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Concept
Saqifa
Summary
The Saqifa (سَّقِيفَة) of the Banu Sa'ida clan refers to the location of an event in early Islam where some of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr as the first caliph and successor to Muhammad shortly after his death in 11 AH (632 CE). 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 conflicts after Muhammad's death are considered as the roots of the current division among Muslims. Those who accepted Abu Bakr's caliphate were later labeled Sunnis, while the supporters of Ali's right to caliphate went on to form the Shia.
The Arabic word 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.
The earliest reports about the Saqifa affair were put into writing in the first half of the second century AH or later. By this time, the Muslim community was firmly divided into Sunni and Shia camps. As a result, the reports of the Sunni Ibn Sa'd (230/845), al-Baladhuri (279/892), and even al-Tabari (310/923) reflect the Sunni beliefs, while those authors with Shia sympathies favored their views, including Ibn Ishaq (151/768), al-Ya'qubi (284/897-8), and al-Mas'udi (345/956). Jafri thus emphasizes the need for surveying all reports to obtain a sound account of the event.
For instance, Ibn Sa'd presents a highly polemic account of the Saqifa affair in his Kitab al-Tabaqat al-kabir, where Ali is absent in particular. Jafri regards him as a pioneer of the Sunni "pious" technique, which preserves only the best qualities of companions and suppresses any controversial reports. Similarly, the late works of the Shia al-Tabarsi (548/1153) and al-Majlesi (1699) are polemic in nature with little historical value, claims Jafri.
Official source
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