt of the trench in his sector. To commemorate this event a mosque was later constructed at the site where Abu Bakr had heroically repulsed the charges of the enemy. The mosque was later known as 'Masjid-i-Siddiq'.

In 628 he participated in Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and was made one of the witnesses over the pact.

In 628 he was a part of the Muslim campaign to Khaybar.

Military campaigns during final years of Muhammad[link]

In 629 Muhammad sent 'Amr ibn al-'As to Zaat-ul-Sallasal from where he called for reinforcements and Muhammad sent Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah. Commanding an army under him were Abu Bakr and Umar and they attacked and defeated the enemy.

In 630 when Muslim armies rushed for the Conquest of Mecca, Abu Bakr was a part of the army. Before the conquest of Mecca his father Uthman Abu Quhafa converted to Islam.

Battle of Hunayn and Ta'if[link]

In 630 he was part of Battle of Hunayn and Siege of Ta'if. In the Battle of Hunayn as the Muslim army passed through the valley of Hunayn some eleven miles north east of Mecca a rain of arrows fell on it let loose by a group of archers of the hostile tribes that lay hid in the mountain pass. Taken unaware the advance guard of the Muslim army fled in panic. There was considerable confusion, and the camels, horses and men ran into one another in the attempt to seek cover. Muhammad stood firm. There were only nine companions around him including Abu Bakr. All the rest had fled. Under the instructions of Muhammad, Abbas shouted at the top of his voice "O Muslims come to the Prophet of Allah". The call was heard by the Muslim soldiers and they gathered beside Muhammad. When the Muslim had gathered in sufficient number, Muhammad ordered a charge against the enemy. In the hand to hand fight that followed the tribes were routed and they fled to Autas.

Muhammad posted a contingent to guard the Hunayn pass and led the main army to Autas. In the confrontation at Autas the tribes could not withstand the Muslim onslaught. Finding the resistance useless the tribes broke the camp and retired to Ta'if.

Abu Bakr was commissioned by Muhammad to lead the attack against Ta'if. From Autas the Muslim forces set out for Ta'if. The tribes shut themselves in the fort and refused to come out in the open. The Muslim employed catapults to throw stones in the town, but this did not lead to any tangible results. The Muslim tried the testudo device whereunder a group of soldiers shielded by a cover of cowhide advanced to set fire to the gate. The enemy threw red hot scraps of iron on the testudo which made it ineffective.

The siege dragged on for two weeks, and still there was no sign of the fall of the fort. Muhammad held a council of war. Abu Bakr advised that the siege might be raised and that God would Himself make arrangements for the fall of the fort. The advice was accepted, and in February 630, the siege of Ta'if was raised and the Muslim army returned to Mecca. A few days later Malik bin Auf the commander, came to Mecca and became a Muslim. Thus the forecast of Abu Bakr came to be fulfilled, and the God Himself arranged for the surrender of Ta'if.

Expedition of Tabuk[link]

In 630 AD Muhammad decided to lead an expedition to Tabuk on the Syrian border. In order to finance the expedition Muhammad invited contributions and donations from his followers. Uthman provided ten thousand camels. Umar made a liberal contribution. When Muhammad asked him how much he had left for himself and his family he said that he has given one half of his wealth for the cause of God and had left one half for himself and his dependents. Then Abu Bakr came loaded with his contribution and Muhammad put him the same question as to how much wealth he had for himself and his family. Abu Bakr said "I have brought all that I had. I have left Allah and His Prophet for myself and my family". This episode has formed the theme of one of the poems of Allama Iqbal. The last verse of this poem reads:

The call to arms was given at a very critical period. The weather was burning hot. Crops were ripe and ready for harvesting. The journey was long and arduous. Many persons preferred to stay back. In spite of these obstacles and difficulties, an army of thirty thousand persons was raised. The army assembled at Al Jorf outside Medina. Muhammad remained at Medina for some time to attend to other affairs, and at Al Jorf Abu Bakr deputised for Muhammad and led the prayers.

The Muslim army reached Tabuk after a weary march. At Tabuk the standard of the army was entrusted to Abu Bakr. There were no Byzantine forces to meet the Muslims. On coming to know of the advance of the Muslim army the Byzantines had withdrawn their army well within Syria. The Muslim achieved their object without fighting a shot. The Byzantines who had at one time threatened to invade Arabia were no longer in the mood to measure swords with the Muslims.

Abu Bakr as Amir-ul-Hajj[link]

In 631 AD, Muhammad sent from Medina a delegation of three hundred Muslims to perform the Hajj according to the new Islamic way. Abu Bakr was appointed as the leader of the delegates. Abu Bakr had thus the honour of being the First Amir-ul-Hajj in the history of Islam.

Some time after Abu Bakr and his party had left for Hajj, Muhammad received a revelation about the regulation of the Hajj, and the ordering of relationships with the infidels. It is related that when this revelation came, some one suggested to Muhammad that he should send news of it to Abu Bakr. Muhammad said that only a man of his house could proclaim the revelation.

Muhammad summoned Ali, and asked him to proclaim the revealed verses to the people on the day of sacrifice when they assembled at Mina. Ali went forth on Muhammad's slit-eared camel, and overtook Abu Bakr. When Ali joined the party, Abu Bakr wanted to know whether he had come to give orders or to convey them. Ali said that he had not come to replace Abu Bakr as Amir-ul-Hajj, and that his only mission was to convey a special message to the people on behalf of Muhammad.

At Mecca, Abu Bakr presided at the Hajj ceremony, and Ali read the proclamation on behalf of Muhammad. The main points of the proclamation were:

#Henceforward the non-Muslims were not to be allowed to visit the Kaaba or perform the pilgrimage. #No one should circumambulate the Kaaba naked. #Polytheism was not to be tolerated. Where the Muslims had any agreement with the polytheists such agreements would be honoured for the stipulated periods. Where there were no agreements a grace period of four months was provided and thereafter no quarter was to be given to the polytheists.

