Relegion Islamic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Relegion Islamic - Essay Example The Ansar, represented by the Khazraj and the Aws tribes, determined that both the future of the nascent religion and the welfare of the community demand the immediate selection of a leader. Abu Bakr and Umar, who, alongside Ali Bin Abi Taleb, are controvertibly regarded as the Prophet's closest companions, were not present at the Saqifa at that time. Upon, however, being informed of the gathering, they rushed to participate. The Muhajirun, however, were not informed of the gathering and, thus, the Meccan Muslim immigrants were not represented at this seminal meeting. Within the context of the Sunni-Shiite division, the identity of the participants, or those present at Saqifat Bani Sa'ida is of critical importance. As noted in the preceding, while the Ansar were represented in their collectivity, the Muhajirun were not and then, later, only by Abu Bakr and Umar. More significantly, Ahl Al Bayt were not present. As Ibn Ishaq (1982, 201-206) quite explicitly notes in his Sira, the Prophet's closet family, those being Ali, Fatima Al Zahra, and Khadija bint Abu Bakr, were not present at Saqifat Bani Sa'ida as they were preparing the Prophet's body for burial. The implication here is not only that their opinion was neither given nor taken but, from the Shiite perspective, that one of those who would have figured as the natural choice for succession was not present: Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. It is within the context of the absence of most of the Muhajirun and the totality of Ahl Al Bayt that Abu Bakr become the Prophet's successor, the umma's first caliph. Yawm al-Saqifa, as reported by Ibn Ishaq (qtd. In Ibn Hashem, 1994, 127-131), was a prolonged and acerbic affair. The Ansar were, from the outset, adamantly opposed to the selection of either a member of Ahl al Bayt or a Muhajir, preferring one of their own. Abu Bakr addressed the Ansar's opposition, arguing that the only a member of Quraysh, Mecca's leading clan, could possibly maintain the Islamic umma and sustain its unity. The reasons, as given by Abu Bakr, were the universal recognition of Quraysh's nobility and its worthiness of leadership. It was, thus, that Abu Bakr suggested that those present select either Umar or him as the Prophet's successor (Ibn Hashem, 1994, 127-131). Needless to say, the Ansar maintain their opposition, with the aforementioned being carried forth by one of their more powerful tribal chiefs, Bashir ibn Sa'd ibn Tha'laba. Indeed, utterly rejected the notion of governance by either Umar or Abu Bakr, the Ansar suggested that they elected their own leader and the Muhajirun their own. At this point, Ibn Ishaq (1982, 209), reports that the meeting went temporarily out of control to the extent that it seemed that the umma had already, only hours after the Prophet's death, divided amongst itself. This was, apparently, Umar's sentiments, whereupon he responded to the said proposal by taking hold of Abu Bakr's hand and swearing an oath of allegiance to him as the leader of the umma. The Ansar, as Ibn Ishaq (1982, 210) continues, however, were not to succumb easily and Sa'd ibn Ubada, the leader of the Khazraj Ansar