Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung (born 26 December 1930) is a scholar of Islam. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where he completed his early education at Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium.

His family moved to the United States in (or after?) 1947, and he studied at Georgetown University. In 1952, he went to Egypt and stayed there for a year. During his stay the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, initiated by the Free Officers, occurred. He also met Ihsan Abbas, the famous scholar of Islamic History, there.

On leaving Egypt he went back to Germany and completed his Ph.D in 1957, working with Spuler. In 1958 he was sent to Iraq by the German government to work at its embassy there. Shortly after his arrival in Baghdad, Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrew the regime in the bloody military coup known as the 14 July Revolution. Madelung stayed in Iraq two more years. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Chicago.

Madelung was Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford from 1978 to 1998. He has written extensively on the early history of Islam, as well as on Islamic sects such as the Shi'a and the Ismailis. He has served on the editorial boards of several academic journals including the Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies. He is currently a Senior research fellow at the Institute for Ismaili Studies in London

Abu Bakr (Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafa) (Arabic: عبد الله بن أبي قحافة, Transliteration: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Quḥāfah, 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.