Saqifah
Encyclopedia
The Saqīfah also known as Saqīfah banī Sāˤidat , was a roofed building used by the tribe
called the banū Sāˤidat
of the faction of the banū Khazraj
tribe of the city of Medina
in the Hejaz
, northwestern Arabia
.
. On the day Muhammad
died (June 8, 632 CE), the Medinan Muslim
or "Ansar
" gathered in the Saqifah to discuss the future and leadership of the Muslims
. There were two Ansar tribes, the Khazraj and the Aws
; both were present. However, the Muhajirun
, or Muslim emigrants
from Mecca
, had not been notified of the gathering. When Muhammad's companion
s, 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 who gathered there gave their allegiance, or bay'ah
, to Abu Bakr as the new leader of the Islamic community. There were some Muslims who felt that Ali
, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the new leader. They initially refused to take the oath to Abu Bakr and were known as the Shi'at Ali or "partisans for Ali". Some of them even thought that Ali himself didn't take the oath.
Over time, disaffection with the government of the caliphs strengthened the ranks of the Shi'at Ali. This eventually led to the separation of the Muslim community into the Sunni
and Shi'a traditions. Sunnis believe Abu Bakr, one of the early converts to Islam, Muhammad’s closest companions, adviser and father-in-law, was his first successor. In contrast, the Shi'ah believe that Ali, first male convert to Islam and Muhammad's first cousin and son-in-law, and his lineal descendants (known as Imams) had a divinely ordained right to lead the community religiously and politically.
'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, Fatimah
and Ali and their relatives, were preparing Muhammad's body for burial. Abu Bakr and Umar were sitting with some of the Muhajirun, the emigrants from Mecca. Having heard that the Ansar were meeting, they went to join them. There, Abu Bakr addressed the Ansar.
Abu Bakr argued that only a leader from the Quraysh, Mecca's leading clan, could keep the community intact. Only the Quraysh were universally recognized as a noble clan, worthy of leadership. He suggested that the meeting choose either Umar or Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah (both Quraysh) as a leader.
One of the Ansar suggested that the Ansar should choose a leader for themselves and the Meccans should choose another for themselves. The meeting became loud and unruly. Umar is reported to have said that he feared that the unity of the Muslim community
would dissolve then and there. So he seized Abu Bakr's hand and loudly swore the bay'ah to him as the leader of the Muslims. The Muhajairun followed his lead and then the Ansar. One man, Sa'd ibn Ubadah
, the leader of the Khazraj faction of the Ansar, protested. Umar's words, as reported to Ibn Ishaq, were, "we jumped on Sad ibn Ubada and someone said we killed him.
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 the bulk of the community did so.
by Wilferd Madelung
, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Ismaili Studies in London, Umar later described the event as a falta, a precipitate arrangement (p. 30).
Similarly, according to one hadith
, or oral tradition, recorded by Sahih al-Bukhari
, Umar is reputed to have said:
Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad
-Introduction:The most prominent of such Arabian tribes were the Banu Quraish which were in turn divided into several sub-clans. The Qur'aish sub-clan of Banu Hashim was the clan of Muhammad, while their sister sub-clan, the Banu Abd-Shams became known as his most staunch enemies...
called the banū Sāˤidat
Banu Sa'ida
The Banu Sa'ida was one of the Jewish tribes of Arabia during Muhammad's era.They were included in point 31 of the Constitution of Medina as allies to the Muslims, being as "one nation", but retaining their Jewish religion ....
of the faction of the banū Khazraj
Banu Khazraj
-Early history:Abu Muhammad Al-hasan Ibn Ahmad Al-hamdani mentioned that The Banu Khazraj along with Banu Aws settled the area of Yathrib around the 2nd century ad as part of the PreIslamic Exodus of Yemen due to the Great Dam damage....
tribe of the city of Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
in the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
, northwestern Arabia
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
.
Significance of Saqifah
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 IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. On the day Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
died (June 8, 632 CE), the Medinan Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
or "Ansar
Ansar (Islam)
Ansar is an Islamic term that literally means "helpers" and denotes the Medinan citizens that helped Muhammad and the Muhajirun on the arrival to the city after the migration to Medina...
" gathered in the Saqifah to discuss the future and leadership of the Muslims
Succession to Muhammad
The Succession to Muhammad concerns the various aspects of successorship of Muhammad after his death, comprising who might be considered as his successor to lead the Muslims, how that person should be elected, the conditions of legitimacy, and the role of successor...
