URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/03/hadith-of-ghadir-e-khum.html
The following 18 page document was shared by Ebrahim Rashid about the conversation at Ghadir-e-Khum, it is one of the most critical documents in understanding the Shia-Sunni Conflict. I have asked Ebrahim this, "This is a serious talk, has this sermon been authenticated? Is this in the original form to verify its veracity? I want to continue the dialogue and hope you can enlighten me." Indeed, I will update it with his comments, in the comments section below.
Personally I chose Islam because it makes sense to me, it is inclusive and pluralistic based on justice, and for building cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. I have purged myself with everything that was taught to me in my early years and have re-learned Islam byte by byte, criticizing everything. Alhamdu Lillah, I Have done extensive work in pluralism and interfaith and now in parallel, working on intra-faith dialogue among Muslims. God only knows where we go, but try we must to understand each other and hold the temptations to deny the other, his or her belief.
I wrote the following commentary to an earlier note.
In the entire history of Islam after the prophet, scholars have made sincere efforts to reconcile the Shia-Sunni understanding of the words uttered in Ghadeer, Shias believe that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) designated Hazrat Ali as the successor, by all accounts he was qualified in every possible criterion, indeed he was the first one to believe in the prophet. The Sunnis believe that the Deen was completed that day and the qualified (ability to forge people together) individual becomes the leader. Sunnis also believe that, had Islam become a family dynasty, Islam would not have flourished.
These two are genuine beliefs.
We must continue to make an effort to understand the truth based on many other factors in addition to what we are stuck up with. Thus far, all the efforts have ended with the Sunnis and Shias digging in their heels. This issue will not die down until the eureka moment or the Day of Judgment. We must continue to understand each other.
Facts don’t matter when belief reigns.
For the Shias, the right thing for Sunnis to do is to abandon their beliefs and accept Shia version as a "fact" and the same is true the other way around.
Similarly, Muslims will never even accept that Christians can believe Jesus to be son of a God, and as a throw back the Christians rejected the whole Quran as a false book because it denies them their belief. The genesis of which began in 957 AD by a Pastor in Syria, who could not believe that Islam was telling a different thing about Jesus. Nor the Christians will respect the idea that Quran accepts Jesus as a prophet. The conflicts between Jews and Christians simmer within, and erupt in petty expressions of Anti-Semitism, or snide comments. Many still think that Jews are Christ Killers, even though the facts are otherwise.
Whose truth is the truth?
Both and neither
We should always seek the truth for the sake of peace. However until the differences are reconciled, we must be prepared to see other's version, without agreeing with them. That is indeed an internal Jihad. Can we do that without being judgmental? Doesn’t Quran tell us daily not to be judgmental, and that he alone is the Master of the Day of Judgment?
Can Shia and Sunni live with their differences without the temptation to wrong the other? Yes we can! The more of us talk about this, the more recognition the topic will get.
Take this example; You may like Jamun* over Julebi, can a doctor, scientist, nutritionist, or a food connoisseur tell you that your taste is wrong, you should like Julebi, because factually Julebi is better. What would you say to that person? (My apologies to non-Urdu speaking members of this list, these are two different desserts)
IF IT WERE ME, I WOULD SAY, SISTER YOU ENJOY YOUR JAMUN AND I WILL ENJOY MY JULEBI. DO YOU RECALL THE SURA KAFIRUN? IT RESPECTS THE OTHERNESS OF OTHERS.
ISLAM IS FOR AALAMEEN, THAT IS FOR THE UNIVERSE WITH ALL THE DIVERSITY UNIVERSE HAS, AND LET’S NOT MAKES IT AN ENCLOSED BUCKET. I LOVE MY JIHAD AND FIGHT MY TEMPTATIONS TO WRONG THE OTHER BY PRAYING IN SHIA, SUNNI, AHMADIYYA AND THE MOSQUES OF OTHER DENOMINATIONS. YOU CAN EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS, INSTEAD OF TIGHTENING THE NOOSE AROUND ISLAM.
WE HAVE TO LEARN TO RESPECT THE OTHERNESS OF OTHERS. I HAVE SEEN A FEW COMMENTS BACK AND FORTH, NONE OF THEM HAVE EXPRESSED THE DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND, ALL WERE DETERMINED TO PROVE THAT, THEY WERE RIGHT AND OTHERS ARE WRONG, IT WON'T CUT IT IN A DIALOGUE, ITS 1400 YEAR OLD ISSUE AND CANNOT BE RESOLVED IN YES OR NO OR QUESTIONS LIKE THESE
<<< WHOSE UNDESRTANDING IS ACCEPTABLE "THE STUDENTS ATTENDING THE LECTURE" OR "WHO NEVER ATTENDED THE LECTURE BUT RECEIVED SOME BITS, MANY TIMES OUT OF CONTEXT"? >>>
<<< FOR SUBJECT ASK HIS STUDENTS, FOR ...>>>
NEITHER WILL EVER PROVE THE OTHER IS WRONG BECAUSE IT IS A BELIEF AND NOT A FACT.
WHAT WE NEED IS UNDERSTANDING OF EACH OTHERS POINT OF VIEW - AND WE DON'T HAVE TO AGREE. WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK ON IS RESPECTING EACH OTHER'S BELIEF, RESPECTING EACH OTHERS LIFE AND PROPERTY AND DEALING FAIRLY WITH EACH OTHER.
MIKE GHOUSE COMMITTED TO BUILD COHESIVE SOCIETIESWWW.WORLDMUSLIMCONGRESS.COM
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Hadith of Ghadir-e-Khum
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE BENEFICENT THE MERCIFUL
Allah, besides Whom there is no God or deity; He described himself: The Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the King of the Holy, Giver of peace, the Granter of security, the Guardian over all, the Mighty, the Supreme, the Possessor of every greatness, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most excellent Names, the Mighty, the Wise – 59:22 to 24
This sermon is taken from Volume 1 of ‘Ihtijaj Tabrasi’ (Whose author was a great scholar, and lived in the sixth century Hijra) and which was printed in the Holy city of Mashhed in the year 1403 A.H.
The Arabic text of ‘introduction’ to the sermon is given in full, while the Persian and English translations of the same have been summarized.
N.B. All the implications of the ‘introduction’ have been given fully in the translation. The translator has made extensive efforts to ensure that the Persian and the English translation of the sermon (The Testament) of the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him and his progeny (SAW), on the occasion of Ghadir Khum, correspond directly, passage by passage and word for word with the original Arabic text.
The publisher: Reference to the sources of narratives and the history of the incident of Ghadir Khum, together with a brief explanation are also given in this book.
Hadith of Ghadir Khum and the Testament of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
The great scholar Abid Abu Ja’afer Mahdi, the son of Abu Hard el Husaini el Marashi, informed us on the authority of Sheikh Abu Ali Hasan ibn Sheikh Mohammad ibn Hasan el Toosi, who states on the authority of his respected father Abu Ja’afar, who relates from his own father, and he in turn narrates on the authority of a group who have reported it from Abi Mohammad Haroun Ibn Musa Talakbari from Mohammad ibn Homman from Ali Soori, who in turn from Mohammad Alavi and he from Mohammad Ibn Musa Hamadani and he, in turn, from Mohammad Ibn Khalid Tayalesi and he from Saif Ibn Omaira and Saleh Ibn Akaba and from Qais Ibn Sama’an from Alqama Ibn Mohammad Alqami who in turn has quoted from Hazrat Abu Ja’afar Mohammad Ibn Ali el Baqir (a.s.) who stated: “The great Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) had set off on a pilgrimage of the Mosque of Ka’ba, when the angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) appeared from Almighty Allah, saluted the Holy Prophet and said:
“Almighty Allah states that I have never caused the soul of any of the prophets in the past to be taken from his body and returned to Me without the completion of the religion whose mission had been assigned to anyone of them and without the fulfillment of all the evidences and proofs; and for you (in the same way) two obligations are pending fulfillment and you have, therefore, to convey them to the people.”
Firstly, the command relating to the obligatory pilgrimage to Makka (hajj) and the other related to the caliphate and successor of the last Messenger of Allah. You are therefore obliged to make a general proclamation to all, that anyone who has the ability and capacity to perform the pilgrimage to Makka (Hajj) must do so, and you must instruct them on all the functions and rituals that have to be performed by them during the pilgrimage to Makka and they should learn these, just as they have learned from you the conditions of prayers, the payment of poor due and the fast of Ramadhan.
