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Eidol Ghadir
and a Pious Leadership
On the 18th of Zilhejjah of the 10th
year after Hijra, a great event took place by a small pond
which lay on the way between Holy Mecca and Medina. On that
day the holy Prophet of Islam (May the blessing of Allah be
upon him and his progeny) conveyed his message to the
120,000-strong crowd of Haj pilgrims. This great event
became known as Ghadir Khom in the history of Islam. Muslims
term this day as Eid and celebrate it since it has a special
value and sanctity for them. Eidol Ghadir was the day the
holy Prophet of Islam returned from his last Haj pilgrimage
from holy Mecca.
On return from the Haj pilgrimage the caravan was passing
through the desert. The sound of camels belling broke the
silence and brought uphoria and ecstasy to this valley. In
that vast desert there are a number of huge trees. There was
a region named Ghadir Khom, the site where the Haj caravans
separated from each other. Each one of the Egyptians, Iraqis
and the people of holy Medina had to traverse this spot to
return to their lands.
God’s messenger was delving into himself. The caravan
approached Ghadir Khom. It was then that the crowd of
pilgrims noticed the changes in the Prophet’s mood.
At that moment Ayah 67 of Surah Maidah was revealed to him:
“O
Apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your
Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His
message.”
The holy Prophet ordered the caravan to stop. Then the
pilgrims made a pulpit for him. A tumult aroused among the
crowd. All were keen to know what had happened. It seemed
that a great mission was entrusted to the holy Prophet. So
the holy prophet ascended the pulpit and said:
“O people, Hear my words, for it is possible that I may not
meet you at this spot in the future. You and I are
responsible. Have we carried out the mission?”
The pilgrims replied:” We testify that You have fulfilled
Your mission. Then the holy Prophet said: I am leaving two
memorable things among you-one of them is the Book of Allah
and the other is my household , and if you abide by them you
will never go astray.” After a pause the holy Prophet
looked
for Ali (PBUH) among the crowd, the person who was the
constant companion of God’s messenger and the first person
who believed in the holy Prophet. The Prophet himself had
several times praised the knowledge and competence of Ali (PBUH).
The holy Prophet called upon Ali and said: “O People who is
the most competent to the faithful? “ The people answered:
“God and His messenger know better.” At this juncture, the
holy Prophet raised Ali’s hand and said: “God is my Master
and I am the master of the faithful. Then the prophet
continued Whosever master I am from now on Ali is his
master He then repeated these sentences three times and
then said : “My God be friend with anyone who makes
friendship with Ali and be enemy to anyone who has enmity
toward Ali. Love whoever loves Ali and hate whoever hates
Ali. O people! Those present should convey these remarks to
those who are absent.”
When the holy Prophet’s speech came to an end part of Ayah 3
of Surah Maidah was revealed to the holy Prophet:
“This day have I perfected for you your religion and
completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a
religion;”
The appointment of Ali as leader was aimed at continuing the
holy Prophet’s programs and policies after his passing away,
whereas the infidels and the opposition thought that with
the passing away of the holy Prophet, the light of Islam
would be extinguished. God refers to this event as a
perfection of religion. The Ghadir event is worth pondering
from different aspects.
One is that leadership in Islam does not mean to win power
and post but it is a divine posts and leader who should be
immune from any wrongdoings. A pious leadership and Imamate
of Muslims is so significant that God has cited it as one of
the significant affairs of religion and a source for its
perfection. For this reason, even the holy Prophet too can
not appoint anyone to a divine status without God’s command.
An issue which was explicitly acknowledged by God’s
messenger. The history of Islam says: “When Prophet Mohammad
invited the Bani Aamer tribe to embrace Islam, they said If
we embrace Islam, would you entrust the leadership after you
to us?” The holy Prophet replied: “It is the task of God to
choose a successor to the Prophet. The Almighty will choose
anyone He wishes. “
Therefore the choice of Ghadir has been made by God.
According to Islamic thinkers and exegetes the existence of
a pious leader in the society is the most appropriate
executive guarantee for safeguarding Islamic values and the
security and soundness of a society. The Holy Prophet could
not leave all the hardships he sustained for Islam without
conclusion and planning.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Ali (PBUH) as successor proved
that the leader of the Islamic community should enjoy
special characteristics. Ali had spent all of his life in
the path of justice and piety. Justice and piety are two
prominent characteristics in the life of the Imam. It is
evident that the human community is in dire need of such
faithful and just leaders.
The other aspect of the Ghadir event is the issue of
guardianship of people and society. The holy Prophet
introduced Ali (PBUH) as the leader and guardian of Muslims.
In this way the person who is the ruler and leader of people
can not do whatever he wishes or embark on power display. He
is responsible vis-à-vis the people so that with their
cooperation he would materialize divine values and establish
justice and security in the society.
Islamic guardianship stresses the fact that a leader of a
society should have prominent characteristics such as piety,
knowledge, insight, bravery and justice.
Imam Ali (PBUH) believed that ruling by itself has no value
unless it becomes a means for materializing the rights of
the oppressed. For this reason, he said: “Ruling to me
is as worthless as priceless shoes, unless I restore a right
and remove evil. “
Throughout history, thinkers and scholars have spoken and
researchers have written many books about the Ghadir event.
In the book entitled Al-Ghadir written by the famous Islamic
thinker Allameh Amini the names of about 60 Sunni thinkers
who confirm the Ghadir event have been mentioned. One of
them is Ebne Moghazeli who writes in the book entitled
Manaqeb:
“The Hadith of Ghadir is a credible one which has been
narrated by about 100 companions of God’s messenger. This
Hadith is a virtue allocated only to Ali (PBUH).
Ebne Talhe Shafei also says:
“This day is termed Ghadir Khom and became an Eid for
Muslims, for, God’s messenger appointed Ali to a high
status." |
