5. GHADĪR (THE POND OF)
KHUMM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE (3)
As
we know in order to understand the Qur’ān properly we have to know, among other
things, the explanation of it from the Qur’ān, namely, the Qur’ān explains
itself. As one of the duties of the Prophet (ﷺ) (s.a.w.) was to explain the Qur’ān, we also have to
know his explanation through the ḥadīith as well as the occasion which
led to the revelation of the verses. In Qur’ānic science it is called asbāb
al-nuzūl. Similarly, in the science of Ḥadīth, not knowing the
occasion that made the Prophet (ﷺ) say any statement would lead us to
misunderstanding what he had said. It is called asbāb al-wurūd.
One example of
misunderstanding the verse of the Qur’ān for ignoring the ḥadīth of the Prophet (ﷺ) is Dr. Rashad Khalifa’s translation. As a person who claimed
to be “God’s Messenger of the Covenant” he denied the validity of the Ḥadīth
and translated the Qur’ān his own way, called Quran: the Final
Testament. Allah says in the Qur’ān:
وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ
(الحجر:99)
And
worship your Lord until there comes to
you the
certainty (i.e. death) (Q. 15:99)
Asad’s translation is: “and worship thy Sustainer till death comes
to thee.” His commentary of this
verse is:
Lit., “till there comes unto thee that which
is certain
(al-yaqīn)” – a term which in the Qur’ān is
often used
as a
metonymy for “death” (Bukhārī, Kitāb
al-Tafsīr).
Pickthall’s translation is,
“And serve thy Lord till the inevitable cometh unto thee” where it could
mean “death” which is inevitable. A. Yusuf Ali’s translation starts becoming
ambiguous, namely, “And serve your Lord until there comes unto you the Hour
that is certain.” In Rodwel’s translation the term “al-yaqīn” becomes more
ambiguous, namely, “And serve thy Lord till the certainty o’take thee.” Rashad Khalifa’s
translation is totally different, as he translates ḥattā (حَتَّى) as “in order” which is one of its meanings,
rather than “till,” as follows: “And
worship your Lord, in order to attain certainty.”[1]
He explained it and said: “The practices of
worship are our means of attaining certainty.”
The term al- yaqīn meaning
“death which is certain” was expressed by the Prophet (ﷺ) when ‘Uthmān ibn Maẓ‘ūn passed away. When Umm al-Ālā’ praised
him and bore witness that Allah had honoured him, the Prophet (ﷺ) asked her how she knew it. When she said she did not know it,
the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
أَمَّا هُوَ
فَقَدْ جَاءَهُ الْيَقِينُ إِنِّي لَأَرْجُو لَهُ الْخَيْرَ مِنْ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهِ
مَا أَدْرِي وَأَنَا
رَسُولُ اللَّهِ مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ
...(رواه البخاري و الطبراني و النسائي)
As
for him, death which is certain has come to him, and
wish him well from Allah; by Allah I do not know, even as
a Mesenger
of Allah, what will be done to me or to you
(Reported by al-Bukhārī,
al-Ṭabarī and al-Nasā’ī)
With regard to the ḥadīth of the
Prophet (ﷺ) at the Ghadīr Khumm,
مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلاهُ فَعَلِيٌّ
مَوْلاهُ ، اللَّهُمَّ وَالِ مَنْ وَالاهُ ، وَعَادِ مَنْ عَادَاهُ ،
Whomsoever I am Mawlā, Ali is also his Mawlā.
O Allah,
befriend whosoever befriends him and be
the
enemy of whomsoever is hostile to him.