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) then deputed one of his companions to inform everyone about the pilgrimage to Makka by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) and to invite everyone capable of performing the pilgrimage to do so in accordance with the rules and regulations relating to this great devotion to Allah (s.w.t.).
After this general and public invitation to Hajj, more than 70,000 people from Madinah and it’s environ accompanied the last of the Apostles, the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) on this way to Makka, and they followed and obeyed the Prophet in every action and every act that he performed during the pilgrimage.
The number of Muslims who followed the Prophet, viz. over 70,000 is virtually the same as the number of those who followed Musa Ibn Imran (Moses) peace be upon him, who had appointed his brother Haroon (Aaron) as caliph as well as his successor. However, when Musa (a.s.) had gone to perform some devotions and obligations to Allah, during his absence, his followers broke their pledge and allegiance to his caliph Aaron and began to worship the golden calf made by Samurie, the magician.
The Muslim population which was travellling the distance between Madinah and Makka had developed an extraordinary and impressive sight, especially from the sound of ‘Labbaik, Labbaik’ (verbal declaration of obedience and submissiveness to Allah) of the pilgrims, the hills, deserts, valleys seemed to have joined in with their declaration recitations.
And when they stopped at the halting place (the day of ‘Arafat’ is the commencing day of Hajj rituals), Gabriel descended and said: Allah sends you His salutations and states: Your time of departure, when you shall come to Me and when your material life shall cease, is nearing; You must therefore select your caliph and successor and leave in his trust the inheritance of prophecy and the tradition and verses of prophetic mission (and the inheritance from all prophets, such as personal weapons, coffin, etc.) and whatever has been in your trust. Your cousin (Amirul Mu’Mineen) Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) is My argument and ultimatum to all creatures, he is Allah’s caliph and reason and you must once again introduce him to all people and leave in his trust all knowledge and special teachings. You must seek and obtain this crowd’s allegiance for him.
Everyone must understand that:
The earth shall never be without Allah’s argument (Hujjat) and guardian (warden) and obedience to Allah is absolute and is dependent upon obedience shown to His argument (Hujjat); disobedience and rebellion against the Hujjat (guardian appointed by Allah) is a refusal to obey the order of Allah and greatest sin against Allah. Whoever so breaks his pledge to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.) and refuses to recognize his high position and bears enmity towards him in his heart, has of course gone astray from My orders and has become an infidel and a polytheist placing himself in the fire of Hell.
Since the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) was anxious about his people and in particular about the hypocrites amongst them, and having considered their schism, apostasy and blasphemy, and because he was well aware of the enmity and hatred they felt towards Amirul Mu’mineen Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) the prophet through the agency of Gabriel made a supplication to Allah that He should protect him from the evil, treachery and deception of the hypocrites.
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) (Awaiting the response of his supplication to Allah) delayed the carrying out of the above Command of Allah until they reached the Khaif Mosque (located in Mina). At this place, the angel descended once again and repeated the former obligation with regard to the introduction of Amirul Mu’mineen Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and conveyed the order of Allah with respect to forwarding whatsoever the Messenger has inherited from previous prophets (such as personal weapons, shroud, Divine Books etc.) to his successor Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) as well as all previous Commandments and signs of Prophethood. (However, he did not mention anything regarding the protection sought by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) for himself from the evil of the hypocrites).
Once more the Holy prophet (s.a.w.) did not find it opportune at this place to carry out the Command of Allah repeated by the angel Gabriel and moved on until he and his followers reached the oasis of Kara’el Ghanim, which is located between Makka and Madina. Here again the angel Gabriel descended a third time and reminded the prophet (s.a.w.) about the introduction to the people of Amirul Mu’mineen as caliph and successor, but again said nothing about the security of the Holy prophet (s.a.w.) against the evil of his enemies.
So, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) said to Gabriel: “I am afraid the people shall deny and disregard my instruction with regard to Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.).” The Prophet and his followers moved on until they arrived at the oasis of ‘Ghadir Khum’ (which is approximately three miles from a place now called ‘Johfa’ and at this place, five hours after sunrise, Gabriel descended and after salutation to the Prophet, he recited the following verse from the Qur’an:
‘O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you (with regard to Ali) from your Lord (Nourisher); and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His complete Message, and Allah shall protect you from the people; surely Allah shall not guide the unbelieving people’ – 5:67
This time the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) resolutely decided to fulfil the Command of Allah and he therefore gave orders that all those who had gone ahead should be told to return to where he was at Ghadir Khum, and all those who were struggling behind should be waited for, and to gather everyone at the halting place (of Ghadir Khum) near the Ghadir Mosque, and to prepare the first steps for the introduction and description of his sermon [regarding the matter of succession and the appointment of Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.)].
There were some trees at that location and the Prophet instructed the ground beneath the trees to be swept and stones laid down to form a pulpit so that the Holy Prophet could address the people from the top of the pulpit and be seen by everyone.
Everyone from those who had gone ahead and those following behind gathered at that place; Allah’s Holy Apostle placed himself on top of the stones and commenced the heavenly instructions and Divine Message and his long, fluent and appealing words, thus:
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL
The Sermon of Ghadir Khum (The Testament)
Praise and eulogies are due to Allah whose Unity is sublime and whose uniqueness and incomparability in matter of proximity is clear and His magnificence in matters of creativity is everlasting and His encompassibility of particles of being and existence is evident and His control and supervision over the entire universe is apparent and all the creatures and creation are under His Power and His Reasoning, with a glory and greatness that never declines.
He is the Praised One, the Creator of the Heavens and all the galaxies. He is the Ruler of the Heavens and the Earth, while being worthy of sanctification and transcendence. The Creator of all angels and of the Holy spirits, His extended Favours to all His creatures and His endless Blessings have encompassed the Universe of Being. He sees and controls the entire existence, but no naked eyes are ever able to see Him. His Grace and Greatness, His Forbearance, His Fortitude and Mercy envelop the entire creation. He has made the entire universe indebted to Him through His unlimited and boundless blessings, and yet He does not hasten to take revenge or impose punishment on those who are rebellious against Him, even though they deserve chastisement and punishment. He is Aware of all secrets and the hidden inner selves, and all that is hidden is clear and evident to Him. He encompasses and observes each and every particle of the universe (nothing is obscured from Him), whilst everything is within His Power and is subservient to Him.
He is Omnipotent and Powerful over everything; there is no other like Him. He has brought forth creation from nothingness when all of creation was naught.
He is the Everlasting and Eternal who rules by justice and equity. There is no other dominant, omniscient, omnipotent and wise deity but He. He is far nobler and more sublime for His Holy Supreme Being to be seen, but He Himself is Aware of all thoughts and ideas and the inner eyes. He has full knowledge of every action and every sin committed by His servants and yet under those same conditions He is Forgiving and Merciful toward them. No one can ever describe Him or claim to have seen Him in any manner, save what He Himself has said about Himself, and there is no way anyone can fathom the depths of the mysteries with regard to His creation, whether the creation be covert or overt, except anyone who has been guided towards it by Him.
I bear witness to Allah Whose sanctification and extreme Holiness has encompassed all being, and the radiance of His Compassion has illuminated all existence from one end to the other, His Order and rule Command all existence. Allah that is determined to be comes to being by virtue of His absolute Might and without any consultation and assistance. His design and scheme is unalterable. His creation is unique and has no comparison, and no one has ever assisted Him in these matters. His creation came into being without any pre-planning, without any toil and tribulation and it came into being instantly by His Command of His Wish.
Verily He is the One True Allah; there is no other sustainer of creation except Him. What He has created is sedate and subtle and its function is beautiful and good. The Dispenser of Justice unto whom, Holy of Holies, no transgression nor any persecution nor any injustice can have any access. The Sublime and the Exalted unto Whom everything and all events are related and shall return.
I bear witness that every being is humble in the presence of His Greatness and before whose Reverence and Power everything is insignificant and weak. He is the controller and rotator of the galaxies and all the celestial bodies and He is the true Owner and Master of the universe of being. All heavenly bodies, the sun and the moon, move along their pre-determined paths at His Will.
It is He Who covers the light of the day by the darkness of night and turns the darkness of night to the light of day. The rebellious ones have fallen in confrontation with His Divine vengeance; He destroys every satanic rebel. No one has the strength to confront and oppose Him. He has no equal or likeness.
He is absolutely self-sufficient and unique. He is the ultimate objective towards whom all are oriented.
It is inconceivable for Him to beget someone or be Himself begotten and He has no one comparable and similar to Himself. He has been and shall be the ever Eternal.
