3. GHADIR KHUMM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE (2)

1

3. GHADĪR (THE POND OF) KHUMM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE (2) 3. According to Sunni traditionists, such as al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, al-Ṭabrānī, al-Nasā’ī, and many others, the verse ‫ْال َي ْو َم أَ ْك َم ْلت لَك ْم دِي َنك ْم َوأَ ْت َممْت َعلَيْك ْم نِعْ َمتِي َو َرضِ يت‬ )3:‫(المائدة‬... ‫اْلسْ َ​َل َم دِي ًنا‬ ِ ْ ‫لَكم‬ Today I have perfected your religion and completed my favour upon you, and I was satisfied that Islam )be your religion) (Q. 5:3) was revealed at ‘Arafah, and not at Ghadīr Khumm. When this verse was revealed on the evening day of ‘Arafah (9th of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah) ‘Umar cried. When the Prophet asked him what made him cry he said that as the religion of Islam was being perfected for them, and as nothing is perfect but bound to deteriorate. The Prophet confirmed it, as he said: َ )‫اْلسْ َلَم َغ ِريبًا َو َس َيعود َك َما َب َدأَ َغ ِريبًا َفطو َبى ل ِْلغ َر َبا ِء (رواه مسلم‬ ِ ‫َب َدأ‬ Islam was strange in its beginning and will return strange like in its beginning. Therefore, good news for the strangers. (Reported by Muslim) It was narrated by Ṭāriq ibn Shihāb that the Jews said to ‘Umar r.a., ‘By Allah! There is a verse read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day it was revealed a a day of celebration.” ‘Umar r.a. said, “By Allah I know when and where this verse was revealed and where the Messenger of Allah was at that time. It was the Friday evening of ‘Arafah, and I was at ‘Arafah, by Allah” (Reported by al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, and al-Nasā’ī)1 The report runs as follows: ‫ب‬ ِ ‫ْن ْال َخ َّطا‬ ِ ‫ْن شِ َهاب َقا َل َقا َل َيهودِى لِع َم َر ب‬ ِ ‫ار ِق ب‬ ِ ‫َعنْ َط‬ َّ ‫َرضِ َى‬ ْ َ‫ أَ َما لَ ْو َعلَ ْي َنا َمعْ َش َر ْال َيهو ِد َن َزل‬: ‫ّللا َع ْنه‬ ‫ت َه ِذ ِه اآل َية ( ْال َي ْو َم أَ ْك َم ْلت لَك ْم دِي َنك ْم َوأَ ْت َممْت‬ ْ َ‫اْلسْ َلَ َم دِي ًنا) َنعْ لَم ْال َي ْو َم الَّذِى َن َزل‬ ‫ َف َقا َل‬.‫ت فِي ِه الَ َّت َخ ْذ َنا َذل َِك ْال َي ْو َم عِ ًيدا‬ ِ ‫َعلَيْك ْم نِعْ َمتِى َو َرضِ يت لَكم‬ 1

2

Asmā’ bint ‘Umays said: Qur’ān I was performing the pilgrimage with the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. at the pilgrimage. While we were walking suddenly Gabriel appeared to him on his riding she-camel; and as she could not bear the heaviness of the (verses of the) Qur’ān, she knelt down; so, I came to him and covered him with the outer garment which was with me.2 4. Had the succession been a divine decree, Ali would not have said the following statements: a. In his speech in Nahj al-Balāghah 1/182, no. 92 ‘Ali said: Leave me alone and ask other people [for leadership], as we are facing a case which has various manifestations and complexions, which hearts cannot bear and reason cannot accept [namely, complicated]… and if you leave me, as I am like any of you, I might be the one who listen and obey the most among you to whom you have chosen a ruler. For me, being a vizier of you would be better than being a ruler.3 b. In his speech in Nahj al-Balāghah 2/184, no. 205 ‘Ali also said:

