(by wikipedia) The event of Ghadir Khumm (Persian: واقعه غدیر خم) was the appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, as his successor according to the Shia beliefs. Sunnis, however, do not believe that there was any appointment of a successor by Muhammad in Ghadir Khumm or elsewhere. On February 632, last year of his life, Muhammad attended Hajj rituals known as farewell pilgrimage. On 18th Dhu al-Hijjah and in the way back to Medina, due to revelation of the verse of announcement, Muhammad gathered all Muslims and made a speech. The most significant sentence of his remark was: "Whomsoever to him I am master (Maula), Ali is also his/her master (Maula). O God, love those who love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him."[2]
On Thursday 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah (March 19), Muslims arrived at Ghadir Khumm. Then, the following verse of the Quran was revealed:
“
O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith (5:67).[5]
”
According to the verse, Muhammad was obliged to proclaim an important message. The verse clearly denotes the importance of the message that if he does not announce it, he did not performed his mission. After revelation of the verse, Muhammad ordered the caravan to stop and ordered those who have passed Ghadir Khumm return and wait until those who had not yet arrived there join them.[6][7]
It was very hot. There were about 10 thousands. By the order of Muhammad a rostrum of camel saddles was made. After performing Zuhr prayer, Muhammad made a speech known as Ghadir Sermon (Arabic: خطبة الغدير). It was a long speech. He recited numerous verses from the Quran and reminded and warned people of their deeds and future. However the well-known sentence was, while he had raised Ali’s hand, "whomever I am his Master, this Ali is his Master (Mawla)."[
Revelation of the verse of Ikmal al-Din
Main article: The verse of Ikmal al-Din
According to Shia scholar Sheikh Abdul Hosein Amini’s work, Al-Ghadir, immediately after Muhammad finished his speech, the following verse of the Quran was revealed:[10][11][12]
This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion (5:3).
Only then, he left the rostrum and ordered to establish a tent in which Ali would sit to receive allegiance oath of Muslims. Thousands of people group by group, including women, went to him and saluted and congratulated him as Amir al-Mu'minin, commander of the faithful. Umar ibn Al-Khattab was the first to congratulate.[
Narrators of the event
The event of Ghadir Khumm has been revealed in both Shia and Sunni sources. However, Sunnis do not believe in the Shia interpretation of the Hadith. Narrators of the Hadith of Ghadir Khum are many including:
◾Ahl al-Bayt: Ali, Fatimah, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali
◾110 Sahabah (companions) of Muhammad: Umar,[15] Uthman, Aisha,[16] Abu Hurairah,[17] Abu Dhar al-Ghifari, Salman the Persian,[18] Zubayr ibn al-Awam,[19] Jabir ibn Abd Allah,[20] and etc. who were all present in Ghadir Khum and narrated the event directly.
◾83 of the Tabi‘un (followers): Salim ibn Abd-Allah, Umar II, Tawus ibn Kaysan, and etc.
◾360 Sunni scholars of 2nd to 4th century AH: Abū ʿAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfīʿī (the founder of the Shafi'i school), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (the founder of the Hanbali school), Al-Nasa'i, Ibn al-Maghazili, Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, and Ahmad ibn Abd Rabbih.
◾Shia Hadith scholars: Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, Ibn Babawayh, Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, Sharif al-Murtaza, and etc.
This Hadith is considered as Hasan by many scholars and some considers it Sahih. Furthermore, all Shia Hadith scholars and some great Sunni scholars consider this Hadith as Mutawatir. Shia scholar Sheikh Abdul Hosein Amini collected all the references for the event of Ghadir Khum from Sunni sources and issued them together with all other reasons for this event in 11 volumes in his book Al-Ghadir.[14]
Shias celebrate the occasion of Muhammad appointing Ali as his successor.[21] Fasting, doing Ghusl (ritual bath), reciting Du'a Nudba and giving food to believers is among recommended practice of Eid al-Ghadeer.
The Hadith of the pond of Khumm (Arabic: غدير خم) is an account of a speech given by Muhammad on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar (Sunday, March 15, 632 AD)[1] at Ghadir Khumm, which is located near the city of al-Juhfah, in present-day Saudi Arabia.[2] It has been interpreted variously by the two main sects of Islam, where Shia generally maintain that in this hadith the Islamic prophet Muhammad appointed Ali as his heir and successor. The Sunnis, on the other hand, do not deny Muhammad's declaration about Ali at Ghadir Khumm, but they argue that he was simply urging the audience to hold his cousin and son-in-law in high esteem and affection.[1]
The Shia celebrate the anniversary of this event on 18 Dhu al-Hijjah.[1]
According to Shia narrators of traditions the verse of announcement was related to the succession of Ali at Ghadir Khumm.[3][4][5] The verse of announcement was revealed during the return from the The Farewell Pilgrimage. It reads
يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ [6]
O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith. (5:67).[7]
According to Sunnis, this verse was revealed much earlier than this incident. And this is not possible that a verse regarding the most important issue is revealed after the verse regarding the completion of religion, and after Muhammad had taken testification from people that he had delivered the teachings of Islam to the people.