He is the absolute Sustainer of the entire world. The Sustainer with such Grace and Greatness that what He wills is created. He is fully aware of all that is created and knows their number and their count. He is the taker, giver and the reviver of life. He impoverishes the rich and renders the poor self-sufficient. It is He Who makes a person laugh and another one weep. It is He Who brings near one to another and distances one from the other. He withholds and grants.
All existence is His and all thanks and praise are His. All virtues and goodness and good fortune are in his Mighty Hands and He is capable and Powerful over all things. He turns night to day and day to night. There is no forgiving and merciful deity but He. He knows the count of every breath of all His creation. He is the creator of all Jinn and mankind and nothing is difficult or troublesome for Him.
He is not wearied or troubled by the wails and cries of the helpless ones and the supplicators. He is the protector and guardian of the virtuous against sin and the provider of grace for the delivered, and He is the source of all nourishment and sustenance for the whole world.
It is appropriate for all creatures to express their thanks and gratitude towards Him. In comfort and ease, in discomfort and difficulty and in every state I am grateful to Him. My faith is in Him, and I certify and admit to His angels, Divine Books and all His prophets.
I hear His Commands and obey His orders. I submit to His Will and I seek to obey Him. I am His slave and servant while I fear His retribution, for He is Allah, from Whose retribution no refuge or safe haven can be found, even though no one may fear any cruelty or persecution from Him.
I admit being His slave and servant and I bear witness to the fact that He is my Sustainer. I carry out His Commands as He reveals them to me. I fear a calamity, that no thoughtful and prudent person is able to repulse shall befall me if I refrain from executing that which I have received.
There is no deity except He worthy of worship. He has made it known to me that if I do not convey what has been revealed to me, I have not fulfilled my prophetic mission as His apostle. Allah has guaranteed to protect me, the Merciful Compassionate Allah is sufficient for me.
Allah had divinely revealed to me: "O Messenger, deliver what has been revealed to you [with regard to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.)] from your Lord (Nourisher); and if you do it not, you have not delivered His complete message; and Allah shall protect you from the people; surely Allah shall not guide the unbelieving people".
O people! I have not neglected in conveying to you what has been Divinely revealed to me, and I shall explain to you the reason for this revelation; the Archangel Gabriel appeared before me and he conveyed the salutations of Allah to me and Commanded to me to break my journey at this place and convey to you the Divine revelation he brought unto me. Therefore, announce such that everyone shall know, both black and white become aware, that Ali Ibn Abi Talib is my brother, my successor and the religious leader (Imam) of you all after me, and his position relative to me is like Haroun’s position in relation to Musa, except that there shall be no prophet or messenger after me; after Allah and Allah’s Messenger, he is your ruler, guardian and religious leader and this Command had been issued by Allah. This verse is from Allah’s Holy Book:
"It is this and only this that; only Allah is your Vali (Guardian), and His prophet (Messenger), and those who keep up prayers and pay the poor rater (due) while they bow in their prayers". – 5:55
It is Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) who stood up to pray and during the state of bowing in prayer he gave the poor due and he seeks the pleasure of Allah is every state.
O people! I asked the Archangel Gabriel if it is possible for Allah to excuse me from conveying this Divine Command because I know that the pious are few in number and the hypocrites are plenty, and the sinful corruption rousers who ridicule and scheme against Islam are innumerable, and Allah Almighty introduces them in the Holy Qur’an in the following words: "They have no faith in what they say with their tongues, and they consider this to be an insignificant matter, and yet, in the sight of Allah, it is a very great thing".
They have hurt me much, and have alleged that I accept whatever I hear, they called me all (ears) and they think I am like so, because Ali (a.s.) is very closely connected to me and I favoured him. Until the Almighty and Glorious responded to them by descending a revelation and so stated:
"And there are others among them who speak ill of the Prophet, saying: 'He believes everything he hears.' Say,'He hears only what is good for you. He believes in Allah and puts his trust in the faithful. He is blessing to the true believers among you. Those that wrong the apostle of Allah shall be sternly punished." 9:61
If I wish to reveal their names I could do so, and if I wish, I could point them out and if I want to describe them I could describe them; but by Allah, I am very generous to them and with all this generosity, Allah shall not be pleased with me unless and until I convey what has been Divinely revealed to me (about Ali).
"O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you; and if you do it not, you have not delivered His complete Message; and Allah shall protect you from the people; surely Allah does not guide the unbelieving people".
O people! Know that Allah has ordained Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.) as the ruler and guardian of you in your affairs, and your patron and your leader and He has installed him with this distinction. He has made submission to him obligatory to all the Mohajirs and Ansaars and all the rest of the people, be they city dwellers or nomads of the wilderness, be they Arabs or non-Arabs, slaves or free men, be they children or adults, white or black, anyone who worships Allah should obey Ali’s command and must verify his sayings and carry out his orders.
He who opposes him is accursed. One who obeys him is graced by Allah. One who accepts him with this distinction is the one who is a saved believer. Allah forgives those who obey and execute his orders.
O people! This is the last place where I have risen to convey Allah’s Commandment; therefore listen, obey and surrender yourself to your Lord’s Command. Allah the Almighty and Glorious is your Creator. He is your Guardian and He is your Deity and He is the One you worship, and after Allah, His Messenger Mohammad (s.a.w.) who is now speaking to you is guardian of your affairs and your patron, and after me Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.) is your guardian, patron and leader (Imam) who has been appointed to this position by Allah’s Command. After Ali (a.s.) the leadership of people (Imamat) shall be for his sons who are of my progeny. They shall be Allah’s proof and argument (Hujjat) over creation until the day on which you shall meet your creator the Almighty and Glorious Allah. Praise be upon Him and His Prophet.
Nothing has been allowed unless Allah has permitted it, and nothing has been prohibited except that which has been forbidden by Allah. Every permitted and prohibited item that Allah has taught me, I have taught the same to Ali (a.s.).
O people! There is no knowledge that Allah has not entrusted in me, and I have taught Ali the leader of the pious, all Divine Knowledge entrusted in me and I have entrusted it in Ali and he is your true and manifest leader (Imam).
O people! Let it not be that you leave Ali solitary and alone and do not distance yourselves from him, do not refuse to obey his leadership, and avoid arrogance over his guardianship of you. He is the only one who can guide you towards the truth and he acts according to the truth, and obliterates what is false and shall hold you back from falsehood, In the path of righteousness, he does not fear the blame of those who blame. O people! Ali is the first of all who had faith and believed in Allah and His Messenger and truly acted to sacrifice his life to save the life of the Messengership of Allah. He is the first to worship Allah alongside the Messenger of Allah at a time when no other man except he worshipped Allah with me.
O people! Regard Ali (a.s.) superior to the rest, and consider him great and worthy of respect. Allah has graced him with excellence. Obey him, for Allah has selected him for the caliphate.
O people! Ali (a.s.) is your Imam and guardian appointed by Allah. Allah shall never accept repentance and excuse from anyone who denies Ali’s right of guardianship and rulership and leadership over you and such a person shall certainly not be forgiven and shall never achieve salvation. Anyone who rejects the Divine Command with regard to the leadership of Ali is bound to be subjected to Allah’s Wrath and retribution that shall never end. Therefore, o people! Beware not to oppose Ali (a.s.) and fear endless fire for the sinners; this is the fire that has been prepared for infidels.
O people! I swear by Allah that prophets and messengers of Allah have given good tidings of my apostleship and I am the last of all prophets and messengers. With me, apostleship shall come to an end and I am also the Divine Proof and Reason to all creation in the heavens and on the earth. Whoever doubts this is a disbeliever and an infidel and he shall be of the pagan days of darkness and the age of ignorance, and whoever doubts even one of my statements does in fact doubt all my statements and thus his residence shall be Hell.
O people! This eminence and excellence has been divinely endowed to me and this is a great favour to me from the Creator and Sustainer. There is no deity worthy or worship except He. My gratitude and praise be always to Him for ever and ever and for all times to come and in all circumstances.
O people! Accept the excellence and eminence of Ali and surrender your selves to his leadership and command, because, after me, he is superior to all men and women. Allah has bestowed the sustenance of all creation because of us, and through our agency and by virtue of our intercession He has stabilized the systematic organization of all creation.
He is accursed; he is far from Allah’s Mercy, he is far from Allah’s Mercy, he is worthy of Allah’s wrath, he is worthy of Allah’s wrath, whoever rejects my statements and disregards Ali’s religious leadership and guardianship.
