The event of Ghadīr Khum is a very important and decisive event in the history of Islam. This event can be looked at from two viewpoints and two dimensions. One dimension is especially for the Shi‘ites and one dimension belongs to all Islamic sects. Given the second aspect of this event, this spirit and this feeling must be created in all Muslims of the world that Eid al-Ghadīr, which is a reminder of this great event, does not belong only to Shi‘ites.
As was said, the first dimension is especially for the Shi‘ites, because in that event Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) has been appointed to the Caliphate through the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), and on that same day, and in that same event there were those who asked the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), “Has this announcement been made by you or by Allah?” He replied,
«مِن الله وَ رَسوله»
meaning that it is Allah’s command and it is from me as well. The Shi‘ites celebrate this event from this viewpoint that the Shi‘ites’ belief–that is, the immediate Caliphate of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.)–more than all reasons, relies on this event. Of course, discussion concerning the deduction and reasoning for this event has continued in many numerous books throughout the history of Islam, from the first day until today, and I do not intend to add anything to this topic that thousands of tongues have talked about and thousands of pens have written about.
But the second dimension of the event, which is not less important than this dimension, is common between the Shi‘ites and the Sunnis; which, I will explain a little more.
The fact of the matter is that in 10 A.H. the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) went on the Hajj pilgrimage with a group of Muslims from Medina and from other parts of the Arabian Peninsula who had become Muslim. During this journey the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) made full and noteworthy use of this pilgrimage to the House of Allah to explain Islamic concepts, whether political, military, moral, or doctrinal. Two speeches from the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) have been quoted that he made in Minā, where one, apparently is delivered on the tenth day or around that same tenth day and one is delivered at the end of the days of Tashrīq of the Islamic calendar which has been asserted and it appears that this included two speeches and not one. In these speeches, the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) has roughly stated all the major topics, which are primarily political issues that Muslims should pay profound attention to. One understands quite well that these people in the Muslim world today who consider political issues to be apart from the Hajj pilgrimage and assume that at the Hajj one must only be engaged in worship in the common meaning of the word and that any political activity is considered to be outside the stature of the pilgrimage; how distant and alienated they have become from the history of Islam and the tradition (Sunna) of the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.)!
The matters at hand that the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) stated in these speeches, that have been quoted in typical Shi‘ite and Sunni books, are a compendium of these matters that include: Firstly, he talks about holy struggle and brings up the issue of holy struggle against the polytheists and the infidels and he announces that this holy struggle will continue until the word ﴾لا اله الّا الله﴿ (There is no god but Allah) becomes pandemic. Concerning Islamic unity the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) has noted some matters and has asserted that the Muslims should not get involved in a civil war and insisted upon Muslim unity and Muslim cohesion. Concerning the values of ignorance, stating explicitly he asserted that according to Islam these values are considered insignificant and naught and are not values.
«ألا وَ كلُّ مأَثرُة فِى الجاهِليَّةِ تَحتَ قَدَمَىَّ هَاتَين»
[Any value and dignity that was considered a value in the pre-Islamic period of ignorance, I trample under my feet at this moment!]; he completely negated the values of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. The Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) rejected and abrogated those financial disputes between Muslims left behind from the pre-Islamic period; including, for example, any cases wherein someone had lent money to someone, and would have demanded the money and the interest and the usury of the money they owed.
«ألا وَ إنّ كُلَّ رِبا مِنَ الجاهِليَّةِ فَهُو تَحتَ قَدَمَىَّ هَاتَين»
[And the first monetary interest (usury) that I will remove is the usurious debts of my uncle ‘Abbās–who used to give loans and he was owed money from many people during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance–he said, “I have removed and abrogated them”. He repeated the value of virtue as the highest value of Islam and he reiterated that no one has preference over no one else except by the blessing of piety and God-wariness. They raised the necessity for advising the Muslim leaders, namely the involvement in the political issues and the declaration of opinion to the rulers and its leaders and proclaimed it as a hypothesis that all Muslims are duty-bound express their benevolent comments to the Islamic statesmen.
