WILAYAT /EID-E-GHADEER/ OF
AMEERUL MOMINEEN HAZRAT ALI IBNE ABI TALIB(A.S)


THE EVENT OF GHADEER
When the ceremonies of the Haj were over, the Holy Prophet (S) departed
from Makka for Madina on the 14th of Zilhaj. When he reached Rabigh, a
place 3 miles from Ju'fah, the angel Jibraeel (A) revealed the
following verse to him:
O Messenger! Convey what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and
if you do not, it would be as though you have not conveyed His message
(at all). Allah will protect you from the people.
Surah al- Ma'idah, 5:67
In obedience to this very important command, the Holy Prophet (S)
stopped immediately. He gave instructions for an area to be cleared and a
pulpit to be made from the saddles of camels. He asked Bilal, who had a
loud voice, to call back the people who had gone further and to attract
the attention of those who were behind.
The people all gathered at the place which was known as Ghadeer Khum
(The pond of Khum). It was noon time and very hot. The Holy Prophet (S)
led the congregational prayers and then stood on the pulpit so that all
the people could see him. He then gave a sermon, part of which is
reproduced below.
"All praise is due to Allah Who is the Creator and Lord of all the
Universe. It is the duty of everyone to offer Him thanks in comfort as well
as in difficult times. I bear witness that I am His servant and
creature while He is my Master and Lord. I convey to the people all that He
reveals to me for their guidance.
I have been commanded by Allah to tell you that I will soon be taken
away from your midst.
O People! I am leaving behind two valuable legacies, the Book of Allah
and my progeny, the Ahlul Bayt (A). Never shall they separate from one
another until they reach me in Heaven at the fountain of Kawthar. As
long as you will stay with both my legacies, you will never be led astray
after me. Do not lag too far behind them and do not walk ahead of them,
for in either event you will go astray. O People! Allah is my Mawla
(Master) and I am the Mawla of the believers."
The Holy Prophet (S) then asked the listeners, "O People! Am I not a
greater authority (Mawla) over you then your own souls?" All the people
replied with one voice, "Yes! O Prophet of Allah ." Then the Holy
Prophet (S) bent down and lifted up Imam Ali (A) with his hands, showing him
to the crowds on all sides of the pulpit and proclaimed, "Man Kuntu
Mawlahu, fa Hadha Aliyyun Mawlah. (Of whomsoever I am the Master (Mawla),
this Ali is also his Master)".
So saying, the Holy Prophet (S) raised his hands towards the heavens
and prayed, "O Allah, love those who will love Ali, despise those who
will not support him, and reject those who will reject him."
Announcing this thrice, he got down from the raised platform. At this
time the angel Jibraeel (A) descended with the following verse:
This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My
favours to you, and have chosen for you the religion Islam.
Surah al-Ma'idah, 5:3
The Holy Prophet (S) thanked Allah for His favour and then asked Imam
Ali (A) to sit in a tent so that the people could shake hands with him
and congratulate him.
Amongst the first people to congratulate Imam Ali (A) on his
appointment were Abu Bakr and Umar. Strangely, they were also the first to deny
his rights after the Holy Prophet (S) died.
After the formalities regarding the successorship of Imam Ali (A) were
completed, the people began to leave for their homes.
At Ju'fah, those who had come from Syria and Egypt split from the main
caravan, as did the people from Yemen and Hazramaut. However, 10,000
Muslims accompanied the Holy Prophet (S) to Madina, where they arrived
just before the start of 10 A.H.
The detailed events of this day are recorded in most books of history
of Muslims, by both Shia and non-Shia historians. Although there can be
no doubt that Imam Ali (A) was chosen to be the next leader of all the
Muslims on this important day, many Muslims ignored this command after
the death of the Holy Prophet (S). While Imam Ali (A) was busy
arranging his funeral, they chose their own leaders who had no right or
qualifications to lead them.
The day of Ghadeer is one of the most important landmarks in our
history and the Shia throughout the world joyfully celebrate the day of Idd.
Day of Wilayah In the year 10AH, the Prophet proceeded on his journey
to Mecca to perform pilgrimage. A pilgrimage which was later to be
called the ?farewell pilgrimage? (hujjat al-wada?a). Named so because it
was the last pilgrimage the Prophet was to perform before being called to
Allah.
As news spread that the Prophet would be performing pilgrimage, many
people came and joined. Some sources put the number that accompanied
the Prophet from Mecca to Madina at 120,000. Although, the total number
of pilgrims far outnumbered that. This count is not surprising since
this was the first pilgrimage since migrating to Madina, so many wanted to
join the Prophet and be a part of the auspicious occasion.
Soon after the completion of all the Hajj rituals, the Prophet turned
home to Madina. On the 18th Dhul Hujja he reached a place called
Ghadeer Khum. This place is the point at which the different nationalities
disperse. The Yemenis, Egyptians and others, all change routes to return
to their homelands. At this strategic point revelation descended upon
the Prophet. Archangel Gabriel came to the Prophet with this verse,
?O?Apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord and if you
do not then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect
you from the people, surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving
people?. (5:67)
The Prophet was ordered to make a declaration (bal?ligh), and if
that communiqu? was neglected by the Prophet, it would amount to the
Lord?s message, which was delivered over a period of 23 years, being
incomplete. As Allah say, ?and if you do not deliver then you have not
delivered His Message?.
The message to be conveyed, that was to perfect and complete the
Lord?s Message (risalah), was the public appointment of Imam Ali as his
vicegerent (wali).
