The Reality of Khilafah — Page 139
Footnote from page 115 139 Ab u Bakr’s Great Love for the Holy Prophet may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him Ibn Khaldūn writes— When Ab u Bakr entered the room in which the body of the Messenger of Allah, may peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him, lay, he uncovered his face and kissed his forehead and said: ‘Let my mother and father be sacrificed for you; you have tasted the death which Allah decreed for you, and you will never taste death ever again. ’ ([ History of Ibn Khald u n, Part II,] p. 63) According to Ibn Khaldūn 1 — one of the favours Allah bestowed on Hadrat Ab u Bakr in terms of his complete nearness to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was that he, may Allah be pleased with him, was carried in the same coffin that had carried the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his tomb was made flat like the tomb of the Prophet, his grave was adjacent to the grave of the Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his head was laid level with the shoulder of the Prophet s as. The last words he spoke were: ‘Let death come to me in a state of being a Muslim and join me with the righteous. ’ ([ al-K a mil fit-T a r i kh, T a r i kh ibn al-Ath i r, Dhikr Waf a t Ab u Bakr] Part II,] p. 176) 1. Scribal error. It should be Ibn al-Ath i r. [Publisher]