This
is a summary review of world
’s most important event, which happened some 3 months before the Last
Prophet of
Allāh
(J.J.)
departed to the eternal world. Without this Holy event, the dīn of
Allāh
would not
have been perfected, and the mission of Prophet
Muḥammad
(ph&hp)
would not have been accomplished. In
connection with the Epic of
ʿĀshūrā,
it is essential to have a good understanding of the “Event of al-Ghadīr,”
and the “Intrigue of al-Saqīfah” in order to grasp the principle
motive of Imām al-
Ḥ
usayn
(a.s.) and
the truth of
ʿĀshūrā
.
On
Thursday 18th Dhil-Ḥijjah, in 10 A.H. (10 March 632 CE),
returning from his last pilgrimage (the farewell pilgrimage
حجة الوداع
), prophet
Muḥammad
(ph&hp) received the following
waḥy
from the Heavens:
يَا
أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ
تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ
اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ.
O,
Messenger! Deliver what has [just] been revealed to you from your
Lord
. And, if
you do it not, then you have not fulfilled His commission (your
assignment). And
,
Allāh
shall protect you from
the people. Certainly, Allāh will not guide the
disbelievers
.
Sūrah al-Mā’idah (5), Āyah 67.
Upon
receiving this Āyah, the Prophet (ph&hp) stopped at once in that
place which was called Ghadīr al-Khum (the Khum Pond). Then he sent for all people who have been
ahead in the way to come back, and also waited until other pilgrims arrived from
behind. When all gathered together, the
Messenger of Allāh (ph&hp) spent approximately five hours in this
very hot place; three hours of which he was on the quasi-pulpit. He recited nearly one hundred verses from The
Glorious Qur
’ān
and seventy three times reminded and warned people of
their deeds in the future. Then he
delivered a long sermon, by Divine Command, called the declaration of al-Ghadīr. Full translation of this declaration will be
available in this site, Inshā
’Allāh
soon.
Upon
the delivery of what has been revealed to him, the Last Messenger of Allāh
(J.J.) said “It seems the time has approached the
point in which I shall be called away (by Allāh (J.J.)), and I shall
rejoin the call.” Then he declared
the following passage known as the
ḥadith
of al-Thaqalayn:
إِنِّي
تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ ثَقَلَيْنِ مَا إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا
بَعْدِي أَحَدُهُمَا أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْآخَرِ وَ هُوَ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ حَبْلٌ
مَمْدُودٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَ عِتْرَتِي أَهْلُ بَيْتِي لَنْ
يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ تَخْلُفُونِّي
فِي عِتْرَتِي
“Verily, I
am leaving among you two precious things. If you adhere to them both, you will never
go astray after me, each one of them is greater than the other. And, they are the Book of Allāh (J.J.),
which is a rope (of guidance) extended from the heavens to the earth, and my
ʿIṭrah
, my Ahl al-Bayt. The two shall never separate from each other
until they come back to me by the Pool [of al-Kawthar (
الحوض
الکوثر
)]
. Pay [particular]
attention to the issue of my successor-ship among my
ʿ
Iṭrah
.
”
Many
references, Book No. 3, v. 23, p. 108, as an example.
This very significant ḥadith is well studied
for its authenticity (tawātur
تواتر
). You may refer to
http://www.al-islam.org/thaqalayn/nontl/index.htm
for details. The Messenger of Allāh
(J.J.) continued:
يَا أَيُّهَا
النَّاسُ أَ لَسْتُ أَوْلَى بِكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ
فَقَالُوا بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ
اللَّهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ قُمْ يَا عَلِيُّ فَقَامَ
عَلِيٌّ وَ أَخَذَ بِيَدِهِ فَرَفَعَهَا حَتَّى رُئِيَ بَيَاضُ إِبْطَيْهِ ثُمَّ
قَالَأَلا مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلَاهُ فَهَذَا عَلِيٌّ
مَوْلَاهُ
.