This was an important issue, so much so, that the prophet ordered the
people to halt in the searing heat of the desert. Anyone who had moved
on was ordered back, and those lagging behind were awaited.
After praying the midday prayers, the Prophet had a pulpit erected.
He ascended it and after praising the Al-Mighty Allah he said, ?I have
been summoned and it is the moment for me to answer, and I have a
responsibility and so do you. So what do you say?? The large gathering all
replied, ?We bear witness that you have delivered, parted advice and
struggled, so may Allah graciously reward you?.
The Prophet then said, ?Do you not bear witness that there is no
God save Allah and that Mohammed is his Messenger, and that His heaven is
reality and His hell is reality. And that death is reality, and that
the hour will come no doubt about it (judgment day), and that Allah will
raise the dead from their graves. They all said, ?yes we bear witness
to that?. The prophet then said, ?O?Allah bear witness?. He then
continued, ?O?people do you hear?? They said, ?Yes O?Prophet of Allah?.
The Prophet then said, ?I am preceding you to the Pool (pool of
kauthar in heaven), and you shall be following me to the Pool, which has a
breadth likened to that between Sana?a (Yemen?s capital city now), and
Basraa (place in Damascus). As many as there are stars in the skies,
there will be drinking goblets made of silver at the Pool. So be weary of
how you succeed me in faring with the two Weighty Things (thaqalayn)
after my departure?. A man from amongst the people asked, ?And what are
the two weighty things O?Prophet of Allah?? The prophet said, ?The
greater one, is the Book of Allah (Quran), a rope extending from heaven to
earth, hold fast to it and you will never go astray and the smaller
Weighty Thing is My Progeny (ahlul bayt). The Sublime and Omniscient has
informed me that they will never separate until they reach me at the Pool
(kauthar). Do not proceed them else you will perish, nor should you lag
behind them else you should perish?.
The Prophet then took the hand of Imam Ali, whom he had lifted onto
the pulpit beside him, and raised it so high ?that the whiteness of his
armpits could be seen?, making sure the whole congregation witnessed
this action. He then said, ?O?people who is closer to the believers than
their ownselves?? They replied, ?Allah and his prophet are more
knowledgeable?. He said, ?Allah is my Master and I am the master of the
believers and I am closer to them than their ownselves. So Whosoever I am his
master, Ali is his master too.
He repeated this statement three times. He then continued, saying,
?O?Allah, Befriend him whosoever befriends Ali, Oppose him whosoever
opposes Ali, Love him whosoever loves Ali, Hate him whosoever hates Ali,
Support him whosoever supports Ali, and desert him whosoever deserts Ali,
and make the truth turn with him every which way he turns. O?people let
those present inform those who are absent?.
At that moment, upon the completion of his speech, the Archangel
Gabriel again descended upon the prophet with the final revelation, ?Today
I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour unto
you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam? (5:3)
The Prophet then said, ?God is Great (allahu Akbar), for the
perfection of the religion, the completion of the favour, the acceptance of the
lord my deliverance of the Message and for making Ali the vicegerent
(wali) after me?.
The event of Ghadeer should alone be sufficient proof of the Imamate
of Imam Ali. This event is not peculiar only to Shiites, but is in fact
narrated in over sixty Sunni books. It is narrated by some of the most
prominent Sunni scholars. The likes of Ar-Razi, Tha?labi, Suyuti,
Nishapuri, Tabari, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Bukhari.
Day of Ghadeer was the final seal in the appointment of Imam Ali as
caliph and Imam of the Muslim State. But during the 23 years of his
mission, the Prophet, was promoting him to the people. The Prophet
continuously praised the high virtues of Ali. In fact the first open
declaration of prophethood was also the first declaration of Ali?s caliphate.
The al-Mighty Allah sent revelation, ?And warn your nearest of
kinfolk? (26:214). The Prophet was ordered to invite his clan of Bani Hashem
to the righteous religion of Islam. The event is recorded in the
history books as, ?feast of the clan?.
After feasting on the food, the Prophet addressed his family members
saying, ?O?sons of Abdul Muttalib! I have brought for you the good of
this world and next, and I have been appointed by my Lord to call you
unto him. Therefore, who amongst you will administer this cause for me
and be my brother, my successor and my caliph??
No one of those present responded to the Prophets? request except
Imam Ali who was only but a boy of ten. The Prophet repeated his request
three times and on every occasion none but Ali would stand and say, ?I,
O?prophet of Allah?. The prophet then said, ?O?People! This Ali is my
brother, my successor and my caliph amongst you, listen to him and obey
him?.
So if anyone wishes to live and die a true believer in Mohammed and
the message he came with, it is pertinent upon him to observe the
commands of the Prophet pertaining to the appointment of Ali as caliph. The
requirement was to take him and his chosen progeny as leaders, and
follow in their path and adhere to their teachings as they were the very
same teachings of the Prophet. The Prophet said, ?whoever wishes to live
my life and die my death, and inhabit the Perpetual Garden promised to
me by my lord let him take Ali and his progeny after him as masters, for
they shall never take you out of the guidance, nor let you stray?.
Imam Ali and his progeny are the ark of salvation (safinat
al-najaat), so embark it because it is the only ark that will stay afloat when
the high seas turn rough. It is the ark chosen by Allah to lead and keep
mankind afloat and steady on the righteous path. In that ark the
Prophet?s message continues unaltered. The Prophet said, ?the similitude of
my household among you is that of the ark of Noah. Whoever embarks upon
it is saved and whoever lags behind it is drowned?.