Saqifa
The Saqifa meeting is among the most controversial events in early Islam, due to the exclusion of a large number of Muhammad's companions, including his immediate family and notably Ali, his cousin and son-in-law.
The Arabic word saqifa denotes a covered communal place for conversation but the term is synonymous in historical texts with the specific meeting immediately after Muhammad's death in which his succession was debated.
[6][7] In his Ansab al-ashraf,[4] the Sunni al-Baladhuri partly follows Ibn Sa'd's pious technique but also retains some of the controversial material about the Saqifa event in favor of Ali.
[18] The leading candidate was possibly Sa'd ibn Ubada,[19] a companion of Muhammad and a chief of the Banu Khazraj, the majority tribe of the Ansar, who was sick on that day.
[37][30] Following Umar's pledge to Abu Bakr, the Saqifa account of the Kufan al-Nakha'i (d. 96/714-15) adds, "But the Ansar, or some of them, said: 'We will not swear allegiance to anyone but Ali.'"
[41][note 1] Umar in his sermon explained that they had pressed the Ansar for an immediate oath of allegiance at the Saqifa because, he claimed, they might have had otherwise elected one of their own to succeed Muhammad.
[43][44] Among the Muhajirun, the candidacy of Ali would have likely been supported by the powerful Abd Shams clan of the Quraysh because of their close ties with the Banu Hashim and despite their conflicts.
[19] For Jafri, the Sunni arguments that justify Abu Bakr's caliphate on the basis that he led the prayer in Muhammad's final days reflect later theological developments.
[24] In the same vein, Lecomte writes that Muhammad respected Abu Bakr but considers the prayer story inconclusive because it does not formally relate to the political leadership of the community.
[56][57][58] As such, insofar as the Quran reflects the views of Muhammad, Madelung argues that he could have not seen his succession differently from the past prophets or considered Abu Bakr as his natural successor.
[61] Veccia Vaglieri is uncertain whether Ali actually hoped to succeed Muhammad because he made no effort in Sunni sources to seize the rule, despite being advised to do so by Abbas and Abu Sufyan.
[62][63][64][65][66] These authors argue that Ali eventually relinquished his claims to the caliphate for the sake of the unity of a nascent Islam in crisis when it became clear that Muslims did not broadly support his cause.
[73] To support his claims, Madelung cites a Sunni statement attributed to Ali when he pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr after a long delay.
[72] Mavani similarly cites some Sunni and Shia reports,[74] including the proceedings of the electoral council in 644 when Ali refused to be bound by the precedence of the first two caliphs.
[75][76] Another report by al-Tabari indicates that Ali again publicly excluded the practices of Abu Bakr and Umar from the Sunna (of Muhammad) when his supporters pledged their allegiance to him in Kufa.
[86][87][88] In Waq'at Siffin and some other early Shia sources, Ali contrasts the corruption of the third caliph, Uthman, with the political leadership of Abu Bakr and Umar, even though he rejects their religious legitimacy.
[89] A related example is the account of the negotiations before the Battle of Siffin (657) by Ibn Muzahim (d. 827-8), which quotes Ali as saying that Abu Bakr and Umar had governed justly, even though they had assumed the caliphate wrongfully.
[90] Mavani and Maria M. Dakake suggest that Ali viewed the succession of Abu Bakr as a digression which turned into a full-blown deviation with the rebellion of Mu'awiya during his own caliphate.
[97][24] Once an agreement over Abu Bakr was nearly reached, Jafri believes that the Khazraj found it unwise to lag behind and risk losing favor with the new ruler.
[1][99] Aslan suggests that the exclusion of Ali from the Saqifa affair was deliberate and reflected the fear among the Quraysh that combining the prophethood and the caliphate in the Banu Hashim would have made them too powerful.
[19][43] The former author voices a similar view to Aslan,[101] while the latter acknowledges the "jealousy of the Quraysh,"[102] but believes that the simple logic of dynastic succession would have nevertheless prevailed in a broad shura in favor of Ali.
[104][105] In particular, Mavani writes that tribal values were deeply entrenched in the Arab society of that time, according to which kinship and noble lineage were the primary marks of identity and source of authority.
[20] Madelung suspects that Umar considered the Saqifa affair a falta because it excluded from decision making the majority of the Muhajirun and particularly Muhammad's kin, whose participation was vital for a legitimate outcome.
[116] Umar in his sermon asserted that "the necks of all Muslims were stretched [in obedience] for Abu Bakr," though Madelung considers it more likely that his authority was highly precarious at first.
[37][121][126][127] The scene soon grew violent,[117][128] but the mob retreated without Ali's pledge after his wife Fatima pleaded with them,[37] as reported in the Sunni al-Imama wa al-siyasa.
[69][68][62] While there is considerable uncertainty about the events,[117][133][125][121] Ali most likely did not pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr until his wife Fatima died within six months of her father Muhammad, as reported by some canonical Sunni works.
[131] In Shia sources, the death (and miscarriage) of the young Fatima are attributed to an attack on her house to subdue Ali at the order of Abu Bakr.
[136] After Fatima's death and in the absence of popular support, Ali is said to have relinquished his claims to the caliphate for the sake of the unity of a nascent Islam,[67][134][137] which was facing internal and external threats, according to Mavani.
[76] While he reputedly advised Abu Bakr and Umar on government and religious matters,[138][139] the mutual distrust and hostility of Ali with the two caliphs is well-documented,[140][141][112] but largely downplayed or ignored in Sunni sources.
[143] The charge that Ali pledged to Abu Bakr under duress appears also in al-Imama wa al-siyasa,[144] sometimes attributed to Ibn Qutaybah (d. 889) but possibly written by another Sunni author in the Abbasid era.