From the day this proclamation was made a new era dawned in Arabia. Henceforward Islam alone was to be supreme in Arabia.

In some quarters an argument is advanced that as on this occasion the proclamation was read by Ali on behalf of Muhammad, this establishes the precedence of Ali over Abu Bakr, and that therefore when after the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakr became the Caliph in disregard of the claims of Ali, he was a usurper.

On this occasion Ali did not replace Abu Bakr as Amir-ul-Hajj. Ali was merely assigned a special mission to read the proclamation as according to Muhammad only a man from his own house could communate the revelation. We can thus say that on this occasion Abu Bakr represented the temporal side, while Ali represented the spiritual side. After the death of Muhammad there was no longer the question of any spiritual representation; the issue was only temporal representation, and for this Abu Bakr was the best choice as he had thus represented Muhammad even in his life time.

Military campaigns as commander[link]

Abu Bakr also led one military campaign as commander, known as Expedition of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, which took place in Nejd, in July 628 AD,3rd Month 7AH, of the Islamic Calendar Abu Bakr led a large platoon in Nejd on the order of Muhammad. Many were killed and taken as prisoner. The Sunni Hadith collection, Sunan Abu Dawud mentions the event

Death of Muhammad[link]

name	Abu Bakr
titles	Rightly-Guided Caliph, Warrior, Reformer, ''Siddiq'', Disciple of Muhammad, ''Companion of the Cave''
birth date	c. 573 C.E.
birth place	Mecca
death date	c. 634 C.E.
death place	Medina
venerated in	Islam
influences	Prophets of Islam
influenced	Countless future Muslim leaders and clerics
attributes	}}

A short time after returning from the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad became ill. In his fatal illness, Muhammad came out with a piece of cloth tied around his head and sat on the pulpit. After thanking and praising God he said,ﺇ ﻥ ﺍ ﷲ ﺧﻴﺮ ﻋﺒﺪﺍ ﺑﻴﻦ ﺍﻟﺪ ﻧﻴﺎ ﻭ ﺑﻴﻦ ﻣﺎ ﻋﻨﺪ ﻩ ﻓﺎ ﺧﺘﺎ ﺭ ﺫ ﻟﻚ ﺍﻟﻌﺒﺪ ﻣﺎ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺍﷲ "Allah has given one of His Slaves the choice of receiving the splendor and luxury of the worldly life whatever he likes or to accept the good which is with Allah. So he has chosen that good which is with Allah."

Abu Bakr wept profusely and said, "Our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for you." The companions were astonished by this (they wondered why Abu Bakr wept), and the people said, "Look at this old man! Allah's Apostle talks about a Slave of Allah to whom He has given the option to choose either the splendor of this worldly life or the good which is with Him, while he says "our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for you". It turned out Muhammad himself was that servant, as Abu Bakr later told the companions.

Muhammad continued:

No doubt, I am indebted to Abu Bakr more than to anybody else regarding both his companionship and his wealth. And if I had to take a Khalil from my followers, I would certainly have taken Abu Bakr, but the fraternity of Islam is sufficient. Let no Door of the Mosque remain open, except the door of Abu Bakr

The good referred in the first part means the good in the hereafter. Khalil means intimate friend. The door referred to here is the door to the mosque of Muhammad. When the fever developed he directed Abu Bakr to go to the war following Usama who was 18. When Muhammad died Muslims gathered in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi and there were suppressed sobs and sighs. Abu Bakr came from his house at As-Sunh (a village) on a horse where he had been with his new wife. He dismounted and entered the Prophet's Mosque, but did not speak to anyone until he entered upon 'Aa'isha. He went straight to Muhammad who was covered with Hibra cloth (a kind of Yemenite cloth). He then uncovered Muhammad's face and bowed over him and kissed him and wept, saying, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, has come upon you." 'Umar was making a sermon to the people saying, "By Allah, he is not dead but has gone to his Lord as Musa ibn Imran went and remained hidden from his people for forty days. Musa returned after it was said that he had died. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah will come back and he will cut off the hands and legs of those who claim his death."

Abu Bakr arrived and said, "Sit down, O 'Umar!" But 'Umar refused to sit down. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left Umar. Abu Bakr said, "To proceed, if anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has passed away, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah said, "And Muhammad is but a messenger; the messengers have come before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful." (3.144)

'Umar said, "By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment of hearing him reciting it, declaring that Muhammad had passed away."

Other ahadith on the virtues of Abubakr[link]

There are many ahadith that mention the virtues and special position of Abu Bakr:

Abu Huraira reported that Muhammad said, "There is not anyone who may have been kind to us, or helped us without my returning to him (his favor) except Abu Bakr. The kindness that he has shown us, only Allah will reward him for that on the Day of Resurrection. No one's property has been of benefit to me as much as Abu Bakr's. And if I were to take a Khaleel (close friend from my companions) then I would take Abu Bakr as one. But you must know that I am Allah's Khaleel.

Ayshah reported that Muhammad said, "It does not behoove a people who have Abu Bakr among them to have anybody other than him as their imam.

Ayshah also reported that the Muhammad said to her: "Call your father (Abu Bakr) and brother [`Abd al-Rahman] here so I will put something down in writing, for truly I fear lest someone forward a claim or form some ambition, and Allah and the believers refuse anyone other than Abu Bakr." from Sahih Muslim

Jubayr ibn Mut'im reported that a woman came and spoke to Muhammad about a matter. He asked her to come back later some time. She said, "Tell me if I come later and do not find you?" Jubayr ibn Mut'im said that it seemed that she meant he may not be alive when she came back. He said, "If you do not find me then go to Abu Bakr."

Abu Hurairah reported that Muhammad said, "Jibreel came to me, held my hand and pointed out to me the gate of Paradise through which my Ummah will enter it." Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allah! I wish that I had been with you and seen the gate!" So, Muhammad said, "Know, O Abu Bakr, you will be the first of my Ummah to enter Paradise."