Be aware that the Archangel Gabriel has informed me on behalf of Allah that the Almighty has said: Allah’s Curse and Wrath unto whoever bears enmity towards Ali (a.s.). Everyone must therefore observe what he has sent for the Day of Reckoning.
Fear Allah if you should oppose Ali and fear making such a blunder after you have been steadfast and resolute in the matter, for Allah is Aware of all that you do.
O people! Ali is with the truth and on the side of Allah and Allah has stated in His Holy Book: "The rebellious ones shall at the time of their death experience despair and sorrow as to why they turned away from the one who supports the truth and is on Allah’s side". – 39:56
O people! Reflect carefully in understanding the meanings of the Holy Qur’an. Comprehend the verses of the Holy Book of Allah. Pay attention to those verses of the Qur’an that are self-evident and do not follow your own desires in those verses of the Qur’an which are not clear to you. I swear by Allah that no one can or shall ever be able to clarify for you the prohibitions stated in the Holy Qur’an, neither shall he explain and elucidate for you the subtleties and meanings of the Book of Allah, except he whose hand is in my hand and whose arm I have raised, and I hereby proclaim that, the leader and the master of whomsoever I am, Ali is his master and leader. And he, Ali Ibn Abi Talib is my brother and my successor and whose lordship and leadership over you has been declared by Almighty and Glorious Allah which has been divinely revealed to me.
O people! Know that, from an assessment point of view, there are two weighty invaluable things which are always together, viz. Ali and the pure ones from my progeny, the important and the weighty minor ones, and the Holy Qur’an, the important and weighty major one, and both of them give news and inform each other and they are completely compatible with one another and they shall not separate from one another until they enter unto me on the Day of Judgement, Ali and the pure ones from my progeny are the trustees of Allah amongst people and they are His rulers and appointed guardians on earth.
Surely know that I have fulfilled my prophetic mission.
Surely know that I have conveyed whatever I had to convey to you.
Surely know that I have stated it loudly and you have clearly heard it.
Surely know what I have clearly manifested it for you.
Surely know that the Glorious Almighty Allah said and I have stated on His behalf.
Be aware that the Commander of the Faithful is no one except my brother Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and that after me this status for the Commander of the Faithful is not valid or permitted for anyone else except Ali.
(The prophet (s.a.w.) then grasped Ali (a.s.)’s arm and raised him so high that his feet became level with the prophet’s knees. The prophet (s.a.w.) then declared):
O people! This is Ali Ibn Abi Talib, my brother and successor and the one in whom all my knowledge is stored and who has fully attained my knowledge. He is my caliph and successor unto my people, my followers, and he is the only able commentator of Almighty and Glorious Allah’s Holy Book. He is the one who shall invite you towards Allah and he is active in deeds that are subject of Allah’s pleasure and consent. He rises to fight against the enemies of Allah and befriends those who obey Allah. He prevents people from shining against Allah by disobeying Him.
He is the successor of the Messenger of Allah and he is the Commander of the Faithful and he is the guided Imam.
By Allah’s Command he wages holy war against the pledge breakers, transgressors, tyrants, and those who have left and fled the path of Allah’s religion. What I am saying is by my Creator, Allah’s Command and not according to my own desire.
By order of Almighty Allah, I say O' Allah! Befriend whoever befriends Ali and be an enemy to whoever bears enmity towards Ali; curse and distance from your Grace and Mercy those who deny and renounce his leadership and descend Your Wrath upon those who deprive him of his rights.
O Almighty Allah the Sustainer! You have sent down your Command to me, that after me You have made the leadership of the people exclusive to Ali your friend, and You have Commanded me to inform the people of this by explanation and clarification and that I should appoint him as the leader of the people and thus:
You have finally completed the religion for Your subjects and You have fulfilled unto them your Favour and You are pleased with Your servants for having Islam as their religion, and You have stated: “And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers”. – 3:85
O Almighty Allah! I hold you as my witness, for I have conveyed Your Command and Your testimony is sufficient for me.
O people! It can only be this and nothing else that Allah Almighty and Glorious has perfected your religion by virtue of Ali’s leadership. So those who do not follow and obey him and my progeny who are of his descent and shall take his position after him and shall be the leaders and guardians until the Day of Judgement, shall enter unto Allah Almighty and Glorious on the Day of Judgement, while their deeds have become void, spoiled and corroded, and they shall abide and have eternal residence in the Fire, and there shall be no reduction in their torture and suffering. They shall not be subjected to any kindness.
O people! Ali Ibn Abi Talib has been a greater help to me than anyone of you. He has therefore been more deserving and nearer to me than anyone of you and he has been dearer to Allah and more worthy of honour and grace and both Allah Almighty and Glorious and I are well pleased with him.
No verse in the Holy Qur’an expressing Allah’s pleasure has been descended except with regard to the and nowhere have the pious been addressed except when it has been addressed to Ali first and no verse expressing praise has been descended but for him. Testimony to heaven in the ‘Hal Ataa Alal Insaan’ has not been given but for him, and this chapter which praises no one except him, has been descended for no one else but him.
O people! He is the helper of Allah’s religion and he debated on behalf of the Messenger of Allah. He is the chaste and the pious and the leader and guide and one who has been Divinely Guided. Your prophet is the best of all prophets and his successor is the best of the successors of prophets and his progeny who shall also be his successors are the best of all progeny of other prophets.
O people! The progeny of every prophet is from his descent and my progeny shall be of Ali’s descent.
O people! Satan, because of the jealousy he possessed, succeeded in getting Adam thrown out of paradise. Take great care not to be jealous of Ali, for your deeds shall be rendered null and void and you shall go astray.
O people! Indeed Adam was sent down to earth due to a minor slip, even though he was the Almighty and Glorious Allah’s chosen one. While you are what you are, many of you are enemies of Allah.
Beware that no one bears enmity to Ali but the unfortunate ones, no one but the virtuous and the chaste shall befriend him, and no one shall have faith in him except one whose faith is pure. I swear by Allah, the chapter has been descended with regard to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali:
“In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I swear by the time. Surely man is in a state of loss, except those who believe in Allah and do good deeds, and they exhort to one another the truth and enjoin on each other patience and forbearance”. – 103:1 to 3
O people! May Allah be my witness that I have fulfilled my mission and obligation, and conveyed the Command of Allah to you and there is no other evident obligation to be fulfilled by the one who has been sent by Allah as prophet and messenger.
O people! Fear Allah and perform those good deeds that are duly expected of the virtuous, so that you die as Muslims.
O people! Believe in Allah and His Prophet, and also believe in the light that has been sent to him before all your doings are rendered useless and you look back in despair.
O people! The absolute light is from Allah Almighty and Glorious and that light has come to be inside me and Ali shall be the repository of the light after me, and after him the personalities of his descent shall be the resting place of this light until the time of Qaim Mahdi, one who shall reveal and manifest the truth and restore the right that has been taken away from us. Because Allah Almighty and Glorious has made us the Proof unto those who fall short of their obligations, they are stubborn and bear enmity and hostility, they oppose and commit treason and they are sinful and transgressing and tyrannical and take away the rights of others.
O People! I warn you of your evil doings and I am Allah’s Messenger to you, and there were Messengers and Apostles of Allah before me who came to guide mankind, so if I die or I am killed, shall you return to the ways of your forefathers?
Whoever turns away from Islam and joins his predecessors, he can never harm Allah and Allah shall soon reward those who are grateful to Him.
Be it known to you that Ali is characterized by his endurance and forbearance and gratitude to Allah and after him my progeny who are from his descent are also patient and grateful to Allah. O people! Do not presume to impose any favours on Allah for becoming Muslims, for if you do so, Allah shall be Wrathful against you and He shall inflict dire punishment on you, for He is Watchful over your deeds.
O people! Very soon after me many who presume to be your leader shall invite you towards the Fire of Hell and they shall not find any helper on the Day of Resurrection.
O people! Know that Allah the Sublime and Holy and I are displeased and weary of them.
O people! Be aware that they and their followers shall find their place in the very depths of Hell and unpleasant is the place of the proud ones.
Be aware that they are the parties of Saqifa.
O people! I leave the Imamat and leadership of the people as hereditary amongst my progeny until the Day of Judgement and that I have conveyed to you what I had been instructed to do so, and this communication of the Messenger is proof and argument to those who are present as well as those who are absent and to those who are witnessing it by being present as well as those who are not here and those who have been born and those who have not yet been born. It is necessary; therefore, that those who are present should convey this communication to the absentees and fathers should convey it to their children, until the Day of Resurrection.