اللَّهُمَّ وَالِ مَنْ وَالاهُ وَ عَادِ مَنْ
عَادَاهُ وَ انْصُرْ مَنْ نَصَرَهُ وَ اخْذُلْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُ
ثُمَّ نَزَلَ مِنَ الْمِنْبَرِ وَ جَاءَ أَصْحَابُهُ إِلَى
أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع وَ هَنَّوْهُ بِالْوَلَايَةِ وَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ قَالَ لَهُ
عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ فَقَالَ لَهُ يَا عَلِيُّ أَصْبَحْتَ مَوْلَايَ وَ
مَوْلَى كُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ وَ مُؤْمِنَةٍ وَ نَزَلَ
جَبْرَئِيلُ بِهَذِهِ الآيَةِ- الْيَوْمَ
أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَ أَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَ رَضِيتُ لَكُمُ
الإِسْلامَ دِينا
.
“O’ people do I
not have more right over you than what
you
have over yourselves?
” People cried and answered “Yes! O’ Messenger of Allāh.” Then the holy Prophet (ph&hp) asked al-ʿAlī
(a.s.) to stand up and he stood up. Then
he took the hand of ḥaḍrat ʿAli (a.s.), raised it, and uttered [the key
sentence] “Beware! For whomever I am his Mawlā (Waliyy),
this ʿAlī is his Mawlā (Waliyy). O’
All
ā
h
, love those who
love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him. Help those who help him and let down those
who let him down.
”
Then his companions went to Amir
il-Mu
’
min
ī
n
ʿAli (a.s.) to congratulate him for his Wil
ā
yah
. The first one was ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb,
who said “Well done ibn ’Abi Ṭālib! Today you became the Waliyy (Mawlā)
of me and of all believing men and women.”
Then, Jabra
’ī
l
(Gabriel) came down with this Āyah (
Sūrah al-Mā
’idah
(5), āyah
3
) from Allāh (J.J.) “
…This day, I have
perfected your
dīn
for you, completed My Favour
upon you, and I am
pleased with you to embrace Islām as the way of life (dīn)
…"
Book No.
35, p. 11.
Unmistakably, the above verse clarifies that Islam
would have remained inadequate and unsatisfactory without the important issue
of the holy Wilāyah. And, that
perfection of the
dīn
of Allāh (J.J.) was by the Wilāyah of Imām
al-ʿAlī (a.s.), the Prophet’s immediate successor.
This
significant event is well narrated by both the Sunni and Shī
ʿ
ī
narrators and commentators. For authentication, observation of references,
and Strength of Ghadīr al-Khum narrations please refer to
Books that mention the Event
, and
Transmitters and their Credibility
.
This
event, being towards the end of the Prophet
’s life, has special significance. It clarifies that the divine
dīn
of Allāh
(J.J.) was still imperfect until Imām al-
ʿAlī
(a.s.) was
appointed as the “Waliyy” of all Muslims. And, that this delegation was by the Command
of Allāh (J.J.). And, that if imām
al-
ʿAlī
(a.s.) was not introduced by Prophet Muḥammad
(ph&hp) as the Waliyy of Muslim community, the Prophet
’s
mission, thus the mission of all previous messengers, were not fulfilled.
It
is deplorable to find out, in the next section “The Saqīfah Intrigue,”
that, just a few months later, upon the decease of prophet
Muḥammad
(ph&hp) the
Divine event of al-Ghadīr was forgotten all together. The divine Waḥy of
Allāh
(J.J.), the invaluable Testament of the most beloved Prophet of Allāh (J.J.),
and the Wilāyah of Amīr il-Mu’minīn (the Master of all Believers)
were all trampled upon. Establishing an
earthly rule of fallible individuals is a major drift from the Will of Allāh
(J.J.), our Exalted Creator who had masterminded to put in practice the Wilāyah
(Divine Rule) of infallible Imāms.
Please
pay particular attention that without the transfer of the Wilāyah to Ḥaḍrat
ʿAlī (a.s.), the holy prophet
’s Risālah (the Divine Mission)
would not have been fulfilled. It has
been reported that over hundred thousand people have witnessed and heard the long
speech and sermons delivered by prophet
Muḥammad
(ph&hp)
during the major historic event of Ghadīr al-Khum.
Detailed
information regarding the significant event of the Ghadir al-Khum can be
found in
http://www.al-islam.org/ghadir/incident.htm
. In order to realize the truth of the great
Epic of
ʿ
Ā
sh
ū
r
ā
, we must have a good understanding of “
The Saq
ī
fah Intrigue
,” next section.