The Guarantee of the Islamic System
The holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) stated much of the political and social issues of the Islamic world in these speeches and he also mentioned the Thaqalayn tradition in the same speeches, and the Thaqalayn tradition is that he said, “Verily, I am leaving behind two precious things (Thaqalayn) among you, ﴾كِتابَ اللهِ وَ عِترَتى﴿ the Book of Allah and my progeny (‘itra).” Then he placed his two index fingers next to each other and said, “Those two things are like these two; as two index fingers they are not different from each other.” Then he said, “They are not like these two”; he held up the index finger and his middle finger of one of his hands and he said, “I do not consider the Book of Allah and my progeny to be like these two; that of the index finger and the middle finger one is taller than the other; rather they are like two index fingers, neither of which is preferred to the other. Then, he raised the issue of ‘itra. After the Hajj rituals were performed he immediately set off toward Medina. On the way, at a three-way junction, where the caravans of Medina and caravans of Yemen should separate, his holiness (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) stopped at a place named Ghadīr Khum, while the witnesses and those present narrate that the weather was so hot that if they had put meat on the ground it would have become grilled, in such a situation the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) goes and stands upon an elevated place until the people gradually gather together. When he sees that everyone has gathered together, then he announces the issue of Wilāya (guardianship),
«و مَن كُنتُ مَولاه فَهذا عَلىٌّ مَولاه»
and takes the hand of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H) and holds it up so that everyone can see it. And in numerous traditions it is recorded that the armpits of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) and ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib (P.B.U.H) could be seen when they raised their hands for everyone to see. Following is a brief account of the accident.
That dimension that I have in mind–the Islamic international and inter-sectarian dimension that is not exclusive to the Shi‘ites–is that if we suppose that in this declaration, which has definitely been made and this sentence has been stated with the tongue of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), if we suppose that the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) did not want to declare the immediate rulership of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.), at least he wanted the Muslims to establish and consolidate a profound friendliness, bond, and relationship with Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) and his progeny in this statement. The reason the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) places his progeny beside the Holy Qur’an, both in his speech in Minā and in the Tradition of Thaqalayn–which apparently the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) has issued the Tradition of Thaqalayn many times–and also in the Tradition of Ghadīr and in the event of Ghadīr–and places emphasis on Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) and his personality–the reason he establishes this relationship, among other things, is that for example, over time, he would firstly present to the people and all the future generations a complete example of a leading human being in Islam and a plausible and acceptable human being according to Islam. The complete example of a human being to be placed at the disposal of all human beings in the form of a personified and irreplaceable being with clear and unquestionable states, to say that Islamic training must move in this direction and the character of a Muslim person is the character, of which the ultimate and complete samples are these people. Human beings whose purity, knowledge, piety, honesty, submission to Allah, mastery of Islamic issues, courageous self-sacrifice for the realization of Islamic ideals, and self-sacrifice are apparent to all. He introduces Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) as a role model that people–whether the people of that time or the people of later generations–can establish a bond with him, and have a relationship with him. Now, granted that in practice he did not become a Caliph immediately after the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) and he became his successor after twenty-five years, he finally became the Caliph of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), finally his position as an Imam was established, and finally all the Muslims accepted him as an individual who was the leader of the society. This feature, this bond, this relationship, all Muslims in regard to the personality that all the people widely accept as the Caliph of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.)–however some say that he was the Caliph immediately after the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), some believe he was the Caliph after twenty-five years–this personality that all Muslims widely accept must be an everlasting role model, a complete sample of a Muslim human being. Thus, the bond between him and the Muslims must remain forever an intellectual, doctrinal, emotional, and practical relationship.
