Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr


‘Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr was a son of Abu Bakr the first Caliph, a brother of Aisha and a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Childhood

He was born in Mecca, the son of Abu Bakr ibn Abi Quhafa, from the Taym clan of the Quraysh tribe, and of Qutaylah bint Abd-al-Uzza, who was from the Amir ibn Luayy clan. His parents were divorced soon before or soon after his birth.
When Muhammad and Abu Bakr migrated from Mecca in September 622, Abu Bakr instructed Abdallah to listen to adult conversations and to report the day's news to them at the cave on Mount Thawr each night. Abdullah duly reported that the Quraysh had offered a hundred camels to anyone who captured Muhammad. Each morning, when he left the cave, the family servant would lead a flock of sheep over the same route to cover his tracks.

Emigration to Medina

A few months later, Abdullah emigrated to Medina in the company of his stepmother and two sisters.
In 630 Abdullah fought at the Siege of Ta'if, where the Thaqafite poet, Abu Mihjan, shot him with an arrow. This wound ultimately caused his death, although he survived for nearly three years afterwards.

Marriage

He married Atiqa bint Zayd, a poet from the Adi clan of the Quraysh. This marriage was childless. It was said that Abdullah respected Atiqa's judgment more than his own and that he spent so much time with her that he neglected his duties to the Islamic state. Abu Bakr punished his son by ordering him to divorce her. Abdullah did as he was told him he was sad
I have never known a man like me divorce a woman like her,
nor any woman like her divorced for no fault of her own.
In the end, Abdullah was allowed to take Atiqa back before her waiting period was completed.

Death

Abdullah died in January 633, when his old wound from Ta'if flared up. His wife composed an elegy for him.
I vow that my soul will remain in sorrow over thee
and my skin will remain dusty.