The succession to the Prophet: the election of Abu Bakr The death of the prophet seemed like a catastrophe to all Muslims of the time, after all who would be able to lead such a great empire with the same values, respect and power after the prophet. It would have been easier if the prophet had simply asked someone to lead the way after his death. This article will discuss the events that led to the election of Abu Bakr as the first successor to the prophet and one of the four rightly guided caliphs. The four rightly guided caliphs were those who lived and learned from the prophet during his lifetime. The first of them was Abu Bakr, the second was Umar b. al-Khattab, the third was Uthman b. Affan and finally there was Ali b. abi-Talib. They are called “right guided” because in a sense they were righteous because of the shared beliefs and affiliation they had with the prophet. They tried as much as possible to guide the people in the way the Prophet taught and gave people the right to live, worship and pray freely even if they were not Muslims. The main problem that was occurring after the death of the prophet was that every group wanted caliphate and Abu Bakr, who was a very humble and respected man, did not want to lead and preferred that the people choose Umar b. Khattab or Abu Ubaida. Abu Bakr was one of the first to embrace Islam and in the article “Succession of Leadership in Early Islam” the writer states that “Abu Bakr was among the first to become Muslim and, according to Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad is said to have commented that Abu Bakr was the only one, to his knowledge, who accepted Islam without reluctance, suspicion or hesitation” (Campbell, 2008). Abu Bakr was also the Prophet's father-in-law, a man highly respected in the tra...... middle of paper ......1 Mar 1993. Web. 7 April 2014. http://historyofislam.com/contents/ the-age-of-faith/the-death-of-prophet-muhammed-pbuh/Campbell, R. A. (2008). Leadership Quarterly. (2nd ed., Vol. 19, pp. 426–438). Elsevier. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984308000696Hasan, M. (1982). Hadrat abu bakr, umar, usman, ali (ra). (1st ed., vol.4). Lahore, Pakistan: Islamic Publications. Retrieved from http://www.alim.org/library/biography/khalifa/content/KUM/14/7Nahim, H. (2012). The division after the prophet Muhammad. (p. 198). Xlibris Corporation. Retrieved from http://books.google.ae/books?id=EKVmBTcd4c8C&pg=PA197&dq=what did the years after the death of the prophet&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Av9CU4LIMM364QSo64HICg&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAAThe Caliphate of Abu Bak –I, (2006, August 21) . Retrieved from http://consult.islamweb.net/eramadan/index.php?page=articles&id=135193