It is said that Abu Bakr had a slave who used to give him a portion of his daily income as the masters share. Once he brought him some food , and Abu Bakr took a morsel out of it. Then the slave said to him:" you always inquired about the source of what I bring to you, but today you have not done so". Abu Bakr replied "I felt so hungry that i failed to do that. Tell me now, whence did you bring this food".
The slave said: "Before embracing Islam, I practiced soothsaying. During these days, I came across some people for whom I practiced some of my charms. They promised to pay me for that later on. I happened to pass by these people today, while they were engaged in a marriage ceremony, and they gave me this food". On saying this Abu Bakr exclaimed " Ah You would have surely killed me? Then he tried to disgorge the morsel he had swallowed, but he could not do so, and his stomach had been quiet empty. Somebody suggested him to take some water to his fill and then reach it. Thereupon Abu Bakr sent for a goblet of water and kept on taking water and forcing it out , till he vomited the morsel.
Somebody remarked "May Allah have Mercy on you! you put yourself to such a trouble for a single morsel. To this Abu Bakr replied : " I would have thrust it out even if I had to lose my life for I heard the Prophet Peace be upon him say " Any flesh which has grown out of unlawful earnings will not enter Paradise" I therefore made haste to clear my stomach from this morsel lest any portion of my body should receive nourishment from it".
Abu Bakr used to say " I wish I were a tree that would be cut and done away with it".
When Abu Bakr was praised he used to say : "O Allah you know me better than I do, I know my self better than them . O Allah let me be better than I think I am, forgive me for what they do not know about me, and do not hold me accountable for what they say about me".
Source: Biographies of the rightly guided Caliphs
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