Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho anho) was a cloth merchant and lived by that trade. On the death of the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), people selected him as the Khalifah. Next day with some cloth slung on his arms, he was proceeding to the market as usual when 'Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) met him in the way. 'Umar: "Where are you going to, Abu Bakr?" Abu Bakr: "To the market".

'Umar: "If you get busy with your trade, who will carry out the duties of the caliphate?"

Abu Bakr: "How am I to feed my family then?"

'Umar: "Let's go to Abu 'Ubaidah (In charge of Bait-ul-Mal), who will fix some daily allowance for you from the Bait-ul-Mal."

They both went to Abu 'Ubaidah (Radhiyallaho anho).

He fixed for Abu Bakr an allowance equal to that usually paid to an average Muhajir. Once Abu Bakr's (Radhiyallaho anho) wife said to him:

"I would like to have a sweet dish."

Abu Bakr: "I have no money to arrange for the dish."

His wife: "If you permit, I shall try to save something daily from our allowance, which will some day make enough to enable us to prepare the sweet dish."

He agreed. A little money was saved in many days. When his wife brought him the money to make purchases for the sweet dish, he said:

"It seems that we have received so much over and above our needs."

He deposited the saving in the Bait-ul-Mal and for the future got his allowance cut down by the amount saved by his wife. Hadhrat A'ishah (Radhiyallaho anha) narrates:

"When Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho anho) was selected as Khalifah, he said to the people: 'You well know that I live by trade, and my income therefrom is sufficient to meet my expenses. Now I have to devote my full time to the affairs of the state and therefore my family allowance shall be paid from the 'Bait-ul-Mal.'"

Hadhrat A'ishah (Radhiyallaho anha) says:

"At the time of his death, Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho anho) directed me to hand over to his successor all that was issued to him from the Bait-ul-Mal for his household needs.

It is said that Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho anho) left no cash after him. Anas (Radhiyallaho anho) says:

"Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho anho) left a milch she-camel, a bowl and a servant."

According to some other narrators, he left a bedding also. When all these were made over to 'Urnar (Radhiyallaho anho), his successor, he remarked:

"May Allah be merciful to Abu Bakr! He has set a precedent for his successors which is very hard to follow."