On the way back to Medina from Mecca, Muhammad ordered his companions to stop at Ghadir Khum and delivered the following sermon (in brief)
“
O people, Allah the Most Kind the Omniscient has told me that no apostle lives to more than half the age of him who had preceded him. I think I am about to be called (to die) and thus I must respond. I am responsible and you are responsible, then what do you say?' They said, 'We witness that you have informed, advised and striven. May Allah bless you.' He said, 'Do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle, and that His Heaven is true, His Hell is true, death is true, the Resurrection after death is true, that there is no doubt that the Day of Judgment will come, and that Allah will resurrect the dead from their graves?' They said, 'Yes, we bear witness.' He said, 'O Allah, bear witness.' Then he said, 'O people, Allah is my Lord and I am the lord of the believers. I am worthier of believers than themselves. Of whomsoever I had been Master (Mawla), Ali here is to be his Master.[a] O Allah, be a supporter of whoever supports him (Ali) and an enemy of whoever opposes him and divert the Truth to Ali.'
”
“
O people, I will go ahead of you and you will arrive at my Pond (in Heaven) which is wider than the distance between Basra and San'a. It has receptacles as numerous as the stars, and two cups of gold and two of silver. I will ask you about the two weighty things that I have left for you when you come to me to see how you dealt with them. The greater weighty thing is Allah's book—the Holy Qur'an. One end is in Allah's hand and the other is in your hands. Keep it and you will not deviate. That other weighty thing is my family (Ahl al-Bayt) and my descendents. The Most Kind the Omniscient had told me that both of them, would not separate until they come to my Pond.
”
Another similar narration of part of the hadith goes as follows,
“
O people! Reflect on the Quran and comprehend its verses. Look into its clear verses and do not follow its ambiguous parts, for by Allah, none shall be able to explain to you its warnings and its mysteries, nor shall anyone clarify its interpretation, other than the one that I have grasped his hand, brought up beside myself,(and lifted his arm), the one about whom I inform you that whomever I am his master, this Ali is his master (Mawla); and he is Ali Ibn Abi Talib, my brother, the executor of my will (Wasiyyi), whose appointment as your guardian and leader has been sent down to me from Allah, the mighty and the majestic.[8]
”
There are other versions of this hadith that say,
“
I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet."
— Malik ibn Anas, Muwatta Imam Malik[9]
”
“
I leave for you the Quran alone you shall uphold it.
— Sahih Muslim 15/19, nu 1218; Sunan ibn Majah 25/84, Sunan Abu Dawood 11/56
The word mawla is significant in the first narration of this hadith, and can refer to a client, patron, friend, partner, ally or numerous other similar relationships.[10] Number of 27 different meanings are given for the word mawla and hence the exact meaning should be derived from their syntactical and situational contexts.[11]
Unlike the words “Imam, Ameer, Khalifah, Ulil-Amr, Sultan” which are very clear words to describe leader, the word Mawla is more ambiguous.[citation needed]
This word has been used by Muhammad for a few other companions as well, and his freed slave Zaid is one of them.
The current knowledge of the Prophet’s life is mainly based on sources such as Ibn Hisham, al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Saʿd, etc. that are silent over Muhammad’s stop at Ghadir Khumm. Even when the writers mentioned the event, they said nothing about his speech. Similarly, western biographers of Muhammad make no mention of what happened at Ghadir Khumm. However the account of this event has been recorded by al-Yakubi who is famous for his sympathy for Shiite cause, and it appears in canonical collections as in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal. Some Sunnis scholars do not deny Muhammad’s declaration about Ali at Ghadir Khumm, but they argue that he was simply urging the audience to hold his cousin and son-in-law in high esteem and affection.[1]
On the completion of Muhammad's sermon, Umar (Umar al-Khattab) said, "Congratulations to you, Ali! This morning has brought you a great blessing. Today you have become the master of all believing men and women." At a later occasion when Umar was asked about his special treatment to Ali as compared to other companions, his reply was, "He is my master."[12][13][14][15] Shi'a Believe that, With Muhammad's approbation he recited verses in honour of Ali. The verse are recorded in Ibn Shahrashoub and affirms that ʿAlī was named as the successor of the Prophet on the day of Ghadir Khum.[1]
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, writes in his book, Mawaddat al-Qurba in Mawadda 5, that many companions quoted Umar in different places as having said that Muhammad made Ali the chief and leader of the nation and that Muhammad announced publicly that Ali was their master. Umar was also quoted saying that on the day of that announcement, a handsome youth was sitting besides him and that the youth said to him, "Surely, the Prophet has bound a covenant which none but a hypocrite would break. So Umar! Avoid breaking it." When Umar told Muhammad about the incident, Muhammad said that the youth was not of Adam's (Adem) progeny but was Gabriel (Jibril) and was stressing the point about Ali.
Muawiyah is reminded about Ghadir
When Muawiyah arrived (in Mecca) during one of his pilgrimages, accordingly, Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas came to see him, and they happened to mention Ali. Muawiyah disparaged Ali. As a result, Sa`d became angry and said: "You are speaking of this man! I have heard the Messenger of Allah—peace and salutation of Allah be upon him—declare (On the day of Ghadir): 'Of whomsoever I am the master, then Ali is his master.' I have (also) heard him say: 'You Ali are to me in position that Harun was to Musa, except that there is no prophet after me (See Hadith of position).' And I have heard him announce: 'Today I am indeed going to hand over the banner to a person who loves Allah and his Messenger, and Allah and his Messenger also loves him."[16