The Arabic linguist
Ibn Manẓūr in his Lisān al-‘Arab dictionary mentioned the meanings of wali
(الْوَلِي), namely: nearness (الْقُرْب), closeness (الدُّنُوّ), then he mentioned
the meanings of mawlā (الْمًوْلَى)as follows:
المالِكُ, the owner (of a slave); العَبْدُ, the slave; المُعْتِقُ, the one who frees a slave; المُعْتَقُ , the freed slave; الصاحِبُ , the companion; والقريبُ كابنِ العَمِّ
ونحوِه , the near one such as the paternal-cousin
and the like; الجار , the neighbor, الحَليفُ , the ally; الابنُ , ,
the son;
العَمُّ , the paternal-uncle; النَّزيلُ , the guest (in the house); الشَّريكُ , the partner; ابنُ الأُخْتِ , the
son of one’s sister; الوَلِيُّ , the close one; الرَّبُّ , lord; الناصِر , the supporter; المُنْعِمُ , the one who blesses; المُنْعَمُ عليه , the one who is blessed, المُحَبُّ, the beloved; التابعُ, the
follower; الصِّهْر, the husband of one’s
daughter.
The meanings of mawlā
in the above ḥadīth can be found
in the following Qur’ānic verse:
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ
بَعْضٍ... (التوبة:71)
The believers, men and women are awliyā’
(helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of
one another… (Q. 9:71)
so that ‘Ali and the rest of the believers, are
helpers, protectors, friends and supporters of one another.
It
is reported that Usāmah ibn Zayd said to ‘Ali: “You are not my mawlā; it is
the Messenger of Allah who is my mawlā.” So, the Prophet said مَنْ كنتُ مولاه فعليٌّ مولاه “Whomsoever
I am Mawlā, Ali is also his Mawlā.” It could also mean “whomever I am his
beloved one, then Ali also should be his beloved one.” The Prophet (ﷺ)’s intention was to make the believers
love him more than their love for each other, like the Prophet (ﷺ) himself, as mentioned in the Qur’ān, that
the Prophet (ﷺ) is nearer to the believers
than to themselves, namely, more worthy of being loved by them. The Prophet (ﷺ) wanted to make loving Ali
obligatory for Muslims as they did to him.
Translating mawlā as
authority or leadership claimed by the Shi’is is unacceptable by the Sunnis, as
authority or leadership belongs to the Prophet (ﷺ) alone. The expression “Whomever I am his
leader, is also his leader,” as ‘Ali could not be a leader alongside the Prophet (ﷺ), unless the Prophet (ﷺ) abdicated, which is impossible. The
additional بَعْدي (“after me”) in some ḥadīth
narrated by two Shi’ī narrators, Ja‘far ibn Sulaymān and ‘Ajlah al-Kindī,
are interpolations to justify their claim for Ali’s succession.
6. In order to understand what
the Prophet meant with his statement about Ali in Ghadīr Khumm, we have to go
back to find out why he said what he said, as follows:
In the month of Ramadan before the Last
Pilgrimage, the Prophet (ﷺ) had sent a military expedition led by Ali with about 300
horsemen to Yemen. After finishing the campaign the army returned to Makkah and
approached from the South to join the Prophet (ﷺ) in his Farewell pilgrimage. As Ali was eager to meet the Prophet
(ﷺ) as soon as possible, he rode on ahead of
his men, and appointed a man to replace him in leading his army and rushed to
Makkah. Amongst the state's fifth of the spoils there was enough linen to
clothe the whole army, but ‘Ali had decided that it must be handed over to the Prophet (ﷺ) untouched. But the new leader was persuaded to lend each man a
new change of clothes out of the linen so that they would enter Makkah with
good and neat appearance.
When
Ali came out to meet them he saw them with the new dress from the clothing. “Wou
unto you! What is this?” He said: “I dressed them to make themselves neat and
tidy when they come to people.’ The men
all knew that they would be in Makkah on the Feast Day where everyone would be
wearing their best clothes, and they also would like to look their best. But
‘Ali felt he could not accept this idea. So, he ordered them to put on their
old clothes again and return the new ones to the spoils. They were unhappy with
this decision. When the Prophet heard of it he said: "O people, blame not
‘Ali, for he is too scrupulous in the path of Allah to be blamed." But
resentment continued as they might not have heard what the Prophet (ﷺ) had said.
