Saqifah and Abu Bakr

Part oneThe day Madinah lost the Prophet ﷺ

Madinah woke that Monday to news that nobody wanted to believe. The Prophet ﷺ had passed away after a short illness, in the room of his wife Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal in 11 AH (632 CE). For ten years he had been the teacher and leader of the town. Now people stood in the lanes with no one left to ask what came next.

Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was so shaken that he told the crowd the Prophet ﷺ had not died. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) came in from his home on the edge of the city, went into Aishah's room, and then walked out to the mosque. He told the people that whoever had worshipped Muhammad ﷺ should know that Muhammad ﷺ had died, and that whoever worshipped Allah should know that Allah is alive and never dies. Then he recited a verse of the Quran. Umar said later that his legs gave way and he sank to the ground.

From the Quran

وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ ۚ أَفَإِي۟ن مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ ٱنقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْقَـٰبِكُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَنقَلِبْ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًٔا ۗ وَسَيَجْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ ۝١٤٤

Muḥammad is no more than a messenger; other messengers have gone before him. If he were to die or to be killed, would you regress into disbelief? Those who do so will not harm Allah whatsoever. And Allah will reward those who are grateful.

Grief left little time for planning. The Prophet ﷺ had not named a successor in words that the Companions took as an order, and a community of thousands, with tribes watching from every corner of Arabia, needed a leader quickly.

Part twoThe meeting at the Saqifah

While the family of the Prophet ﷺ prepared his body for burial, word reached Abu Bakr and Umar that the Ansar were gathering. The Ansar were the people of Madinah who had welcomed the Prophet ﷺ in 622. They had met at the Saqifah of the Banu Sa'idah, a roofed meeting place in the town, where Sa'd ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) of the Khazraj, who was unwell, sat among them. Abu Bakr and Umar went at once, with Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Ansar feared being pushed aside by the Muhajirun, the emigrants from Makkah. Some of them spoke of one leader from the Ansar and one from the Muhajirun. That idea alarmed the visitors, because two leaders in a tribal land could mean two camps, and two camps could mean war.

Abu Bakr spoke calmly. He praised the Ansar for sheltering the faith and the Prophet ﷺ when it had no other home. Then he reminded them that the Arab tribes were used to the leadership of Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet ﷺ, and would not easily accept anyone else. He did not put himself forward. He offered the hands of Umar and Abu Ubaydah and asked them to choose either man.

Umar would not hear of it. He took Abu Bakr's hand and pledged himself to him, and Abu Ubaydah did the same. Bashir ibn Sa'd of the Ansar followed, and the others came after. A pledge of this kind is called a bay'ah. The next day, in the Prophet's Masjid, the wider community gave theirs in public.

What the new title meant

Abu Bakr became the khalifah, the successor, and later generations call his office the caliphate. People spoke of him as the successor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He did not claim to be a prophet or to receive revelation. His task was to keep the community together and to carry out the law the Prophet ﷺ had left.

Part threeTaking up the trust

The Prophet ﷺ was buried in Aishah's room, where he had passed away. Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), his cousin and son-in-law, was among the family busy with these duties while the meeting at the Saqifah took place. Accounts differ on exactly when Ali and some of the Banu Hashim gave their pledge, and Muslims have told the story of that day in different ways. What every account shows is a community in deep sorrow that chose to stay together.

Abu Bakr's first address was short. He said he had been given authority though he was not the best of them. He asked them to help him if he did well and to correct him if he went wrong. The weak among them would be strong in his eyes until he had returned their rights, and the strong would be weak until he had taken what they owed. They should obey him only as long as he obeyed Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

He also kept his old habits. He had been a cloth merchant, and on the morning after the pledge he set out for the market as usual. Umar and Abu Ubaydah met him and persuaded him that the community needed a leader whose time was free for it. They agreed on a modest allowance from the public treasury, and he accepted it.

One of his first decisions was about an army. In his last days the Prophet ﷺ had been preparing a force to go north under Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), a young commander. With unrest rising, several Companions asked Abu Bakr to hold it back. He answered that he would not undo what the Prophet ﷺ had ordered. The army went, and it came back safely.

The Muslims lost their Prophet ﷺ in the morning and chose a leader before the day was done.

More on How to Muslim

• seerah.howtomuslim.orgHis passing, in the seerahThe day before Saqifah, in Prophetic Footsteps.

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The mapWhere it happened

• The Prophet's Masjid
• the room of Aishah
• the Saqifah of the Banu Sa'idah

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

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