O people! Very soon the religious leadership of the people shall be usurped and will transform into world kingdoms.
Allah’s curse be upon those who shall usurp and those who shall help and assist the usurpers. The Almighty Sustainer shall very soon settle accounts with both the Jinns, as well as mankind, to reward or punish according to their deeds. He shall then light up the fire of Hell and release melted copper unto the rebellious and disobedient ones, which they shall not be able to ward off. O people! Allah Almighty and Glorious has not left you free to do as you please and this freedom of action is to allow the separation of the pure from the impure and Allah has not granted you knowledge of the unknown.
O people! The people of cities and towns and villages were only destroyed by Allah’s Command because they had denied and belied the words of the Divine Messengers sent to them, and Allah destroys the people of any land who are transgressors and He has mentioned and revealed their names in His Holy Book; be it known that Ali is your Imam and be it known that he is one of the promise and appointments made by Allah, and Allah fulfils all His Promises.
O people! Most of your predecessors went astray and Allah destroyed them and He shall also destroy their remainders, just as Allah Almighty and Sublime has stated:
"Did We not destroy the former generations? Then did We follow them up with later ones. Even thus shall We deal with the guilty. Woe on that day to the rejecters." – 77:16 to 19
O people! Allah has commanded me and forbidden me and I have done the same to Ali and Ali became aware of what Allah Almighty and Glorious revealed to me in matters of command and prohibition. So, listen and obey his commands so that you may be safe from the Wrath of Allah and be obedient to His Command in order to remain pious and well guided and abstain from what he prohibits you in order to prosper and act according to his wishes and do not alter your way from His way, and do not allow various other ways to diver you from His path.
O people! I am the Divine right path whom Allah has Commanded you to obey and follow, and after me it is Ali, and after Ali, Ali’s infallible progeny who are the guides towards righteousness and are the guardians and leaders of the people and invite everyone to obey the commands of Allah.
"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. The Beneficent, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgement. Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help. Keep us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favours. Not of those upon whom Thy Wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray." – 1:1 to 7
O people! The Sura of Fateha has been descended with regard to myself and Amirul Mu’mineen Ali and my progeny and it is exclusive and specific to them, and they are the true friends and saints of Allah. They have no reason to be afraid or to be anxious. They shall not be sad or sorrowful.
Let it be known to you that the party of Allah is triumphant.
Be aware that the enemies of Amirul Mo’mineen Ali (a.s.) cause dissension and disagreements and enmity and they are also enemies of each other, and they are brethren of Satan and they inspire one another, and their disorderly speech is the result of their self-deception and their ignorance, they flatter each other by decorated empty words.
Be aware that the friends of Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.) and my progeny are the believers who have accepted faith in Allah and Allah Almighty and Glorious in His Book has admired and described them thus:
“You shall not find a people who believe in Allah and the latter day befriending those who act in opposition to Allah and his Apostle, even though they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers or their kinfolk, these are they into whose hearts He has impressed faith, and whom He has strengthened with an inspiration from Him; And He will cause them to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein; Allah is well-pleased with them and they are well-pleased with Him; These are Allah’s party; Now surely the party of Allah are the successful ones”. – 58:22
Be aware that Allah Almighty and Sublime admires and describes the friends of Ali and my progeny thus:
“Those who believe and do not mix up their faith with iniquity, those are they who shall have the security and they are those who go aright”. – 6:82
Be aware that Allah Almighty and Sublime admires and describes the friends of Ali and my progeny thus:
“They are those who shall enter paradise and they shall be at peace and security and they shall meet the angels of Allah as they welcome them and give them tidings that you are in the everlasting paradise”. – 39:73
Be aware that Allah Almighty and Sublime admires and describes the friends of Ali and my progeny thus:
“They are those who shall enter paradise without any questioning and accountability”. – 40:40
Be aware that the enemies of Ali (a.s.) and my progeny are those that shall be dragged to the fire of Hell.
Be aware that the enemies of Ali and my progeny are those who hear the roar of hell and they see the blazing flames of the fire that surges up and every group that enters hell curses other groups.
Be aware that the enemies of Ali and my progeny are those about whom Allah Almighty and Glorious has said:
“Whenever a group is cast into it, its keeper shall ask them: Did there not come to you a warner? They shall say: Yea! Indeed there came to us a warner, but we rejected and said: Allah has not revealed anything; you are only in great error”. – 67:8 to 9
Let it be known to you that the friends of Ali and my progeny are those who fear Allah, in secret and in concealment, and believe in the unseen and have faith in the unknown and their faith shall be the cause of their salvation and their great reward.
O people! There is a great difference between Paradise and Hell. Our enemies are those who have been slandered reproached and cursed by Allah and our friends are those whom Allah has praised and called them His friends.
O people! Know that I am a warner and Ali is your guide.
O people! I am your Messenger and Ali is my successor and your guardian.
Be aware that the last of the religious leaders shall also be from my progeny and my descendants and he is the living and upright and the guided man of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him.
Be aware that he shall be triumphant over all the nations of different religions.
Be aware that he shall take revenge against transgressors.
Be aware that he shall capture all forts and castles, and raise them to the ground.
Be aware that he shall annihilate all polytheists of every race and nation.
Be aware that he shall take revenge for the blood of the friends of Allah that were shed.
Be aware that he is the supporter of Allah’s religion.
Be aware that he is the ship’s helmsman sailing through strong seas.
Be aware that, by virtue of his excellence and superiority, he is an eloquent sign for every wise or foolish person.
Be aware that he is the inheritor of all knowledge and his knowledge encompasses all other knowledge.
Be aware he is the conveyor of Almighty and Glorious Allah’s Commands and he elucidates His Orders.
Be aware his path is the path of truth and he is the wise and the guided one.
Be aware that the affairs of all creation have been submitted to him.
Be aware that all Apostles and religions have given glad tidings of his existence.
Be aware that he is the last of Allah’s proofs and after him there is no further proof, there is no other truth in the world except with him, and there is no other knowledge and wisdom but it is with him.
Be aware that no one shall prevail and triumph against him.
Be aware that he is Allah’s friend and representative on earth and his order and command is the order and command of Allah and Allah the Sustainer has made him aware of his hidden and evident secrets of creation.
O people! I have enlightened you with all that was necessary for you to know and understand and after me Ali shall explain whatever is necessary for you.
O people! After my sermon has ended, I invite you to shake hands with me as a token of your allegiance to Ali and then to confess Ali as your religious leader; shake hands with Ali in my presence and congratulate him.
Be aware I have made a pledge to Allah and Ali had made an oath of allegiance to me and I, on behalf of Allah Almighty and Glorious, extract your oath of allegiance for Ali. So whoever breaks his pledge shall himself suffer the loss.
O people! The walking between Safa and Marwa is the slogan of obedience ordained by Allah; whoever performs Hajj to the House of Allah or performs Umrah, it is incumbent upon him that he should make the circumambulation along Safa and Marwa and anyone who does good deeds, Allah shall reward him accordingly and He is aware of all actions of His servants.
O people! Go to visit the House of Allah. No family shall enter Makka on Hajj unless he be enriched by the Host and any family which is rebellious shall become poor and impoverished.
O people! No faithful servant of Allah shall stop at the halting place of Hajj without Allah forgiving all his past sins and his life shall be renewed and he shall continue his deeds.
O people! Those who perform Hajj are subjected to special help and kindness and they shall be compensated for all their expenditure in the way of Allah in this world, and rewards shall be stored for them in the hereafter, and Allah does not permit the good deeds of any virtuous person to be lost.
O people! Make your visit to the House of Allah a means of accomplishing perfection in your religion and give charity in the Name of Allah, and do not return from the blessed place without repenting your sins, and resolutely decide that you shall pull away from sins and that you shall never again commit sins.
O people! Establish prayer and give in charity according to the way Allah has commanded you and whenever you neglect to fulfill His Commands or you forget the way of life and action that He has commanded you to perform, then know Allah’s friend Ali is your guardian and the elucidator of the Commandments of Allah to you.
Allah Almighty and Glorious has appointed him to this position amongst you, after me, Ali, whom Allah has appointed to this position is from me and whatever questions you ask he shall answer you correctly and explain to you what you do not know.
Be aware that what is permitted and forbidden into the Divine Command is too extensive for me to explain and enumerate them all for you in one place and time.