By Allah, I have neither desire to be a caliph, nor skill for ruling, but you are appealing to me for it and imposing on me.4 َّ ‫ب َرضِ َى‬ ْ َ‫ت فِي ِه َو ْال َي ْو َم َوالسَّا َع َة َن َزل‬ ْ َ‫ َق ْد َعلِمْت ْال َم ْوضِ َع الَّذِى َن َزل‬: ‫ّللا َع ْنه‬ ‫ت َع َلى‬ ِ ‫ع َمر بْن ْال َخ َّطا‬ ‫ ( َر َواه البخاري ومسْ لِم َوالترمذي‬.‫ َو َنحْ ن ِب َع َر َف َة عَشِ َّي َة جم َعة‬-‫صلى ّللا عليه وسلم‬- ‫ّللا‬ ِ َّ ‫ول‬ ِ ‫َرس‬ ‫)والنسائي‬ 2 ‫ فبينما نحن‬،‫ حججت مع رسول ّللا صلى ّللا عليه وسلم تلك الحجة‬:‫فقالت أسماء بنت ع َميس‬ ‫ فلم تطق الراحلة من ِث ْقل ما عليها‬،‫ إذ تجلّى له جبريل صلى ّللا عليه وسلم على الرَّ احلة‬،‫نسير‬ )‫ فأتيته فسجَّ يت عليه برداء كان علي (تفسير الطبري‬،‫ فبركت‬،‫من القرآن‬ 3 ‫ وال تثبت‬،‫ ال تقوم له القلوب‬،‫ فإنا مستقبلون أمرا له وجوه وألوان‬،‫دعوني والتمسوا غيري‬ ،‫ ولعلي أسمعكم وأطوعكم لمن وليتموه أمركم‬، ‫ وإن تركتموني فأنا كأحدكم‬... ‫عليه العقول‬ ) 92 ‫ خطبة‬،182\1 ‫وأنا لكم وزيرا خير لكم مني أميرا (نهج البَلغة‬ 4 ‫ ولكنكم دعوتموني إليها وحملتموني‬،‫ وال في الوالية إربة‬،‫وّللا ما كانت لي في الخَلفة رغبة‬ ) 202 ‫ خطبة‬،181\ 2 ‫عليها (نهج البَلغة‬

3

c. In his speech in Nahj al-Balāghah (“Peack of Eloquence”) no. 202 ‘Ali also said: In fact, people who pledged allegiance to me are those who have pledged allegiance to Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān on the [same] condition, so people who are present have no choice, and those who are absent have no objection; rather, it is shūrā (mutual consultation) for the muhajirin (emigrants) and anṣār (people of Madinah).

If they agreed on a man and called him an imām, this would be pleasing Allah, and if a man came out of their order with impeachment or innovation, they would bring him back, and if he rejected they would fight him for his following other than the way of the believers, and Allah would keep him in the path he has chosen.5 Here ‘Ali’s expression of “following other than the way of the believers, and Allah would keep him in the path he has chosen” he was quoting the following Qur’ānic verse: ‫ِين‬ َ ‫يل ْالم ْؤ ِمن‬ ِ ‫َمنْ ي َشاق ِ​ِق الرَّ سو َل مِنْ َبعْ ِد َما َت َبي َ​َّن لَه ْالهدَى َو َي َّت ِبعْ َغي َْر َس ِب‬ ْ ‫ن َولِّ ِه َما َت َولَّى َونصْ لِ ِه َج َه َّن َم َو َسا َء‬ )112:‫ت مَصِ يرً ا (النساء‬ And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination! (Q. 4:115) Moreover, it was reported that he and his two sons alḤasan and al-Ḥusayn (r.a.) had paid allegiance to Abū Bakr, ‫ َفلَم َيكن لِل َّشا ِه ِد أَن‬،ِ‫ثمان َعلَى َما َبا َيعوهم َعلَيه‬ َ ‫ِين َبا َيعوا أَ َبا َبكر َوع َم َر َوع‬ َ ‫إِ َّنه َبا َي َعنِي ال َقوم الَّذ‬ ‫ َفإِ ِن اج َت َمعوا َعلَى َرجل َو َسمَّوه‬،‫ار‬ ِ ‫ َوالَ لِل َغا ِئ‬،‫ار‬ َ ‫ين َواألَن‬ َ ‫ورى لِلم َها ِج ِر‬ َ ‫ َوإ َّن َما ال ُّش‬،‫ب أَن َير َّد‬ َ ‫َيخ َت‬ ِ ‫ص‬ َ َ ‫دعة َر ُّدوه إِلَى َم‬ ‫ َفإِن‬،‫اخ َر َج مِنه‬ َ ‫وب‬ ِ َّ ِ ‫ان ذل َِك‬ َ ‫إِ َماما ً َك‬ ِ َ‫ارج ِب َطعن أ‬ ِ ‫مرهِم َخ‬ ِ ‫ َفإِن َخ َر َج َعن أ‬، ً‫لِل ِرضى‬ ) 6 ‫ باب كنيته‬7 /3‫ َو َوالَّه ّللا َما َت َولَّى (نهج البَلغة‬،‫ِين‬ َ ‫يل المؤ ِمن‬ َ ‫أَ َبى َقا َتلوه َعلَى ا ِّتبَاعِ ِه َغ‬ ِ ‫ير َس ِب‬ 5

4

‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān. They would have violated the divine decree had the leadership been divinely decreed for them, unless they were doing what is called taqiyyah, prudence, namely, dissimilation of one’s religion or faith under duress or in the face of threatening damage. This also would be unlikely for a brave and upright man like ‘Ali to conceal the truth about his right for leadership based on divine decree.

