What was the nature of the split between the Helpers and the Emigrants after the Prophet's death?

After the sudden death of Muhammad, the prophet and military leader of Islam at the time, the Helpers and Emigrants differentiated over Leadership-the successor of Muhammad. They perceived that each one of them had an opportunity to take over the rule after Muhammad based on the following notions. According to the Helpers, they were the righteous and most loyal followers of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad unlike any other tribe in Arab. As denoted in the Sa'd's summon to the helpers at the porch, he reminds the Helpers that they are the chosen tribe among others as they were vouchsafed with God to be assistants of Prophet Muhammad (Lewis 1). They helped the prophet of God in times of war and praised no idol or gods apart from the true God through Prophet Muhammad. They remained loyal to his orders and fought with Prophet in the holy war against their enemies. Equally, the Emigrants believed that the successor of Prophet Muhammad should be from their lineage based on the following. They believe that they are the firstcompanions of Prophet Muhammad and Islamic community since they abandoned the religion of their fathers (worship of gods and idols) and prayed the true God when other tribes worshipped other gods (Lewis 2). They made the Prophet Muhammad their clan member and a friend. Thus, they formeda strong bond with Allah and through the teachings of the Prophet they believed in the Supreme Being. In the end, the successor of the Prophets was supposed to be from the tribe.

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What was Abu-Bakr's perspective on the difference in prestige and authority between the two?

Abu-Bakar had a different perception of prestige and authority as projected in his speech and actions. As an Emigrant, Abu-Bakar had widespread respect and admiration of the Helpers and recognized their position in the society as to why they were the chosen tribe of God to be the helpers of the prophets. That's a bold act from a person that belongs to the tribe that believes that they share a common lineage with the Prophet of God. Equally, Abu-Bakar denotes that a good leader is who is fairly chosen with the people, hence; he gave people an equal opportunity to select their leader either Umar or Abu-'Ubayda to be the successor of Prophet Muhammad (Lewis 3). Until when all people from the tribe of Helpers and Emigrants decided to swear allegiance to Abu-Bakar, he had presented to them a candidate from each tribe to be selected to be their authority after Prophet Muhammad.

In his accession speech, how does Abu-Bakr personally set limits on his own authority as Caliph?

After being appointed as the ultimate Caliphate leader of all Islamic communities, Abu-Bakar gave a guideline and principles that will aid in directing his rule. He exclaims that he is weak in the eyes of the righteous and if he turns to the direction of the wicked and against the teachings of the Prophet he should be reminded. He denotes the impacts of truthful information in his rule as well as the impacts of falsehood. He tells himself of the true justice for people before the eyes of God which would direct him as well as he asserts that he will continue the fight of the holy war against their enemies which the Prophet of God fought. Finally, he directs people to disobey his authority whenever he goes against the conduct of Allah and his prophet (Lewis 4). Abu-Bakar decides that he will seek God's favor through prayers and expects all Muslims under his rule to do the same.

Works Cited

Lewis, Bernard. Islam From The Prophet Muhammad To The Capture Of Constantinople. Oxford University Press, 2005.