However, I order you to perform what is permitted by Allah and forbid you from doing what is prohibited by Allah, and I have been tasked to conclude the argument and proof to you and for the acceptance of what Allah has revealed to me, I must obtain your oath of allegiance to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali, the Commander of the Faithful and also that I should make known to you those religious leaders who shall succeed him from amongst my children who are of his descent and who shall become leaders after him. Those religious leaders are guides, the last of whom, Hazrat Mahdi, shall be the living and the rightly guided one and who shall be the proof of Allah amongst His creation until the Day of Judgement and who shall rule according to the truth.
O people! I have not changed or altered every permitted act that I have reasoned with you for, and every prohibited act I have warned you against. I have never gone back on what I have said and made no alterations to it.
Be aware that it is for you to remember and retain them in your minds and exhort one another to them and do not alter them.
Be aware that I am again repeating what I have said. Know and understand that you must establish prayers and give in charity, order people to do what is good and forbid them from committing evil actions and remember the best way of ordering good is for you to remain steadfast with regard to what I have said, and convey them to those who are not present here today and prevail upon them to accept it and forbid them from opposing it. This is a Command that Allah Almighty and Glorious has issued through me and know that the order to perform good deeds and prohibition against evil must always be carried out under the guidance of an infallible Imam.
O people! Allah introduces the religious leaders in the Holy Qur’an and those religious leaders who are to follow Ali are from amongst his descendants and I have also introduced them to you that they are my progeny and I am their father; they are from me and I am from them, just as Allah Almighty and Sublime states in His Holy Book.
“And He made it a word to continue in his posterity”. – 43:28
I have informed you, as long as the Holy Qur’an and my progeny are your guides, you shall not go astray.
O people! Be virtuous, abstain and distance yourselves from sin and fear the Day of Judgement. Allah Almighty and Glorious states:
“The violent earthquake of the Hour is a great, grievous thing”. – 22:1
Think of death and do not forget the time of questioning and assessment of deeds, for your account shall finally be seen to, in Allah’s just court, and you shall be rewarded and punished for good and bad deeds respectively.
O people! Your population and crowd is far too large for me to shake each one of you by the hand. Allah Almighty and Glorious has instructed me to obtain a verbal confession and allegiance from you for the religious leadership and guardianship of Amirul Mu’mineen Ali and the leaders that shall follow him and whom I have introduced to you, they are my children and progeny of his descent, then all of you confess and say:
We have heard and we obey and we are content and we heed what you have commanded us on behalf of Allah our Nourisher and your Nourisher about the religious leadership of Ali and the religious leadership of his children and descendants ho shall succeed him. And we swear our oath of allegiance with our hearts and with our souls and with our hands and tongues and we shall remain firm in this oath for as long as we live and when we die, we are resurrected from the death. We shall make no change in our allegiance to him and to them and we shall have no doubts with regard to this oath of allegiance and we shall not alter or convert and we shall not doubt or turn away and break our pledge and we shall obey Allah and we shall be obedient to you and we shall carry out the commands of Amirul Mo’mineen Ali and his children and successors and we shall be obedient to the religious leaders who you have introduce to us, who are your progeny and of Ali’s descent after Hasan and Husayn.
The prophet (s.a.w.) added:
I have explained the position of both these to you, Al Hasan and Al Husayn, and I have also clarified their honoured status in the sight of Almighty and Glorious Allah, that these two are the leaders and masters of the youths of paradise and after their father they shall be religious leaders and guardians of my people.
Be it known to you that I and Amirul Mu’mineen Ali are the grandfather and father of these two. So now repeat once again:
“We obey Allah and you and also give our obedience to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali, Hasan and Husayn and his progeny that you nominated, and we swear allegiance to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali with our hearts, our souls, our tongues, and we give out oath of allegiance to anyone who has aligned himself with and sworn allegiance to Amirul Mo’mineen Ali and we shall shake his hand as a token of our loyalty, and we undertake never to alter our allegiance and never to disobey it. And we seek Allah to bear witness in this loyalty and His testimony is sufficient. You also bear witness to us, and all those who obey you, be they present or absent, the angels and servants of Allah, and all pious bear witness to us, and Allah’s testimony is the greatest and most supreme of all”.
O people! Allah hears what you say and He is aware of your innermost thoughts and conscience. Whoever obeys shall be guided and whoever goes astray shall himself suffer its loss. Anyone who swears allegiance to Amirul Mu’mineen Ali has pledged loyalty to Allah Almighty and Glorious and the Powerful Hand of Allah is the greatest of all hands.
O people! Fear Allah and pledge your allegiance to Amirul Mu’mineeen Ali and Hasan and Husayn; know that he and his sons, Hasan and Husayn and the leaders thereafter, are the pure word of Allah who remain on earth, and Allah Almighty shall destroy anyone who betrays, and He is Merciful to the one who remains loyal and faithful. Whoever breaks his pledge has transgressed unto himself.
O people! Repeat what I have said to you and salute Ali by addressing him as Amirul Mu’mineen and say:
O Allah Almighty! We have heard and listened and we have obeyed and we seek Your forgiveness and we shall all return to you and say:
Praise and Gratitude be to Allah, for He has guided us to this fact and had He not guided us we would not have achieved salvation.
O People! The virtuous qualities of Amirul Mu’mineen Ali are recorded by Allah Almighty and Glorious and He has mentioned them in the Holy Qur’an and these virtuous qualities are far too numerous to be explained in one gathering, so whoever learnt the virtuous qualities of Ali and brought them to your attention, accept his word and verify what he has said.
O people! All those who obey Allah and the Messenger of Allah and Ali, Amirul Mu’mineen, and all the religious leaders whom I have introduced to you shall achieve great salvation.
O people! Those who hasten to pledge their allegiance to Ali and love him and regard him as their Master and surrender to his will, and address him as Amirul Mu’mineen, shall be graced with all the goodness and blessings of Allah in Paradise.
O people! Say words which shall please Allah and remember if you and all the people on earth become infidels you shall never harm Allah in any way.
O Allah! Forgive all male and the female pious believers and send down Your Wrath unto disbelievers. Praise and gratitude is exclusive to the Nourisher of all the worlds.
The people then said with one voice:
"We have heard and we obey with all our hearts, tongues and hands, the Command of Allah and His Messenger".
The people then swarmed forward and shook hands with the prophet (s.a.w.) and Ali (a.s.) and pledged their allegiance to both of them.
The first, the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth persons were the first people to offer their handshakes and thus pledge their loyalties to the prophet (s.a.w.) and Amirul Mu’mineen (a.s.); after whom the migrants, followed by the natives of Madina and thereafter the rest of the Muslims from all walks of life did the same.
After shaking hands, the prophet (s.a.w.) stood to evening and night prayers without respite between them, after which everyone renewed their pledge to the honourable prophet (s.a.w.) and Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.) for a second and third time in succession.
While the people were shaking hands and pledging their loyalty and allegiance to the prophet and Amirul Mu’mineen, the honourable prophet (s.a.w.) successively repeated: “Our thanks and gratitude are to Allah who has placed us above and superior to all the people.
And hence from then on, shaking of hands has come to signify the pledging of allegiance amongst Muslims”.
Hazrat Imam Ja’far Al Sadiq (a.s.) stated:
Once the ceremony of swearing allegiance had come to an end, the people observed a very dignified, handsome and pleasant smelling person who addressed the people, saying: “I swear by Allah, I have not seen Mohammad [s.w.s.s.] obtain such an allegiance from the people for his cousin and achieve such a firm agreement and promise, as I have witnessed today. I swear by Allah that none shall be able to violate this agreement except the atheist to Allah and His Messenger. Whoever breaks this pledge of loyalty shall be rewarded with the painful Fire of Hell.
At this point Omar Ibn Khattab, who had heard the spoken words of this man had become surprised at his manner of dignified speech, having looked at the man deeply, then faced the prophet (s.a.w.) and said: ‘Did you hear this man’s statement?’ The Holy Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.) asked Omar: “Did you recognize that man?” Omar replied, “No”. The prophet (s.a.w.) said: “He was the honest Archangel Gabriel. Take great care not to break this pledge! For should you violate this agreement, Allah, His Messenger and Allah’s angels shall be estranged, disgusted and weary of you.”
The following verse was then revealed:
“Today I have perfected your religion and completed My blessings unto you, and chose Islam, which is the best religion for you” – 5:3
Hafiz Abu Ja’far Mohammad bin Jurair Tabari (deceased in the year 310 AH) states in his book (Al Wilayah) quoting Zayd Bin Arqam, just as Hafiz Bin Mardawayh Isbahani deceased in the year 410 AH narrates, quoting Abi Saeed Khidri, that the aforementioned verse was descended after the honourable prophet (s.a.w.) introduced Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.) as caliph and successor and stated that: ‘The leader and master of whomsoever I am, Ali is his leader and master after me’. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer Vol. 2). For further information refer to the Al Ghadir book of Allamah Amini, Vol 1.