However, the genuineness of Nahj al-Balāghah by many Muslim scholars as the speeches of ‘Ali selected and collected by al-Sharīf Muhammad al-Raḍī (359-406/9701016), or his elder brother ‘Ali al-Murtaḍā (355-426/9661036) was doubted and many of them were considered forgery.6 They are unlike the ḥadīths of the Prophet where we can trace who said what and from whom until the report reached the collectors of the ḥadīths, such as Bukhārī and Muslim. The character of each narrator of the report was evaluated to see whether he was trustworthy, pious and had enough strong memory, or not. The chain of narrators and transmitters is called isnād, and evaluating the character of each of them is called al-jarḥ wa l’ta‘dīl (lit. “injuring and straightening”). In modern time we have a record called Wo’s Who where the identity of persons in it are mentioned. In Nahj al-Balāghah we do not have isnād.

Dr. Ṣabrī Ibrāhīm al-Sayyid, the Emeritus Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, in his verification on the Nahj al-Balāghah gives us some of his findings as follows: Many of the scholars of the 6th century of Hijrah thought that most of the contents of Nahj al-Balāghah were not originated from ‘Ali, but were composed by a group of eloquent Shi’is, 6

For example, see ‫ ط دار الثقافة – بيروت‬313/3 ،‫ وفيات‬: ‫ ميزان ;ابن خلكان‬: ‫الذهبي‬ 121/3 ‫ ; االعتدال‬227/3 ‫ شذرات الذهب‬: ‫ ;ابن عماد الحنبلي‬22/3 ‫ مرآة الجنان‬: ‫; اليافعي‬ 223/1 ‫ لسان الميزان‬: ‫ ; ابن حجر العسقَلني‬271/1 ‫ أمراء البيان‬: ‫كرد علي‬

5

among whom was al-Sayyid al-Raḍī. Dr. Ṣabrī did no decide the genuineness or falsehood of the contents of the book, but he analysed them, and found that some parts of them were originated from Greek orators and others from Muslim scholars. He made his decision on 20% of them, and said that they had been composed by al-Sharīf al-Raḍī himself, and not his brother ‘Ali al-Murtaḍā.

Other irregularities of Nahj al-Balāghah are: too many and too long speeches; too many sayings and speeches from reliable sources attributed to other than ‘Ali, but attributed to him by the writer of Nahj alBalāghah; containing improper statements attributed to Ali about the caliphs before him; containing the news of the unseen, the distant future, such as the case of al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf al-Thaqafī, the Zinj civil strife, and the Tatar invasion; the extensive use of rhymed prose in it; the use of elegant style in which literary art appeared which was among the embellishment and decoration of the Abbasī period; the existence in it philosophical expressions and theological essays unknown by Muslims except in the 3rd century of the Hijrah when Greek, Persian and Indian books were translated into Arabic.

2. According to the Shi’is after completing his farewell pilgrimage the Prophet appointed Ali as his successor at Ghadīr Khumm, a watering hole in the middle of the desert not from the city of Juhfah, approximately 250 km away from Makkah in the south. We wonder why such an important event, the appointment of Ali as the Prophet’s successor was not announced at the Mount of Arafah where the entire Muslim ummah was gathered, so that nobody would deny or doubt it. After this pilgrimage the pilgrims dispersed and returned to their respective homes, such as Țā’if, Kūfah and Yemen, whereas the people of Makkah remained in that city. None of these people went to completely different and opposite direction towards Ghadīr

6

Khumm in order to listen to the Prophet’s important sermon. The Prophet had never told them to do so.

Therefore, those who were present with the Prophet at that place were those who lived in cities in the North of the Arabian Peninsula who were heading towards Madinah (or passing through/near it) and other places such as Syria.

They were just a handful of Muslims, not a great number of Muslims as claimed by the Shi‘is to be over 100,000 people (some said about 120,000 people). It is said that when the Prophet passed away the number of Muslims was not even half of it.

This event indicates that the Ghadīr Khumm episode was not so significant as claimed by the Shi’is. When the Prophet said what he said it was the answer of an issue, of a special case arising at that time and at that place. This will be dealt with in the next khutbah, in shā Allāh.

(CIVIC, 7 October, 2016) :‫المراجع‬ ‫المكتبة الشاملة‬ ( ‫ هـ‬310 .‫تفسير الطبري)ت‬ ( ‫ هـ‬671 .‫تفسير القرطبى)ت‬ (‫ هـ‬771 .‫تفسير ابن كثير)ت‬ htps://www.al-islam.org/ghadir/incident.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_of_the_pond_of_Khumm http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo9780195390155/obo-97801953 http://www.dd-sunnah.net/forum/showthread.php?p =553768#post55376 https://gift2shias.com/2013/10/24/hadith-of-ghadir-khumm-a/sunni-perspective http://www.utm.thaqalayn.org/files/ghadeer.pdf http://www.discoveringislam.org/ghadir_khumm.htm source: http://www.utm.thaqalayn.org/files/ghadeer.pdf” http://www.aqaed.com/faq/4457/