Buraydah said: “We have carried out a military
expedition with Ali in Yemen and I saw something strange from him. When I came
to the Prophet (ﷺ) I
mentioned to him about Ali’s shortcomings I saw the Prophet (ﷺ)’s face changed, and said: ‘O Buraydah, am
I not more deserved be the believers than themselves?’ I said, “But certainly,
O Messenger of Allah!’ He said: “For whoever I am his mawlā, ‘Ali is also his mawlā.” (Reported by Ahmad and
al-Nasā’ī) Buraydah also narrated
that the Prophet (ﷺ) sent Alito
Khalid to bring the Khumus, (of the booty)[2]
and I hated `Ali, and Ali had taken a bath. I said to Khalid, "Don't you
see this (i.e. Ali)?" When we reached the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned that to him. He said,"O Buraydah! Do you hate Ali?"
I said, "Yes." He said, "Do not hate him, for he deserves more
than that from the Khumus." (Reported by Bukhari)
Abū
Sa‘īd al-Khudrī narrated that he asked Ali to ride the camels he had taken as
booty, so that their camels could rest, but Ali
refused and said that they also had their share in the booty, like the rest of
the Muslims. When Ali left and appointed a person to replace him in leading the
army, the new leader allowed them to ride the camels taken as booty. When Ali
found out that his deputy disobeyed him, he blamed him. So, Abū Sa‘īd promised
himself to complain to the Prophet (ﷺ) against him. While he was criticizing and counting what he
thought Ali’s shortcomings, the Prophet (ﷺ) patted him on his thigh and told him that he knew Ali was too
scrupulous in the path of Allah to be blamed. Since then Abū Sa‘īd promised
himself not to say anything bad about Ali openly or secretly. (Reported by
al-Bayhaqī and Ibn ‘Asākir)
In conclusion, the ḥadīth of
Ghadīr Khumm was the Prophet (ﷺ)’s response to the complains and criticism of his companions against
Ali’s behaviour as a leader of a military expedition to Yemen where he was
considered to be too scrupulous in dealing with the spoils of war. He announced
that Muslims should love and support Ali like he did with him. The Prophet (ﷺ) did not appoint him as his successor, but
announced that he who loved him should also love Ali.
Suppose
the Prophet (ﷺ) did
actually appoint Ali to be his successor, but the Muslims are not aware of it,
it would mean that the Prophet (ﷺ) failed in delivering the message
which is unlikely. If the Muslims are aware of the appointment of Ali as his
successor, but they reject it, then the Prophet (ﷺ) failed in his mission, as they had become hypocrites,
apostates after his death, because they
disobeyed him.
Did the Prophet fail in his message?
Did his followers destroy Islam after him? On the contrary, after him people elected
the best man among them, Abū Bakr r.a.
(CIVIC, 14 October, 2016) المراجع:
تفسير الطبري )ت. 310 هـ (
تفسير القرطبى)ت. 671 هـ (
تفسير ابن كثير)ت. 774 هـ(
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/obo- 9780195390155/obo-97801953
http://www.dd-sunnah.net/forum/showthread.php?p
=553768#post55376
http://www.utm.thaqalayn.org/files/ghadeer.pdf”
http://www.discoveringislam.org/ghadir_khumm.htm
bukhari/64/377
[1] In a similar verse, Rashad Khalifa also translate al-yaqīn
as certainty, namely, وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ. حَتَّى أَتَانَا الْيَقِينُ (المدثر:46-47) "We disbelieved in the Day of Judgment. Until
certainty came to us now” (Q.74:46-477)
[2] Khumus means “one-fifth”. The one-fifth of the
booty is the share of the Prophet and the Muslims, as mentioned in the Qur’an,
as follows:
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ
مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى
وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيل (الأنفال:41) “And know
whatever of war-booty that you may gain, verily one-fifth of it is assigned to
Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives [of the Messenger], (and
also) the orphans, the needy and the wayfarer,… (Q. 8:41)
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