Deliberation on Ḥadīth, Suddu al-Abwāb

One of the aḥādīth that is controversial among the Sunnī ḥadīth transmitters is the ḥadīth, “suddu al-abwāb” (seal the doors), which some have regarded as concerning ‘Alī (A.S.), and some others concerning Abū Bakr, and yet some have devised a midway between the two, meaning that the Apostle of Allah (S.A.W.) has stated the above ḥadīth about both. Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl Bukhārī and Muslim b. Ḥajjāj Nayshābūrī – the authors of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim who have endeavored to compile the Prophetic aḥādīth – have regarded the above-mentioned ḥadīth as related about Abū Bakr and as one of the sound aḥādīth. With a study and historical analysis of the first ten years of Abū Bakr’s residence in Medina, the present article has concluded that he had been living in the suburb of Medina and in a quarter named Sunḥ and had not had any house near Masjid al-Nabī (the Prophet’s [S.A.W.] Mosque). Thus, the above ḥadīth is not true about his residence and has been applicable to the residential location of ‘Alī (A.S.).