Ibn Umar said that one day, Muhammad came out and entered the masjid, Abu Bakr and Umar with him, to his right and left. Muhammad had held their hands and he said, "The three of us will be raised on the Day of Resurrection in this way."

Abu Saeed al Khudri reported that Muhammad said: "Every prophet has two wazeer (ministers) from the dwellers of the heaven (angels) and two wazeer from the inhabitants of the earth. So, my wazeer from the dwellers of heaven are Jibrael and Mikael and my wazeer from the earthlings are Abu Bakr and Umar."

Election of Abu Bakr to Caliphate[link]

After Muhammad's death, previously dormant tensions between the Meccan immigrants, the Muhajirun, and the Medinan converts, the Ansar, threatened to break out and split the Ummah. Other Arabic tribes also wished to revert to local leadership and split from Medina's control. In some places, people claiming prophethood started to establish leaderships to oppose Medina, e.g. Al-Aswad Al-Ansi and Musaylimah. All of which are events that lead to splitting the Muslim community. The Ansar, the leaders of the tribes of Medina, met in a hall or house called saqifah, to discuss whom they would support as their new leader. When Abu Bakr was informed of the meeting, he, Umar, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and a few others rushed to prevent the Ansar from making a premature decision. Accounts of this meeting vary greatly. All agree that during the meeting Umar declared that Abu Bakr should be the new leader, and declared his allegiance to Abu Bakr, followed by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and thus Abu Bakr became the first Muslim caliph, who was given the title, ''Khalifa-tul-Rasool'' (''Successor of messenger of Allah''), a title only accepted by Sunni Muslims. Shias criticise Abu Bakr for forsaking the funeral of Muhammad to attend the political gathering, and believe that Muhammad had already appointed Ali in his lifetime as his successor. This view portrays Abu Bakr and Umar as plotters in a political coup against the Alids. The Ismaili Shia Institute researcher Wilfred Madelung portrays Abu Bakr as a political opportunist whose character as the founder of Sunni Islam has been extensively embellished by subsequent kings and emperors (caliphs) making it difficult to openly criticise him. Some sects of Islam like Shia strongly believe that Abu Bakr deceived Ali, keeping Ali from his right as khilafat since he was true successor to Muhammad.

Sunnis on the other hand believe that all the Muslims in Madina gave their allegiance to Abu Bakr, including Ali. All Sunnis acknowledged Abu Bakr as the rightful successor to Muhammad. On account of him being one of the earliest of companions, and on account of his aiding and supporting Muhammad in his mission from the very early days of Islam, from his deep knowledge and piety from having spent so many years with Muhammad, and on account of so many indications that Muhammad gave that Abu Bakr is the right successor. Examples of these include Muhammad specifically designating Abu Bakr to lead the Muslims in prayer in his last days when he was too ill to lead the prayer. Muhammad also appointed to Abu Bakr to lead the pilgrimage to Makka. There was also a time when a woman came to Muhammad with a question and he asked her to come back tomorrow, she then asked "What if I do not find you", and he then said "Go to Abu Bakr". According to Sunnis all of these show the virtue of Abu Bakr and his being the rightful successor.

Reign as a Caliph[link]

After assuming the office of Caliphate Abu Bakr's first address was as follow:

I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is loyalty and disregard for truth is treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong with me until I have secured his rights, if God wills; and the strong amongst you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if God wills. Obey me so long as I obey God and His Messenger. But if I disobey God and His Messenger, ye owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, God have mercy upon you.

Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for 27 months, during which he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout Arabia in the successful campaign against Apostasy. In the last months of his rule, he launched campaigns against the Sassanid Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and thus set in motion a historical trajectory (continued later on by Umar and Uthman) that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. He had little time to pay attention to the administration of state, though state affairs remained stable during his Caliphate. On the advice of Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah he agreed to have a salary from state treasury and abolish his cloth trade.

Ridda Wars[link]

Troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakr's succession, threatening the unity and stability of the new community and state. Several Arabic tribes revolted against Abu Bakr. In four of the six centres of the insurrection, the rebels rallied around people who claimed to be prophets, the most prominent among these was Musaylimah. The tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad only, and that with Muhammad's death, their allegiance had ended. This was common practice in pre-Islamic Arabia. After the death of a tribal leader the alliance with the tribe of that leader was regarded as having ended. Thus several tribes acted in accordance to this pre-Islamic practice and refused to pay ''Zakat''. Abu Bakr, however, insisted that they had not just submitted to a simple human leader but joined the Muslim religious community, of which he was the new head. So, in contrast to pre-Islamic times, their allegiance was not seen as having ended at all.

This was the start of the ''Ridda wars'' (Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy). The apostasy of central Arabia was led by self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah of in al-Yamama, while the other centers were to the south and east in Bahrain, Oman, Mahra region and Yemen. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly and formed the Muslim army into 11 corps. The strongest corps, and this was the main punch of the Muslim army, was that of Khalid ibn al-Walid and was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes. Abu Bakr's plan was first to clear the area of west and central Arabia (the area nearest Medina), then tackle Malik ibn Nuwayrah, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous enemy Musaylimah. After series of successful campaigns, Khalid ibn al-Walid finally defeated Musaylimah and his tribe, the Banu Hanifa, in the Battle of Yamama. The Campaign of the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year after Hijra. The year 12 Hijri dawned, on 18 March 633, with Arabia united under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina.

This phenomenon was later regarded as primarily a religious movement by Arabic historians. However, the early sources indicate that in reality it was mainly political. After all, the revolting Arabs only refused to pay Zakat (Charity), but they did not refuse to perform the salah. This however is disputed and explained by Muslim scholars in that the dictation of Zakat was one of the Five pillars of Islam and its denial or withholding is an act of denial of a cornerstone of faith, and is therefore an act of apostasy. Bernard Lewis states that the fact that Islamic Historians have regarded this as a primarily religious movement was due to a later interpretation of events in terms of a theological world-view. The opponents of the Muslim armies were not only apostates, but also - if not most of them - tribes which were largely or even completely independent from the Muslim community. However, these revolts also had a religious aspect: Medina had become the centre of a social and political system, of which religion was an integral part; consequently it was inevitable that any reaction against this system should have a religious aspect.

