Visit ArabiaSAQIFAT BANI SA'IDAH
The porch where Islam chose its destiny.
A day that decided centuries
The Prophet ﷺ has just died. Monday, 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 11 AH. Upon hearing the news, Medina is torn apart. Umar ibn al-Khattab refuses to believe it: he swears that the Prophet ﷺ is not dead and that Allah will raise him so that he may cut off the hands and feet of certain men (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 3668).
Abu Bakr arrives, lifts the veil from the face of the Messenger of Allah, kisses him, and goes out to the crowd to deliver the famous speech: "O people! Whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. Whoever worshipped Allah, Allah is alive and does not die." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 1241)
And he recited this verse that no one seemed to have read: "Muhammad is but a Messenger; other Messengers have passed on before him. If he were to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels?" (Surah Al-Imran, 144)
The companions collapse in tears. Umar falls to his knees. And at the same moment, not far away, in a covered porch belonging to the Banu Sa'idah, a crucial assembly is taking place.
The porch (Saqifa) of Banu Sa'idah
A saqifa is a covered shelter, a shaded terrace where the notable members of a clan would gather. The porch of Banu Sa'idah was one of the most well-known in Medina. It belonged to a clan of the Khazraj.
The Ansar, gathered around Sa'd ibn 'Ubada (رضي الله عنه), leader of the Khazraj, proposed: "A leader (emir) from us, and a leader from you." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 3668)
The debate
When Abu Bakr and Umar learned of this meeting, they rushed over. With Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, they entered the porch. Umar wanted to speak. Abu Bakr silenced him and took the floor: "The Arabs will only accept this leadership from the people of Quraysh, who are the best of the Arabs by lineage and residence." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 6830)
He proposed Umar or Abu 'Ubaydah as caliph. But Umar replied: "Rather, it is to you that we pledge allegiance: you are our master, the best of us and the most beloved of us to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 3668) And Umar took Abu Bakr's hand and pledged allegiance to him. Everyone followed.
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq had just become the first caliph of Islam.
Why this site is so important
At Saqifat Bani Sa'idah:
1. The unity of the community was saved from an immediate split.
2. The principle of the caliphate of Quraysh was established (which would last over 600 years).
3. The notion of Bay'ah (allegiance by contract) was dramatized for the first time.
4. Umar's humility was publicly demonstrated.
5. The primacy of consultation (Shura) was implicitly anchored.
It is here that Islam demonstrated its ability to govern itself without its founder.