. There were two Ansar tribes, the Khazraj and the Aws
Banu Aus
The Banū Aws or simply Aws was one of the main Arab tribes of Medina. The other was Khazraj, and the two, constituted the Ansar after the Hijra.Aws and Khazraj were known as Banū Qayla in pre-Islamic era.-Etymology:...
; both were present. However, the Muhajirun
Muhajirun
Muhajirun are the early, initial Muslims who followed Muhammad on his Hijra . The early Muslims from Medina are called the Ansar .-List:*Muhammad*Ali*Umar *Abu Bakr .*Salman the Persian*Bilal ibn Ribah...
, or Muslim emigrants
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
from Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, had not been notified of the gathering. When Muhammad's companion
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
s, Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
and Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
, learned of the gathering, they rushed to the meeting. After a tumultuous debate, the details of which are highly contested, those who gathered there gave their allegiance, or bay'ah
Bay'ah
Bay'ah , in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad...
, to Abu Bakr as the new leader of the Islamic community. There were some Muslims who felt that Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the new leader. They initially refused to take the oath to Abu Bakr and were known as the Shi'at Ali or "partisans for Ali". Some of them even thought that Ali himself didn't take the oath.
Over time, disaffection with the government of the caliphs strengthened the ranks of the Shi'at Ali. This eventually led to the separation of the Muslim community into the Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
and Shi'a traditions. Sunnis believe Abu Bakr, one of the early converts to Islam, Muhammad’s closest companions, adviser and father-in-law, was his first successor. In contrast, the Shi'ah believe that Ali, first male convert to Islam and Muhammad's first cousin and son-in-law, and his lineal descendants (known as Imams) had a divinely ordained right to lead the community religiously and politically.
Ibn Ishaq's account
One of the earliest accounts of Saqifah is to be found in Ibn IshaqIbn Ishaq
Muḥammad ibn Isḥaq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer...
's sira
Prophetic biography
The sīrat rasūl allāh or al-sīra al-nabawiyya or just al-sīra, is the Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad from which, in addition to the Qur'an and Hadith, most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived.-Etymology:In the...
, 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, Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
and Ali and their relatives, were preparing Muhammad's body for burial. Abu Bakr and Umar were sitting with some of the Muhajirun, the emigrants from Mecca. Having heard that the Ansar were meeting, they went to join them. There, Abu Bakr addressed the Ansar.
Abu Bakr argued that only a leader from the Quraysh, Mecca's leading clan, could keep the community intact. Only the Quraysh were universally recognized as a noble clan, worthy of leadership. He suggested that the meeting choose either Umar or Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah (both Quraysh) as a leader.
One of the Ansar suggested that the Ansar should choose a leader for themselves and the Meccans should choose another for themselves. The meeting became loud and unruly. Umar is reported to have said that he feared that the unity of the Muslim community
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
would dissolve then and there. So he seized Abu Bakr's hand and loudly swore the bay'ah to him as the leader of the Muslims. The Muhajairun followed his lead and then the Ansar. One man, Sa'd ibn Ubadah
Sa'd ibn Ubadah
Sa'd ibn Ubadah ibn Dulaim was one of the prominent Sahabah and Ansar, the chief of the Banu Khazraj.He participated in the secret second pledge at al-Aqabah. It was not after that the Medinan pilgrims had left the city, that the Meccans became aware of the meeting at Aqabah. They pursued the...
, the leader of the Khazraj faction of the Ansar, protested. Umar's words, as reported to Ibn Ishaq, were, "we jumped on Sad ibn Ubada and someone said we killed him.
The next day, the Muslim community of Medina gathered for prayers and Umar spoke, praising Abu Bakr and urging the community to swear allegiance
General bay'ah
The day after the meeting at Saqifah, there was an assembly where a general poll of the people was taken and a general bay'ah of the community was given to Abu Bakr in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi.-Event:...
to him. Ibn Ishaq says that the bulk of the community did so.
Other sources
According to The Succession to MuhammadThe Succession to Muhammad (book)
The Succession to Muhammad is a book written by Wilferd Madelung and released by the Cambridge University Press in 1997.Madelung says on page xi of the book:...
by Wilferd Madelung
Wilferd Madelung
Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung is a scholar of Islam. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where he completed his early education at Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium....
, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Ismaili Studies in London, Umar later described the event as a falta, a precipitate arrangement (p. 30).
Similarly, according to one hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, or oral tradition, recorded by Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
, Umar is reputed to have said:
Other references
- Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press, 1955
- Madelung, W. The Succession to Muhammad, Cambridge University Press, 1997
External links
- http://www.answering-ansar.org/answers/saqifa/en/chap1.php Shia view of the matter