The ''Qur'an'' — preservation[link]

According to Sunni Islam, Abu Bakr was instrumental in preserving the Qur'an in written form. It is said that after the hard-won victory over Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama fought in 632, Umar (the later ''Caliph'' Umar), saw that many of the Muslims who had memorized the ''Qur'an'' had died in battle. Fearing that the Qur'an may be lost or corrupted, Umar requested the Caliph Abu Bakr to authorize the compilation and preservation of the Book in written format. After initial hesitation, Abu Bakr made a committee headed by Zayd ibn Thabit which included the memorizers of the Qur'an and Umar and to collect all verses of the Book. After collecting all Qur'anic verses from texts in the possession of various sahaba, Zayd ibn Thabit and members of his committee verified the reading by comparing with those who had memorized the Qur'an. After they were satisfied that they had not missed out any verse or made any mistakes in reading or writing it down, the text was written down as one single manuscript and presented in a book form to the Caliph Abu Bakr. It is believed that this process happened within one year of the death of Muhammad when most of his sahaba (companions) were still alive.

Prior to his death, Abu Bakr gave this authorized copy of the Qur'an to Umar - his successor. It remained with him throughout his tenure as Caliph (10 years). Prior to his death, Umar gave this Book to his daughter Hafsa bint Umar, who was one of the wives of Muhammad. Umar did not nominate his successor on his deathbed, and thus preferred to leave this copy with Hafsa so as not to indicate his personal preference of who would be the next caliph. Later on, it became the basis of Uthman Ibn Affan's definitive text of the ''Qur'an'' which was published far and wide merely 18 years after the death of Muhammad. Later historians give Uthman Ibn Affan the principal credit for re-verification and publishing the ''Qur'an''. Shi'as reject the idea that Abu Bakr or Umar were instrumental in the collection or preservation of the ''Qur'an''.

Military expansion[link]

Once the rebellions had been put down, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest. Whether or not he intended a full-out imperial conquest is hard to say; he did, however, set in motion a historical trajectory that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. Abu Bakr began with Iraq, the richest province of Persian Empire. He sent his most brilliant general Khalid ibn al-Walid to invade the Sassanid Empire.

Conquest of Sassanid Persian Empire[link]

Abu Bakr was strong enough to attack the Persian Empire in the north-east and the Byzantine Empire in the north-west. There were three purposes for this conquest: 1. Along the borders between Arabia and these two great empires were numerous Arab tribes leading a nomadic life and forming a buffer-like state between the Persians and Romans. Abu Bakr hoped that these tribes might accept Islam and help their brethren in spreading it. 2. The Persian and Roman taxation laws were arbitrary and oppressive; Abu Bakr believed that they might be persuaded to help the Muslims, who sought to release them from injustice. 3. Two gigantic empires surrounded Arabia, and it was unsafe to remain passive with these two powers on its borders. Abu Bakr hoped that by attacking Iraq and Syria he might remove the danger from the borders of the Islamic State. A tribal chief of north eastern Arabia, Muthanna ibn Harithah, raided the Persian towns in Iraq. With the success of the raids, a considerable amount of booty was collected. Muthanna ibn Harithah went to Medina to inform Caliph Abu Bakr about his success and was appointed commander of his people, after which he began to raid deeper into Iraq. Using the mobility of his light cavalry he could easily raid any town near the desert and within moments could disappear again in to the desert, into which the Sassanid army was unable to chase them. Muthanna’s acts made Abu Bakr think about the expansion of the Rashidun Empire.

Abu Bakr started with the invasion of Iraq. The problems faced by Abu Bakr were that the Arabs feared the Persians with a deep, unreasoning fear which ran in the tribal consciousness as a racial complex and was the result of centuries of Persian power and glory. In return the Persian regarded the Arab with contempt. It was important not to suffer a defeat, for that would confirm and strengthen this instinctive fear. To make certain of victory, Abu Bakr decided on two measures; that the invading army would consist entirely of volunteers; and he put in command of the army his best general Khalid ibn al-Walid. After defeating the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, Khalid was still at Al-Yamama when Abu Bakr sent him orders to invade the Sassanid Empire. Making Al-Hirah the objective of Khalid, Abu Bakr sent reinforcements and ordered the tribal chiefs of north eastern Arabia, Muthanna ibn Harithah, Mazhur bin Adi, Harmala and Sulma to operate under the command of Khalid along with their men. In about third week of March 633 (first week of Muharram 12th Hijrah) Khalid set out from Al-Yamama with an army of 10,000. The tribal chiefs, with 2,000 warriors each, joined Khalid; Thus Khalid entered the Persian Empire with 18,000 troops.

After entering Iraq with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles: Battle of Chains, fought in April 633; Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633; Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633 (where he successfully used a double envelopment manoeuvre), and Battle of Ullais, fought in the mid of May 633. By now the Persian court already disturbed by the internal problems, was down and out. In the last week of May 633, Hira capital city of Iraq fell to the Muslims after resistance in the Siege of Hira. After resting his armies, in June 633 Khalid laid siege of Al Anbar, which resisted and was eventually surrendered after a siege of a few weeks in July 633 after the Siege of Al-Anbar.

