The wars of Abu Sufyan and his son Muawiyah against Prophet and Ali respectively...

The wars of Abu Sufyan and his son Muawiyah against Prophet and Ali respectively, also the horrible massacre of the grandson of the prophet at Karbala by the grandson of Abu Sufyan, are only some of the top items among the long list of such crimes. You might also want to refresh the memory that when Muawiyah took over power, he instituted the Sunnah of cursing Imam Ali.

Sunni history books and Sunni collections of traditions clearly state that Muawiyah commanded all the Imams of the mosques throughout the Muslim world to curse Imam Ali in every Friday prayer. (Sunni references are available upon request). Now, we turn to the events of Saqifah and the “election” of Abu Bakr: During the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), the Mosque of the Prophet was the centre of all Islamic activities.

It was there that the decision of war and peace were made, delegations were received, sermons were delivered and cases were decided. It is not surprising that when the news of the demise of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) spread, the Muslims assembled in that very Mosque. On the other hand, Saqifah of Bani Sa’idah was located three miles outside Medina and was a secret location for the evil activities of some Arab tribes.

(2) Why then did Sa’d Ibn Ubadah and his fans as well as Abu Bakr and Umar leave the Mosque secretly and without informing other prominent companions and went three miles outside Medina to discuss the issue of the Caliphate? Why didn’t they discuss the issue as important as this among the Muslims inside the mosque? Wasn’t that they wanted to usurp the Caliphate without the knowledge of the people? Why did Abu Bakr and Umar with Abu Ubaydah slip out of the mosque secretly?

Was it because Ali and Bani Hashim were present in the mosque and in the house of the Prophet, and they did not want them to know the plot? Also, we should keep in mind that it was the custom of the Arabs that once a person was declared, even by a small group, to be the chief of the tribe, others hesitated to oppose him, and Willy nq4illy followed suit. Due to their dislike of Imam Ali (AS) (which I discussed earlier), they did not respect his right, nor did they even inform him of this meeting.

They SIMPLY neglected the last sermon of the Prophet in Ghadir Khum where the Messenger of God declared him as his successor just two and a half months before the incident of Saqifah.