ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Biography of Imam `alĪ Ibn AbĪ-tĀlib The Mischief of Apostasy After the provisional bay`ah at the Saqifah of Banū-Sa`idah the majority of the people of al-Madinah owed their allegiance to Abū-Bakr and his caliphate was established from the democratic point of view. But when this news spread far and wide, a wave of discontent arose and restlessness developed in the minds of the Arab tribes that urged them not to cooperate with the establishment.

Some of the tribes joined under the flags of the apostates. From every side the voices of opposition started emanating. In this atmosphere only Quraysh and Banū-Thaqif remained steadfast with the establishment. Ibn al-Athir writes: “The Arabs became apostates. The land of Arabia became a center for mischief and unrest.

Barring the Quraysh and Banū-Thaqif, almost all the tribes, or certainly a part of each, turned to apostasy.”[1] During the reign of Abū-Bakr the chiefs of the apostates who raised their heads had already turned apostate while the Prophet (a.s) was alive.

Therefore, al-Aswad al-`Anzi, Musaylamah the Imposter and tulayhah ibn Khuwaylid had already turned hostile and made claims of prophethood during the lifetime of the Prophet (a.s) al-Aswad al-`Anzi was killed by Fayrūz al-Daylami during the times of the Prophet (a.s) and his supporters created mischief. Musaylamah was killed by Wahshi during the period of Abū-Bakr. tulayhah embraced Islam during the time of `Umar.

Similarly, `Alqamah ibn `Alasah and Salma bint Malik became apostates during the time of the Prophet (a.s) and after his demise entered into armed conflict However Laqit ibn Malik became an apostate after the Prophet (a.s) and Sujah bint al-Harith too made a claim of prophethood after his demise. Laqit was vanquished by the Muslims totally and Sujah was rendered a supplement of Musaylamah and married him to spend the rest of her life in obscurity.

These were the apostates who created mischief during the period of Abū-Bakr. The people who were known as those who refused to pay the zakat were from these [1] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 2, Page 231 tribes. They were the same persons who claimed to be prophets and their cohorts.