Khalid then moved towards the south, and conquered the city of Ein ul Tamr after the Battle of Ein ut Tamr in the last week of July 633. By now, almost the whole of Iraq (Euphrates region) was under Islamic control. Khalid got a call of help from northern Arabia at Daumat-ul-Jandal, where another Muslim Arab general, Ayaz bin Ghanam, was trapped among the rebel tribes. Khalid went to Daumat-ul-jandal and defeated the rebels in the Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal in the last week of August 633. Returning from Arabia, he got news of the assembling of a large Persian army. He decided to defeat them all separately to avoid the risk of defeat to a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni and Muzieh. Khalid devised a brilliant plan to destroy the Persian forces. He divided his army in three units, and attacked the Persian forces in brilliantly coordinated attacks from three different sides at night, starting from the Battle of Muzieh, then the Battle of Sanni, and finally the Battle of Zumail during November 633. These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Iraq, and left the Persian capital Ctesiphon unguarded and vulnerable for Muslims attack, before attacking the Persian Capital Khalid decided to eliminate all Persian forces from south and west, he accordingly marched against the border city of Firaz, where he defeated the combined forces of the Sassanid Persians, Byzantine Romans and Christian Arabs in the Battle of Firaz in December 633. This was the last battle in his conquest of Iraq. While Khalid was on his way to attack Qadissiyah, a key fort in the way to Persian Capital Ctesiphon, he received the letter of Caliph Abu Bakr and was sent to Roman front in Syria to assume the command of Muslim armies to conquer Roman Syria.

Invasion of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire[link]

With a successful invasion of Sassanid Persian province of Iraq, Abu Bakr’s confidence grew. He concentrated four large corps at Zhu Qissah and sent them to Roman Syria. Each corps was assigned its own commander and its own target. The leaders of the different corps received intelligence of a concentration of large Byzantine armies at Ajnadayn while on the march. The army stopped its advance and the leaders wrote to Abu Bakr for help. Since the Muslim position in Iraq was stable by now, the Caliph accordingly wrote to Khalid to take half of his forces of Iraq to Syria and to assume command of all Muslim armies in Byzantine Syria. The Byzantine province of Syria in those days consisted of modern day Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and southern Turkey. There were two routes towards Syria from Iraq, one was via Daumat-ul-Jandal and the other was through Mesopotamia passing though Ar Raqqah. Since it was believed that the Muslim armies in Syria were in need of urgent reinforcement, Khalid avoided the conventional route to Syria via Daumat ul Jandal because it was a long route and would take weeks to reach Syria. He also did not take the Mesopotamian route because Roman garrisons held northern Syria and northern Mesopotamia. A conflict with these Roman forces would have forced Khalid to spend too much time while Muslim armies were being outflanked in Syria. Khalid selected, instead, a short and unconventional route to Syria, passing though the Syrian Desert. Although probably hyperbole, some sources state that his soldiers marched for two days without a single drop of water before reaching an oasis that Khalid had selected in advance. Khalid thus entered Northern Syria at a point where he was least expected, catching the Byzantine forces on their right flank. More recent historians have suggested that this surprises attack unhinged the Byzantine defenses in Syria.

Khalid entered Syria in June 634 and quickly captured the border forts of

Sawa, Arak, Tadmur, Sukhnah. Qaryatayn and Hawarin after the battles of Qaryatayn and Hawarin. After dealing with all these cities, Khalid moved towards Damascus, passing though a mountain pass which is now known as Sanita-al-Uqab (Uqab pass) after the name of Khalid's army standard. From here he moved away from Damascus, towards Bosra, the capital of Ghassanid Arab kingdom, a vassal of Eastern Roman empire. He had ordered other Muslim commanders to concentrate their armies at Bosra, which were still near the Syrian-Arabia border. At Maraj-al-Rahab, Khalid defeated a Ghassanid army of Christian Arabs in a quick Battle of Marj-al-Rahit. Meanwhile Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah, the supreme commander of Muslim armies in Syria had ordered Shurhabil ibn Hasana to attack Bosra.The later laid siege of Bosra with his small army of 4000 men. Roman and Ghassanid Arab garrison, noticing that this might be the advance guard of the larger Muslim army to come, decided to attack and destroy Shurhabil’s army. They came out of the fortified city and attacked Shurhabil, surrounding him from all sides; Khalid reached the arena with his advance guard cavalry and saved the day for Shurhabil. The combined forces of Khalid, Shurhabil and Abu Ubaidah then laid the siege of Bosra, which surrendered some time in mid July 634. thus effectively ending the Ghassanid Dynasty.

Here Khalid took over the command of Muslim armies in Syria from Abu Ubaidah, as per the instructions of Caliph. The massive Byzantine armies were concentrating at Ajnadayn to push the invading armies back to desert. Early Muslim sources have mentioned its size to be 90,000, while most of the modern historians doubt the figures, but consider this battle to be the key to breaking the Byzantine power in Syria. According to the instructions of Khalid all Muslim corps concentrated at Ajnadayn, where they fought a decisive battle against Byzantine on 30 July 634. Defeat at the Battle of Ajnadayn, left Syria vulnerable to the Muslim invaders. Khalid decided to capture Damascus, the Byzantine stronghold. At Damascus Thomas, son in law of Emperor Heraculis, was in charge. Receiving the intelligence of Khalid's march towards Damascus he prepared for the defences of Damascus. He wrote to Emperor Heraculis for reinforcement, who was at Emesa that time. Moreover Thomas, in order to get more time for preparation of a siege, sent the armies to delay or if possible halt Khalid's march to Damascus, one such army was defeated at Battle of Yaqusa in mid-August 634 near Lake Tiberias 90 miles from Damascus, another army that halted the Muslim advance to Damascus was defeated in Battle of Maraj as Saffer on 19 August 634. These engagements delayed Khalid’s advance and gave Thomas enough time to prepare for siege. Meanwhile Heraculis's reinforcement had reached the city, which he had dispatched after the bad news of Ajnadyn. Before Heraculis's another regiment could reach Damascus, Khalid had finally reached Damascus. Khalid reached Damascus on 20 August and besieged the city. To isolate the city from rest of the region, Khalid placed the detachments south on the road to Palestine and in north at Damascus-Emesa route, and several other smaller detachments on routes towards Damascus. Heraculis's reinforcement was intercepted and routed at the Battle of Sanita-al-Uqab, 20 miles from Damascus. Khalid's forces withstood three Roman sallies that tried to break the siege. Khalid finally attacked and conquered Damascus on 18 September 634 after a 30-day siege. According to some sources the siege lasted for four or six months. Heraculis, having received the news of the fall of Damascus, left for Antioch from Emesa. The citizens were given peace on the terms of annual tribute; the Byzantine army was given a three-day peace to go as far as they could. After the three-day deadline was over, the Muslim cavalry under Khalid's command attacked the Roman army, catching up to them using an unknown shortcut, at the Battle of Maraj-al-Debaj, 190 miles north of Damascus. Abu Bakr died during the siege of Damascus and Umar became the new Caliph. He dismissed his cousin Khalid ibn al-Walid from the command and appointed Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah the new commander in chief of Islamic army in Syria. Abu Ubaidah got the letter of his appointment and Khalid's disposal during the siege, but he delayed the announcement until the city was conquered.