Thanks and gratitude be to Allah Who has perfected his religion by the appointment of Amirul Mu’mineen Ali (a.s.). And thanks and Praise be to Allah Who has included us among those who have accepted the leadership and guardianship of our master Amirul Mu’mineen and his infallible progeny, Allah’s peace be upon them all.
http://www.research.com.pk/home/fmri/books/index.minhaj?e=1109736047
A HIDDEN TRUTH
18TH ZILHAJJ: A DAY OF COMPLETION AND PERFECTION OF RELIGION (ISLAM)
Dear Readers,
Salamun Alaikum!
I am very much happy to announce that, I have found out a very important message of Islam in our (Sunni) authentic Books and I was surprised that I have never heard before regarding this matter. When I asked the Ulema, they never gave me a satisfactory answer, saying that don't go so much deep in Islam otherwise you will be confused. I have worked hard to achieve this truth because Allah says, "And [as for] those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways, and Allah is most surely with the doers of good". (Holy Quran Ch.29: Ayat 69) The word strive [Jihad] in the Qur'anic verse carries the meaning of scientific research to reach the truth, and Allah will lead anyone to the truth, if he chooses to seek it. Go through the history of Islam and refer the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, through which you will be able to find out the truth.
18TH ZILHAJJ: A DAY OF COMPLETION AND PERFECTION OF RELIGION (ISLAM)
"This day have I perfected for you, your religion, and have completed My favour on you, and chosen for you ISLAM (to be) the religion." (Qur'an 5:3)
Ahmad bin Hanbal, the founder of Hanbali school of thought, writes in his Musnad that a Jew told the second caliph: "If there were a similar declaration in the Pentateuch, the Jews would have celebrated the day as a great festival.")
The date of this incident was the 18th of Zil-Hijjah of the year 10 AH (10 March 632 AD). After completing his last pilgrimage (Hajjatul-Wada'), Prophet (S) was leaving Makkah and going towards Madinah, where he and the crowd of people reached a place called Ghadeer-e -Khum (which is close to today's al-Juhfah). It was a place where people from different provinces used to greet each other before taking different routes for their homes. In this place, the following verse of the Qur'an was revealed: "O Apostle! Deliver what has been sent down to you from your Lord; and if you don't do it, you have not delivered His message (at all); and Allah will protect you from the people" (Qur'an 5:67). The last sentence in the above verse indicates that the Prophet (S) was mindful of the reaction of his people in delivering that message but Allah informs him not to worry, for He will protect His Messenger from the people.
Upon receiving this verse, the Prophet (S) stopped at that place (Khum) which was extremely hot. Then he sent for all people who have been ahead in the way, to come back and waited until all pilgrims who fell behind, arrived and gathered. He ordered Salman [r.a.] to use rocks and camel tooling to make a mimber (pulpit) so he could make his announcement. It was around noontime in the first of the fall, and due to the extreme heat in that valley, people were wrapping their robes around their feet and legs, and were sitting around the pulpit, on the hot sand.
On this day the Messenger of Allah (S) spent approximately five hours in this place; three hours of which he was on the pulpit. He recited nearly one hundred verses from the Glorious Qur'an, and for seventy three times reminded and warned people of their deeds and the future. Then he gave them a long speech. The following is a part of his speech, Tradition of the Two Weighty Things (Thaqalain).
The Messenger of Allah declared: "It seems the time has approached when I shall be called away (by Allah) and I shall answer that call. I am leaving for you two precious things and if you adhere to both of them firmly; you will never go astray after me. They are the Book of Allah and my Progeny that is my Ahlul Bayt. The two shall never separate from each other until they come to me by the Pool (of Kawthar in Paradise)."
Then the Messenger of Allah continued: "Do I not have more right over the believers than what they have over themselves?" People cried and answered: "Yes, O' Messenger of God." Then followed the key sentence denoting the clear designation of 'Ali as the leader of the Muslim Ummah. The Prophet (S) held up the hand of 'Ali and said: "For whomever I am a Leader (mawla), 'Ali is his Leader (mawla)." The Prophet continued: "O' God, love those who love him (Ali), and be hostile to those who are hostile to him (Ali).
Hafiz Abu Ja'far Muhammad Bin Jarir Tabari (d.310 A.H.) writes in his Kitabu'l-Wilaya that the Prophet (S) said in the beginning of his renowned address at Ghadeer-e-Khum: "The angel Gabriel has conveyed Allah's command to me that I stop at this place and inform the people that Ali Bin Abi Talib is my brother, my successor, my Caliph (Vicegerent) after me. O men! Allah has made Ali your Wali (guardian), and Imam (guide). Obedience to him is obligatory on each and everyone of you; his command is supreme; his utterance is truth; curse be on him who opposes him; Allah's mercy be on him who befriends him."
Immediately after the Prophet (S) finished his speech, the following verse of the Qur'an was revealed: "This day have I perfected for you, your religion, and have completed My favour on you, and chosen for you ISLAM (to be) the religion." (Qur'an 5:3) The above verse clearly indicates that Islam without clearing up matter of leadership after Prophet [s] was not complete, and completion of religion was due to announcement of the Prophet's immediate successor.
Oath of Allegiance: After his speech, the Messenger of Allah asked everybody to give the oath of allegiance to 'Ali (a.s.) and congratulate him. Among those who did so was 'Umar bin Khattab, who said: "Well done Ibn Abi Talib! Today you became the Leader (mawla) of all believing men and women."
Some of our Sunni commentators’ further report that the first three verses of the chapter of al-Ma'arij (70:1-3) were revealed when a dispute arose after the Prophet (S) reached Madinah. It is recorded that: On the day of Ghadeer the Messenger of Allah summoned the people towards 'Ali and said: "Ali is the mawla of whoever I am mawla." The news spread quickly all over urban and rural areas. When Harith Ibn Nu'man al-Fahri came to know of it, he rode his camel and came to Madinah and went to the Messenger of Allah (pbuhf) and said to him: "You commanded us to testify that there is no deity but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah. We obeyed you. You ordered us to perform the prayers five times a day and we obeyed. You ordered us to observe fasts during the month of Ramadhan and we obeyed. Then you commanded us to offer pilgrimage to Makkah and we obeyed. But you are not satisfied with all this and you raised your cousin by your hand and imposed him upon us as our master by saying `Ali is the mawla of whoever I am the mawla.' Is this imposition from Allah or from you?"
The Prophet (S) said: "By Allah who is the only deity! This is from Allah, the Mighty and the Glorious." On hearing this Harith turned back and proceeded towards his she-camel saying: "O Allah! If what Muhammad (S) said is correct then fling on us a stone from the sky and subject us to severe pain and torture." He had not reached his she-camel when Allah, Who is above all defects, flung at him a stone that struck him on his head, penetrated his body and passed out through his lower body and left him dead. It was on this occasion that Allah, the exalted, caused to descend the following verses: "A questioner questioned about the punishment to fall. For the disbelievers there is nothing to avert it, from Allah the Lord of the Ascent." (70:1-2-3)
Our Sunni Ulema have quoted many tradition of the Holy Prophet (S) regarding the appointment of Hazrat Ali as a Wali, Wasi, Master, Caliph, Imam, Successor, Friend, Helper and Guide. And it is with the authority of Allah to appoint the leader for the believers to guide; we have no authority to select. As Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: "And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a Caliph...." [Surah-2: Ayat-30]
...And Musa said to his brother Haroon: Take my place among my people... [Surah-7: Ayat-142]. As Prophet Musa appointed Prophet Haroon, in the same way Prophet Muhammad (S) appointed Hazrat Ali (a.s.) as a Wali, Wasi, Successor, Caliph, Imam and Master of the believers by the command of Allah.
1) The Prophet (S) said: "O Ali, you are the bearer of my knowledge, my Wali and friend, my successor, the heir of my knowledge, and my Caliph. You are the trustee of the heritage of all the preceding prophets. You are the confidant of Allah on this earth and Allah's proof for the whole of creation. You are a pillar of Iman (faith) and the guardian of Islam. You are a lamp in darkness, a light of guidance, and for the people of the world you are a raised standard. O Ali! He who follows you is delivered; he who disobeys you will perish; you are the luminous way, and a straight path; you are the leader of pure men, and the head of the believers; to whomsoever I am Master (Maula), you are also his Master (Maula), and I am the Master of every believer (man or woman). Only he is your friend who is born of lawful wedlock. Allah did not transport me to the heavens to speak with me without telling me, 'O Muhammad (S)! Convey my salutation to Ali and tell him that he is the Imam of my friends and the Light of worshippers. 'Congratulations to you, O Ali, on this marvellous excellence".
