The Meaning of Bakr al-Muzani's Statement About Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Regarding Bakr ibn 'Abdullah al-Muzani's statement that Abu Bakr did not surpass them in the quantity of prayer or fasting, but rather by something that settled in his heart,

The Shaykh:
meaning the faith in his heart, the faith in his heart, and the truthfulness with Allah, with the Messenger, and with people, is what made his scale the heaviest among people. Yes.

The questioner:
Then he says, may Allah preserve you, how can al-Muzani say that, when we know that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq combined fasting, charity, visiting the sick, and attending a funeral procession in a single day, making him one of the most active people?

The Shaykh:
No, he was not one of the most active people; he was one of the most sincere people, one of the most sincere and faithful people. And so you know his positions when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) died. What was his position, while the Companions were struck by a great calamity, and some of them said, "The Messenger has not died; he has only gone to his Lord and will return, just as Musa ibn 'Imran went to his Lord and will return"? But Abu Bakr said, "Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has died. And whoever used to worship Allah, then Allah is alive and does not die." Then he recited the saying of Allah the Exalted: At that point, the Companions knew that the Messenger of Allah had died. 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) even said, "It is as if this verse had not reached my ears until this moment." When they heard it from Abu Bakr, they knew that the Messenger had died. Look at the steadfastness of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) in this situation.
Likewise, when the Messenger died and those who apostatized among the Arabs apostatized, he resolved to fight them. They said, "O Successor of the Messenger of Allah, how will you fight them when they testify that there is no god but Allah?" He said, "I will certainly fight those who separate between prayer and zakah. And if they had prevented me from taking a rope that they owed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I would have fought them for it." At that point, they were convinced and fought alongside Abu Bakr against the apostates. This is the great position.
The third position: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prepared an army under the command of Usamah ibn Zayd to go to the Romans, but the Messenger died before this army set out. The Companions said, "O Successor of the Messenger of Allah, keep a fortress for the Muslims; the people are now in turmoil and..." He said, "By Allah, I will not dissolve a banner that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had raised." So he sent Usamah's army, and it went. And it did not pass by any tribe of the Arabs without them saying, "They did not do this except that there is strength in them. There is strength in them."
So they feared the Companions. This army was one of the signs of Allah the Exalted. All of this was by the resolve of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). If he had prevented this army, they would have said, "Yes, they feared the Companions and feared, and the polytheists and apostates would have won." But when the army went, it terrified them; it terrified the Romans. When the news reached them, they also retreated from the Muslims. If the army had returned, the Romans would have come. Look, this means the resolves of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), the great positions. Who stood with the Messenger on the day he was sent? Who stood with him in the cave when he was taken out, except Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him)? The positions of Abu Bakr, no one else stood them. Yes, and that was due to the truthfulness of his faith and the strength of his certainty in Allah the Exalted. Yes.