Death[link]

On 23 August 634, Abu Bakr fell sick and did not recover due to his old age. There are two accounts about the sickness of Abu Bakr. One account states that 8 August 634 was a cold day and when Abu Bakr took a bath, he caught a chill. Another account indicates that, about a year before, along with some other companions, Harith bin Kaladah and Attab bin Usaid, he had eaten some poisoned food which did not affect him for a year.

Abu Bakr developed high fever and was confined to bed. His illness was prolonged and when his condition worsened he felt that his end was near. Realizing his death was near, he sent for Ali and requested him to perform his ghusl since Ali had also done it for Muhammad.

Abu Bakr felt that he should nominate his successor so that the issue should not be a cause of dissension among the Muslims after his death, though there was already controversy over Ali not having been appointed.

He appointed Umar as his successor after discussing with some companions. Some of them favored the nomination and others disliked it, due to the tough nature of Umar.

Abu Bakr thus dictated his last testament to Uthman Ibn Affan as follows:

Abu Bakr next asked Aisha as to how many pieces of cloth were used for Muhammad's shroud. Aisha said that three pieces had been used. Abu Bakr thereupon desired the same number for his own shroud. On Monday 23 August 634 Abu Bakr died. The funeral prayer was led by Umar. He was buried the same night by the side of Muhammad's grave in Aisha's house near Al-Masjid al-Nabawi

Family[link]

:Father: Uthman ibn Amir Abu Quhafa :Mother: Umm al-Khair Salma bint Shakhr ibn Amir ibn Ka'ab ibn Sa'ad ibn Taim ::Brother: Mu'taq (presumably the middle) ::Brother: Utaiq (presumably the youngest) ::Brother: Quhafah ibn Uthman ::Himself: Atiq (presumably the eldest) ::Wife: Qutaylah bint Abd-al-Uzza ibn 'Abd ibn As'ad (divorced) :::Daughter: Asma bint Abu Bakr ::::Grandson Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr - ''His birth spread happiness amongst Muslims, killed by Hajjaj bin Yousef. ::::Grandson Abdullah ibn Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr ::::Grandson Abu-Atiq Muhammad ibn Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr ::::Grandson Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr ::::Grandson Urwa ibn al-Zubayr ::::Granddaughter Hafsa bint Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr :::::Great grandson Hisham ibn Urwa :::::Great grandson Aba-Sulaiman ibn Muhammad Abu Nauman ibn Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr :::::Great grandson Talha ibn Abdullah ibn Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr :::Son: Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ::Wife: Um Ruman bint Amir ibn Uwaymir ibn Zuhal ibn Dahman (from Kinanah) :::Step son: Tufail ibn Abdullah, The son of Abd-Allah ibn Harith :::Son: Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr :::Daughter: 'Aa'ishah :::Son in law: Muhammad, tree ::Wife: Asma' bint Umays ibn Ma'ad ibn Taym al-Khath'amiyyah (previously wife of Jafar ibn Abi Talib and after Abu Bakr's death, became the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib) :::Son: Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ::Wife: Habibah bint Kharijah ibn Zayd ibn Abi Zuhayr (from the tribe of Banu al-Haris ibn al-Khazraj :::Daughter: Umm Khultum bint Abu Bakr.

Today there are many families which are the descendants of Abu Bakr. Most of them are known by the name Siddiqui And Al-Atiqi's Or Al-Atiqi (Al-Ateeqi) ((In Arabic)). But they are also known by some other names in different localities. For example, In East Ethiopia, Siddiqis are usually called Qallu, which means ''people of the religion'', as they were the first to bring Islam to this area. In Somalia, they are commonly known as Sheekhaal and they are well respected by other Somali clans. In Bangladesh, they are known by the name of Qureshi. There are also Al-Atiqi or Atiqi Families in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other places in the Arabia Peninsula. All the descendants of Abu Bakr, their Ancestors are: Abdurahman Ibn Abu Bakr and Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr. The Al-Bakri Family in Egypt are the descendants of Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr while the sheekhaal or Fiqi Umar Family found in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya and the Aala Atiq Families found in the Arabia Peninsula are the descendants of Abdurahman Ibn Abu Bakr.

Legacy[link]

Abu Bakr became the Caliph on 8 June 632 and he died on 23 August 634. Though the period of his caliphate covers only two years, two months and fifteen days, it included successful invasions of the two most powerful empires of the time: the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine Empire.

Abu Bakr had the distinction of being the first Caliph in the history of Islam and also the first Caliph to nominate a successor. He was the only Caliph in the history of Islam who refunded to the state treasury at the time of his death the entire amount of the allowance that he had drawn during the period of his caliphate.

He is revered for being the first Muslim ruler to establish:

Bayt al-mal

The Crown Pasture

He has the distinction of purchasing the land for Al-Masjid al-Nabawi.

Abu Bakr had given up drinking wine even in the time before Islam. He was the foremost genealogist of the Quraysh and was well accomplished at interpreting dreams according to Ibn Sirin.

