Rabigh

Ubaydah's Expedition in Batn Rabigh

In April 623, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad sent Ubaydah ibn al-Harith with a party of sixty armed Muhajirun to the valley of Rabigh. They expected to intercept a Quraysh caravan that was returning from Syria under the protection of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and 200 armed riders. The Muslim party travelled as far as the wells at Thanyat al-Murra, where Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas shot an arrow at the Quraysh. This is known as the first arrow of Islam. Despite this surprise attack, "they did not unsheathe a sword or approach one another," and the Muslims returned empty-handed.

Hadith Ghadir Khumm and Hadith al-Thaqalayn

The hadith of the pond of Khumm narrates that the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have pronounced Ali ibn Abi Talib the mawla (patron, master) of those for whom Muhammad was patron. Shia Muslims take and claim this hadith as an announcement and investiture of Ali bin Abi Talib as the first caliph or successor after the Prophet's death and they celebrate this announcement each year as Eid al-Ghadeer. Many Sunnis also accept that the Prophet did actually declare Ali as the mawla , however they refuse to believe that this meant succession to the Prophet. According to the Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas, the oldest book in Islam after the Quran:

" 46.3 Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I have left two things with you. As long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet."

According to Sunnis, there is no record of any disagreement between Muslim scholars concerning the alleged caliphate of Ali bin Abi Talib in the years proceeding the Prophet. Imam Jafar al-Sadiq whose views most Shias follow and Imam Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas whose views most Sunnis follow worked together in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. Along with Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, Muhammad al-Baqir, Zayd ibn Ali and over 70 other leading jurists and scholars. On the other hand, according to Shias, the dispute between Ali and the rest of the companions started right at the death of the Prophet when they abandoned him with the Prophet's dead body and quickly chose Abu Bakar as the caliph.

The Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas was written as a consensus of the opinion of these scholars. The Muwatta quotes 13 hadiths from Imam Jafar al-Sadiq. There had been oral transmission from generation to generation until then. The Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas is the earliest of these books that is written solely to record the hadith.