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Saqifah, also known as "Saqifa Bani Saeda" or Saqifat Bani Sa'ida, was a roofed building used by the tribe, or banu, of Sa'ida, of the faction of the Khazraj, of the city of Medina in the Hijaz, northwestern Arabia.

Significance of Saqifah

On the day that the Muslim prophet Muhammad died, June 8 in 632 CE, the Muslims originally from Medina, the Ansar, gathered in the saqifah to discuss the future of the Muslim community. There were two factions in the Ansar, the Khazraj and the Aws; both were present. However, the Muslim emigrants from Mecca, the Muhajirun, had not been notified of the gathering. When Muhammad's companions Abu Bakr and Umar learned of the gathering, they rushed to the meeting. After a tumultuous debate, the details of which are highly contested, those gathered there gave their allegiance, or bay'ah, to Abu Bakr as the new leader of the Muslims.

The name of the house is used as shorthand for the event, or the gathering, which was a crucial turning point in the history of Islam. There were a number of Muslims who felt that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the new leader. They initially refused to take the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr and were known as Rafidi, or refusers. Ali himself refused to take the oath. After a period of time -- long or short, this also is a matter of debate -- Ali and his party submitted. However, the Rafidi never ceased to feel that there had been a miscarriage of justice at Saqifah. Over time, disaffection with the government of the caliphs, or successors to Muhammad, increased to the extent that the Shi'a, or Shi'at Ali, the party of Ali, split from the majority Sunni Muslims.

Ibn Ishaq's account

One of the earliest accounts of Saqifah is to be found in Ibn Ishaq's sira, or biography of Muhammad. It is based on the words of Umar himself, as reported to Ibn Ishaq by Ibn Al-Abbas.

According to this account, after the death of Muhammad the Ansar gathered at the Bani Sa'ida's saqifah while the closest relatives of Muhammad, Fatima and Ali and their relatives, were preparing Muhammad's body for burial. The Muhajirun had gathered with Abu Bakr and Umar. Abu Bakr suggested that they join the Ansar. On the way, the Mahajirun learned that the Ansar were prepared to choose a leader without consulting them. Abu Bakr and Umar hastened to the meeting, where Abu Bakr addressed the Ansar.

Abu Bakr argued that only a leader from the Quraysh, Mecca's leading clan, could keep Muhammad's state intact. Only the Quraysh were universally recognized as a noble clan, worthy of leadership. He suggested that the meeting choose either Umar or Abu Ubayda (both Quraysh) as a leader.

One of the Ansar suggested that the Ansar should choose a leader and the Meccans should choose their own leader. The meeting became loud and unruly. Umar is reported to have said that he feared that the Muslim state would dissolve then and there. He seized Abu Bakr's hand and loudly swore fealty to him as the leader of the Muslims. The Muhajirun hurriedly followed, and then, after an altercation, the Ansar. (The Muhajirun "jumped on" the leader of the Khazraj faction of the Ansar, Sa'd ibn 'Ubada, as detailed on p. 686 of Guillaume's translation of Ibn Ishaq.) According to Madelung's book The Succession to Muhammad, Umar described the event as a falta, a precipitate arrangement (p. 30).

The next day, the Muslim community of Medina gathered for prayers and Umar spoke, praising Abu Bakr and urging the community to swear allegiance to him. Ibn Ishaq says that they did so.

A Sunni view of Saqifah

Many Sunni accounts of Saqifah omit some of the uglier details. They record only that the companions of Muhammad gathered and after much deliberation, chose Abu Bakr as the leader. They omit any mention of the apparently ad hoc nature of the meeting, of the absence of some of those most concerned (Ali and Muhammad's other relatives), of the squabbles and fights in the saqifah, and of Umar's desperate bid to unite the community behind Abu Bakr.

However, a good case could be made for the Sunni view of the succession if one considers the events that followed the meeting in the saqifah. The Muslims, following pre-Islamic custom, believed that each member of the tribe should personally give his (or perhaps her) allegiance to the new leader. If the Muslims NOT at the meeting had refused to do so, the group would have split. However, all the Muslims, including Ali and the Rafidi, did eventually give their allegiance, their bay'ah, to Abu Bakr. They valued the unity of the ummah, the Muslim community, over their first preferences for the leadership. It could additionally be argued that if Umar had not acted as he did, the community would have dissolved, and that Umar, and the community, acted out of necessity. (This, of course, assumes that Umar was telling the truth about the events at the saqifah.)

The Shi'a view of Saqifah

Shi'a accounts of the matter argue for a deep-laid plot on the part of Abu Bakr and Umar to seize the leadership from the rightful heir, Ali. Shi'a believe that Muhammad had already made known to the community his wishes regarding a successor, namely, that Ali should follow him. Shia say that Muhammad clearly expressed his wishes in a speech that he gave at Ghadire Khumm.

One episode, immediately following the death of Muhammad, is given as proof of the complicity of Abu Bakr and Umar. Umar seemed to be deranged with grief when he found that Muhammad had died; he claimed that Muhammad was not dead, that he would rise again and lead his people. The burial could not proceed in the face of Umar's intransigeance. This gave Abu Bakr, who was not in Medina, a chance to return and take charge of the situation. After his return, Abu Bakr spoke to the crowd, saying -- in the words reported by Ibn Ishaq:

"O men, if anyone worships Muhammad, Muhammad is dead; if anyone worships God, God is alive, immortal." (Guillaume, p. 683)

At this, Umar gave up his resistance.

The Shi'a say that this whole episode was a charade, arranged to give Abu Bakr time to return.

It is no accident, the Shi'a claim, that the meeting at the saqifah happened while Ali, Fatima, and Muhammad's immediate kin were preparing his body for burial. Abu Bakr and Umar left without notifying Ali of the meeting. This was a deliberate ploy to cut Ali out of the deliberations. The meeting, being unannounced and attended by only a few Muslims, was irregular, unrepresentative, and had no authority to choose a leader for the community. The fact that many of Medina's Muslims at first refused to accept the results only underlines its illegitimacy.

See also

The events of Saqifah are only some of the issues involved in the Succession to Muhammad. See that article for a broader discussion.

References

• Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press, 1955
• Madelung, W. The Succession to Muhammad, Cambridge University Press, 1997

External links

• answering-ansar.org - Shia site

• Islam