Sunni view[link]

Sunni Muslims also consider Abu Bakr as one of al-`Ashara al-Mubasharîn fi-l-Janna (The Ten Promised Paradise) whom Muhammad had testified were destined for Paradise. He is regarded as Khalifa Rasulullah ''The successor of Messenger of Allah'', and first of the Rightly Guided Caliphs - i.e. Rashidun and being the rightful successor to Muhammad. Abu Bakr had always been the closest friend and confidant of Muhammad throughout his life. He was always there beside Muhammad at every major event. It was Abu Bakr's wisdom that Muhammad always honored. Abu Bakr is regarded to be among best persons from the followers of Muhammad, as Umar ibn Khattab stated that ‘If the faith of Abu Bakr was weighed against the faith of the people of the earth, the faith of Abu Bakr would outweigh the others.’ During the last few weeks of his life, Muhammad preferred Abu Bakr to lead the Muslims in prayer while he was ill. Upon Muhammad's death, it was Abu Bakr who demonstrated sagacity to keep the ranks of the Muslims together. Muhammad had not left behind a clear will on who would succeed him. There was dissension between the two original tribes of Medina, namely Aws and Khazraj regarding who would become the ruler over the Muslims after Muhammad. This even led to drawing of swords between them. Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah rushed to the spot where the dispute almost turned bloody, and delivered his famous speech to show the path of unity between the Muslims and declared that Umar should become the first caliph. In turn, Umar declared his allegiance to Abu Bakr saying that there is no better man amongst the Muslims after Muhammad. The majority of the sahaba (companions of Muhammad) assembled there followed suit and pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr. Sunnis point out this fact of avoiding bloodshed between Muslims and preserving the unity of the state as of paramount importance, or it would have led to self-destruction of the new state. The famous scholar Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal also stated that he is among the foremost companions (sahaba) of Muhammad.

Shi'a view[link]

Shi'a Muslims have a different view of Abu Bakr. They believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib was supposed to assume the Caliphate, and that he had been publicly and unambiguously appointed by Muhammad as his successor at Ghadir Khumm. It is also believed that Abu Bakr and Umar conspired to take over power in the Muslim nation after Muhammad's death, in a coup d'état against Ali. The Shi'a do not view Abu Bakr's being with Muhammad in the cave when the two fled Mecca as a meritorious act and indeed find significant criticsm of Abu Bakr in the Qur'anic verse of the cave.

The Shi'a criticize Abu Bakr for an alleged dispute between him and Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah, that was set off by Abu Bakr and Umar's setting fire to and storming her house, and eventuated in her becoming angry with Abu Bakr and refusing to talk with him for the rest of her life; she died a few weeks later. Furthermore, Abu Bakr had refused to grant her the lands of Fadak which Muhammad had given to her as a gift before his death. He refused to accept the testimony of her witnesses, so she claimed the land would still belong to her as inheritance from her deceased father. However, Abu Bakr replied by saying that Muhammad had told him that the Prophets of God do not leave as inheritance any worldly possessions and on this basis he refused to give her the lands of Fadak. Some Shi'a also accuse him of participating in the burning of the house of Ali and Fatima. (''see Fadak'')

The Shi'a believe that Abu Bakr sent Khalid ibn Walid to crush those who were in favour of Ali's caliphate (''see Ridda Wars''). The Shi'a strongly refute the idea that Abu Bakr or Umar were instrumental in the collection or preservation of the ''Qur'an'', claiming that they should have accepted the copy of the book in the possession of Ali

Non-Muslim views[link]

Edward Gibbon wrote about Abu Bakr as:

The moderation, and the veracity of Abu Bakr confirmed the new religion, and furnished an example for invitation.

William Muir states that:

Abu Bakr's judgment was sound and impartial; his conversation agreeable and his demeanor affable and much sought after by the Quraysh and he was popular throughout the city.... The faith of Abu Bakr was the greatest guarantee of Muhammad's sincerity in the beginning of his career, and indeed, in a modified sense, throughout his life. To have such a person as a staunch adherent of his claim, was for Muhammad a most important step.

William Montgomery Watt writes:

From 622 to 632 he (Abu Bakr) was Mohammed's chief adviser, but had no prominent public functions except that he conducted the pilgrimage to Mecca in 631, and led the public prayers in Medina during Mohammed's last illness.

Hadith transmitted by him[link]

It has been transmitted from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that Abu Bakr related, "I said to the Prophet: 'O Messenger of Allah! Teach me a supplication which I may make in prayer.' He replied: 'Say: Oh Allah! I have done my soul a great harm and no one can forgive sins except You; so grant me forgiveness with Your Pleasure, and have Pity on me. You are Al Ghaffur, Ar-Rahim.'"

In al-Adab al-Mafrud of Imam Al-Bukhari and in ibn Majah and the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, it has been reported from Abu Bakr that Muhammad said, "Stick to speaking the truth because truth is a companion of birr (righteousness) and both these are in Paradise; and abstain from lying because it is a companion of fujur (sin) and both these are in Hell."

It is reported in Sunan Abu Dawood, Ahmad, and Tirmidhi that Abu Bakr said, "O people! You recite the verse (5:105): "O you who believe! Guard your own souls; if you follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray", but you misinterpret it and do not know what it means. I once heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'If people see someone practicing injustice and do not set him right, Allah will almost certainly visit them all with severe punishment." Another narration goes, "If they see evil practiced and do not attempt to change it..."

According to a narration of Abu Bakr as reported in Jami al Tirmidhi, Tafsir ibn Jarir and elsewhere, when Muhammed recited this verse (4:123), "And whoever does evil shall be requited for it" to him, he felt as if his back was broken. When Muhammed noticed the reaction on him, he asked, "What is the matter with you?" Thereupon, Abu Bakr submitted, "Ya RasulAllah, there is hardly anyone among us who can claim to have done nothing bad in one's life. Now if every evil deed has to be requited, who can hope to go unscathed from among us? He said, "O Abu Bakr, you and your believing brothers need not worry about it because worldly hardships that you face shall make amends for your sins." As it appears in another narration, he said, "O Abu Bakr, do you not get sick? Are you never tested by distress and sorrow?" Abu Bakr said, "No doubt, all this does happen." Then he said, "There, this is the requital of whatever evil you may have done."

