Depending on the group of Muslims, Abu Bakr is regarded very differently. Some groups of Sufis, like the Naqshibandis, regard him as a central religious personage, and a spiritual authority. Sunnis consider him affectionately because he is the first Muslim leader after Muhammad passed away. The Shi'is object generally to any Caliph except Ali, but Abu Bakr is one of those they tolerate most. Still, they consider him to be a symbol of profound injustice, because his rule is a human one and not divinely guided, hence illegitimate and tyrannical.
Abu Bakr's early days, he is supposed to have been of the same age as Muhammad, and he was either the first or second male to covert to Islam
Abu Bakr was born in Mecca, a Quraishi of the Banu Taim clan. According to early Muslim historians, he was a merchant, and highly esteemed as a judge, as an interpreter of dreams, and as one learned in Meccan traditions. He was one of the last people anyone would have expected to convert to the......
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