With this point of view, Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) is no longer just for the Shi‘ites; rather, he is for all Muslims, and it is not exclusive to Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.), rather all of the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) descendants and the Shi‘ite Imams (P.B.U.T.) who are the progeny of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.), because they are included among the ‘itra and from the viewpoint of Muslims, they must always remain a perfect exemplar of an Islamic human being. This is one point. Secondly, by determining the ‘itra alongside the Holy Qur’an and by announcing the necessity of the bond between the Muslims and the ‘itra, in reality the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) settled the issue of the distortions in the Qur’an and the deviation of the main concepts of the Qur’an. Since the systems of wealth and oppression distort Islamic concepts for their own interests, they misinterpret and misrepresent the Holy Qur’an, mislead the Muslims, deprive people from understanding the Islamic doctrine. That authority, that pivot, and that pole that must inform the people as to what the truth is, what concept and knowledge is true, and who could save the people from going astray, and people should listen to his words, he is the ‘itra. Thus, this is the very thing that is a necessity and a requirement today for the Islamic world. Today, all Muslims need to utilize the Islamic teachings that come through the household of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.); it makes no difference whether they believe in the immediate Imamate of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) and the Imamate of his descendants or not. Of course, the Shi‘ites consider the true belief about and decisive implication of this tradition as the immediate Caliphate and believe in it and are committed to it. Those who are not committed to this belief either–namely, our Sunni brothers–must not sever their intellectual, mental, doctrinal, and emotional relationship and bond with the descendents of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) and Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.). Hence, the issue of Ghadīr, by this second dimension, which is the dimension of the creation of the bond between ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib (P.B.U.H.) and the ‘itra of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) with Muslims from all walks of life, belongs to all Muslims.
1987/14/08
The Future of the Islamic System
The issue of Ghadīr is not a merely historical one; it is a sign of the universality of Islam. If the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), who had accomplished the task of turning a primitive society that was tainted with prejudices and bigotry into a progressive Islamic society with the great efforts that his holiness had invested and with the help of his loyal companions within a ten-year span, and if he had not thought of something for the years after these ten years and had not provided the Muslim nation with a plan, this task would have been unfinished. The residue of the prejudices of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance was so deep that it would perhaps need many long years to obliterate. Apparently, it was all good and well; the faith of the people was good. Of course, they were not at the same level, some embraced Islam at the time of the demise of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), others had embraced Islam one year before the death of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), some had embraced Islam six months before and for some it had been two years since they had embraced Islam; the military power of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) along with the attractions of Islam had drawn these people to Islam. Not all of them were among the deeply faithful Muslims of the early period. In order to clean the residue of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance from the depths of this society and preserving the straight path of Islamic guidance ten years after the demise of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.), a measure was needed to be taken. If this measure had not been taken, the task would be unfinished. That, in chapter Mā’ida it is said,
﴿اليَومَ أكمَلتُ لَكُم دينَكُم وَ أتمَمتُ عَليكُم نِعمَتي﴾
it is asserting this same concept that this blessing–the blessing of Islam, the blessing of guidance, the blessing of showing the straight path to human society–would have been perfected when the roadmap had also been completed for after the demise of the Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.); this is a natural affair. The Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) accomplished this task at Ghadīr; he appointed Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) who, in terms of character–whether a character of faith, or a revolutionary or military character, whether of behavioral character with people of different classes–was a distinctive and unique personality and obliged the people to follow him.
This was not the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) idea, either; this was Divine guidance, it was a Divine command, it was a Divine nomination; like the rest of the holy Prophet’s (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) speeches and guidance that were all Divine inspirations. This was the explicit command of the Lord to the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) and the holy Prophet (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) also acted on this command. This was the issue of Ghadīr; that is, it represents the Muslim society and a look into the future and that which is a precondition in guidance and leadership of the Islamic society. What is that? It is those things that the characters of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) is their manifestation; namely piety, devotion, absolute adherence to religion, not caring for any deity other than Allah and other than the way of Allah, recklessly moving in the way of Allah, enjoyment of knowledge, enjoyment of wisdom and prudence, enjoyment of resoluteness and determination. This is a real action and is at the same time symbolic. Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.) was appointed with these same characteristics; albeit, this symbol of leadership of the Islamic nation all through the life span of Islam–whatever may happen–is this very action; namely, the symbol of the Islamic rule and leadership in the span of time is this same truth that was realized in the Divine selection of Amīr al-Mu’minīn (P.B.U.H.). Ghadīr is one such truth.
2007/08/01