See also[link]

Bodla

List of Sahaba

Sunni view of the Sahaba

Muadh ibn Jabal

References[link]

External links[link]

Muslim:

* QuilliamPress.com: Abu Bakr

* AbuBakr.com

* Detailed Life of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

* Abu Bakr's life

* Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order biography of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

* Greatness of Abu Bakr

* Lengthy biography of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq by Adam Walker

Urdu Audio

* Virtues of Abu Bakr Urdu Audio

* Abu Bakr appearing in Narrations/Hadith recorded by Imam Bukhari - www.SearchTruth.com

* Abu bakr's appointment as Khalifah

* Searchable Family tree of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq by Happy Books

Non-Muslim:

* quotes

* Abu Bakr

Unclassified:

* Abu Bakr

* Abu Bakr from Islamonline

* Sirah of Abu Bakr (Radia'Allahuanhu) Part 1 by Shaykh Sayyed Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Husayni Al-Ninowy.

Shia:

*Abu Bakr

Category:573 births Category:634 deaths Category:Arab people Category:Converts to Islam Category:Rashidun Category:Sahabah Category:7th-century caliphs Category:Sahaba witnessed the Battle of the Trench

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name	The Ummah
background	group_or_band
origin	New York, New York, U.S.Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
genre	Hip hop
years active	1996–1999
label	Freelance
current members	Q-TipJay DeeAli Shaheed Muhammad
notable instruments	}}

The Ummah was a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and the late Jay Dee (now known as J Dilla) of the Detroit-based group Slum Village. Occasional members included Raphael Saadiq, and D'Angelo. In addition to producing nearly the entirety of A Tribe Called Quest's fourth and fifth album, the Ummah provided backing tracks for a notable array of hip hop and contemporary R&B; artists, including Busta Rhymes, Whitney Houston, Keith Murray, the Brand New Heavies, Janet Jackson, and Jon B. The group was so named because two of its members (Tip and Ali) are devout Muslims. The word "ummah" is Arabic for "community", "nation", or "brotherhood".

Biography[link]

Background [link]

The collective took shape around 1995, when veteran keyboardist Amp Fiddler introduced Jay Dee (who at the time was shopping for a deal for his group) to Q-Tip. Tip was impressed enough by Jay Dee's soulful productions to invite him as an addition to Tribe's music-production team, which until then consisted of Tip and Ali Shaheed.

Production work[link]

Its first work, ''Beats, Rhymes and Life'', was criticized for moving away from the group's earlier, denser, and bottom heavy sound exemplified by tracks such as "Scenario" and "Oh My God." The new sound, which now leaned towards a more laid-back and polished tone, would be embraced a little more with the release of Tribe's "Find A Way" from its fifth and final album, ''The Love Movement'', although the album itself received a lukewarm reception, and no second proper single or video was released.

Following this and the split of A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip and Jay Dee continued to collaborate under the Ummah moniker, producing almost all of Tip's solo album ''Amplified'', which included two tracks from DJ Scratch. For several reasons, including label complications, Tip's solo career became largely inactive while Jay Dee and D'Angelo went on to form the Soulquarians with other like-minded artists. Although A Tribe Called Quest since formed somewhat of a reunion, releasing "ICU (Doin' It)" in 2003, the possibility of the group once again using the Ummah name for future productions seems unlikely, especially since member Jay Dee's death on February 10, 2006, from complications of Lupus.

Despite the well-known projects and collaborations the collective did, people would erroneously assume that The Ummah was another name, or perhaps even an alter-ego of Q-Tip. As a result, contributions by J Dilla would go overlooked and unnoticed. Looking back at the collective's formation and history, in an interview, Q-Tip stated:

Discography[link]

Albums [link]

A Tribe Called Quest - ''Beats, Rhymes and Life'' (1996, Jive, RIAA certification: Platinum)

A Tribe Called Quest - ''The Love Movement'' (1998, Jive, RIAA certification: Gold)

Q-Tip - ''Amplified'' (1999, Arista, RIAA certification: Gold)

Selected production[link]

1996 [link]

Da Bush Babees - "Gravity", "3 MCs"

*''Gravity''

Grant Green - "Down Here On The Ground"

*Various artists - ''The New Groove: The Blue Note Remix Project Volume 1''

Keith Murray - "Dangerous Ground", "The Rhyme (Remix)"

*''Enigma''

Busta Rhymes - "Ill Vibe", "Still Shinin'", "Keep It Moving"

*''The Coming''

1997[link]

A Tribe Called Quest - "Same Ol' Thing"

*Various artists - ''Men in Black: The Album''

Janet Jackson - "Got 'Til It's Gone (Ummah's Uptown Saturday Night Mix)", "Got 'Til It's Gone (Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix)"

*12"/CD single

Michael Jackson - "HIStory (The Ummah Radio Mix)", "HIStory (The Ummah Urban Mix)", "History (The Ummah DJ Mix)"

*12"/CD singles

Mint Condition - "Let Me Be The One (Ummah Remix)"

*12"/CD single

Busta Rhymes - "So Hardcore"

*''When Disaster Strikes''

Brand New Heavies - "Sometimes (The Ummah Remix)"

*12"/CD single

Jon B. - "Cool Relax"

*''Cool Relax''

1998[link]

Jamiroquai - "Deeper Underground (The Ummah Mix)"

*12"/CD single

Towa Tei - "Happy (Q-Tip Remix Dub)"

*12"/CD single

Whitney Houston - "Fine"

*''Whitney: The Greatest Hits''

References[link]

Category:J Dilla Category:Hip hop record producers Category:African American record producers

sv:The Ummah