(Sheikh Sulayman Balkhi in Yanabiu'l-Mawadda, Manaqib of Ahmad, from Ibn Abbas)
2) The Prophet (S) said: "When I reached Sidratu'l-Muntaha (the highest station during the Mi'raj), I was addressed thus: 'O Muhammad (S)! When you tested the people, whom did you find the most obedient?' I said 'Ali.' Allah then said, 'You have told the truth, Muhammad (S)!' Further, He said, 'Have you selected a Vicegerent who will convey your knowledge to the people, and teach My servants from My Book those things which they do not know?' I said, 'O Allah! Whomever you select, I will select.' He said, 'I have selected Ali for you. I make him your Vicegerent and successor.' And He furnished Ali with His knowledge and forbearance. He is the Commander of the Faithful whom no one can equal in rank among his predecessors or successors."
(Abu Mu'ayyid Muwafiqu'd-Din, in his Faza'il of the Commander of the Faithful, Printed in 1313 A.H., Chapter XIX, page 240)
3) The Prophet (S) said: "Ali is the chief of the successors. To follow him is a blessing; to die in obedience to him is martyrdom. His name appears in the Torah along with my name; his wife, the most truthful, is my daughter; his two sons, who are the chiefs of the Youth of Paradise, are my sons. After them all the Imams are vicegerents of Allah over His creation after the prophets; and they are the doors of knowledge among my people. He who follows them is rescued from Hellfire; he who follows them is guided to the right path; he who is endowed by Allah with love for them will surely be sent to Paradise. So, enlightened people, take heed."
Ibn Hajar Makki in his Sawa'iqul Muhriqa, Chapter 2, Sulayman Balkhi Hanafi in his Yanabiu'l-Mawadda chapter 12)
4) Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal narrates from Ibn Abbas, who said that he, Abu Bakr, Abu Ubaida Bin Jarra, and others were with the Prophet (S) when he put his hand on Ali's shoulder and said: "You are foremost in faith in Islam among all the Muslims, and you are to me as Aaron was to Moses, O Ali! He who thinks he is my friend while he is your enemy is a liar."
5) The Prophet (S) as said, "Those who took the lead in accepting faith in the oneness of Allah among the followers of the Prophets were three people who were never polytheists: Ali Bin Abu Talib, the man in the Sura Ya Seen, and the believer of the people of Pharaoh. The Truthful Ones are Habib-e-Najjar, among the descendants of Ya Sin, Ezekiel among the descendants of Pharaoh, and Ali Bin Abu Talib, who excelled all of them." (Muhammad Bin Yusuf Ganji Shafi'i in his Kifayatu't-Talib, Chapter 24)
6) Abu Ja'far Iskafi, the chief of the Mu'tazilite school of thought, declared that his master Abu Abdullah Basri, Sheikh Abu'l-Qasim Balkhi, and Sheikh Abu'l-Hasan Khayyat, Bashr Bin Mu'tamar, Abu Musa, Ja'far Bin Mubashshir, and other Sunni ulema believed that, "The most excellent person among all Muslims was Ali Bin Abu Talib, and after him his sons Hasan and Husain, after him Hamza, and after him Ja'far Bin Abi Talib." "The best of the men after the Prophet of Allah, is the successor of the Prophet, the husband of Fatima, Ali; after him, his two sons, Hasan and Husain; after them, Hamza, and after him Ja'far (Tayyar).
(Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in his Sharh Nahju'l-Balagha, Volume 111, page 40)
7) The Prophet (S) said: "If one wishes to look at Adam, Noah, and Abraham, look at Ali." He says that Ali is the one Allah refers to in the Holy Qur'an, "And those who are with him are strong against the unbelievers, compassionate among themselves." (48:29).
(Muhammad Bin Yusuf Ganji Shafi' in his Kifayatu't-Talib, Chapter 13)
8) To be with the Holy Prophet (S), to be vehement against the unbelievers on the battlefield and in learned discourses, to be compassionate to friends and foes - all these qualities refer to one who never left the Prophet (S) or even thought of leaving him. That person is Ali Bin Abu Talib.
(Muhammad Bin Yusuf Ganji Shafi'i has written in his Kifayatu't-Talib that in this verse Allah praised Ali, Tabari, in his Ta'rikh, Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in Sharhe Nahju'l-Balagha, Sulayman Balkhi in Yanabiu'l-Mawadda, Chapter 51, Mas'udi in Muruju'dh-Dhahaba)
9) The Holy Prophet (S) said at 'Arafa: "Ali is from me and I am from Ali. Nobody recompenses me (that is no one discharges the duty of my mission) except me and Ali."
(Ibn Maja in his Sunan, Part I, p. 92; Tirmidhi in his Sahih; Ibn Hajar in Tradition v of Forty Traditions narrated in the Sawa'iq from Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Imam Abu Abdu'r-Rahman Nisa'i, Ibn Maja; Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal in Musnad, v.4, p.164; Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ganji Shafi'i in chapter 67 of Kifayatu't-Talib from the Musnad of Ibn Samak, v. 4, the Mu'jim Kabir of Tibrani; Imam Abu Abdu'r-Rahman Nisa'i in Khasa'is, and Sulayman Balkhi Hanafi in Yanbiu'l-Mawaddat from the Mishkat)
10) The Holy Prophet (S) said "Ali is from me and I am from Ali. Ali is to me as the head is to the body; one who obeys him, obeys me; and one who obeys me, obeys Allah."
(Hamidi in his Jam' Bainu's-Sahihain and Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in his Sharhe-Nahju'l-Balagha)
11) The Holy Prophet (S) said: "Verily, Almighty Allah helped this faith of Islam through Ali, since he is from me, and I am from him, and this holy verse was revealed for him - 'Is he then like him who has a clear proof from his Lord and follows a witness (like Ali) from Him?'" (11:17)
(Muhammad Bin Jarir Tabari in his Tafsir and Mir Seyyed Ali Hamdani, the Shafi'i theologian, in Muwadda viii of Muwaddatu'l-Qurba)
12) The Holy Prophet (S) said, "Ali is from me and I am from Ali." "Ali is to me as my self is to me, obedience to him is obedience to me," or "Fighting against Ali is fighting against Allah, and peace with Ali is peace with Allah," or "A friend of Ali is a friend of Allah, and Ali's enemy is Allah's enemy," or "Ali is Allah's Hujjat (proof) over His servants," or "Love for Ali is faith and enmity against him is infidelity," or "Ali's party is the party of Allah, and the party of his enemies is the party of Satan," or "Ali is with the Truth and the Truth is with me, they are inseparable," or "Ali is the distributor of Paradise and Hell," or "One who remained aloof from Ali remained aloof from me, and one who remained aloof from me remained aloof from Allah," or "The partisans of Ali will be rescued on the Day of Judgement." "I swear by Allah, Who bestowed Prophethood upon me and made me the choicest of His creations: O Ali! Verily you are Allah's Hujjat (proof) for the people, His trustee, knower of His secrets, and His Caliph over His servants."
(Sheikh Sulayman Balkhi Hanafi in the 7th chapter of his Yanabiu'l-Mawadda)
As I am sending you this mail and I also request you to forward this mail because it was the will of Holy Prophet (S) that this message should be conveyed to each and every Muslim and also Prophet (s.) had said, "If Allah chooses you to guide one man (to the right path), then that is worth more than all the riches on earth."
Therefore, research and comparison are legal obligations for every responsible person. Surely Allah does not do any injustice to men, but men are unjust to themselves" (Holy Qur'an 10:44).
Wassalaam,
Your brother in Islam,
Abdullah
Useful Websites worth visiting:
http://al-islam.org/40ahadithghadir/ 40 Ahadith on Ghadir by Mahmud Sharifi
http://al-islam.org/nutshell/#Personalities
http://www.almizan.org/
http://www.al-islam.org/info
http://al-islam.org/faq;
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Spa/7220/index1.html http://www.imamreza.net/old/eng/emamreza/index.htm
http://www.irshad.org/exposed.php
http://www.al-islam.org/quran
http://www.imamreza.net/old/eng/islam/masoomeen.htm
http://www.almujtaba.com
http://www.almujtaba.org
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