In the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

And bless be upon Muhammad and his pure Household, and may Allah's curse be on his enemies from now until the Day of Resurrection! And there is no power or strength except for the Lofty Glorious Allah.

The Wise Allah has stated in His Glorious Book:

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِين^[1]

‘…O Messenger, announce what has been revealed to you by your [Creator and Nurturer] Lord; for if you do not do so you have not conveyed His message. Allah protects you from people: surely Allah does not guide the disbelieving people, (Qur’an: 5/67).’

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The 'Ghadir Event' by Ibn Hammad Abdi

يا سائلى عن حيدر اعييتنى               انا لست فى هذا الجواب خليقا

 الله سماه عليا باسمه                        فسما علوا فى العلا و سموقا

 و اختاره دون الورى و اقامه            علما الى سبل الهدى و طريقا

    اخذ الاله على البرية كلها                عهدا له يوم الغدير وثيقا

 و غداة وافى المصطفى اصحابه        جعل الوصى له اخا و شقيقا

  فرق الضلال عن الهدى فرقى           ان جاوز الجوزاء و العيوقا

 و دعاه املاك السماء بامر من           اوحى اليهم حيدر الفاروقا

 و اجاب احمد سابقا و مصدقا            ما جاء فيه فسمى الصديقا

فاذا ادعى هذه الاسامى غيره             فلياتنا فى شاهد توثيقا ^[2]

‘O you, who are questioning and wearing me for my knowledge about HEIDAR, but I am not in that position to answer this question of yours!

Concerning His name, Allah called him ‘Ali’ and since then he exalted and soared.

Allah chose him from among the entire world, and He assigned him as the Usher and Head to the straight path.

Allah took the covenant of all for his stable Guardianship and to follow him.

And in a bright morning, MOSTAFA pronounced the formula of the brotherhood among his companions, and he did so with his Successor, to be his brother.

In this way, he separated the guidance from straying, and Ali with this respectable brother, soared so high that he passed the JAUZA Star.

By the command of Allah, the angels in heaven who delivered revelations to them, called Ali as Heidar and Farouq.

Prior to all, he took the lead and accepted Ahamad’s invitation, and he confirmed what had revealed to Ahmad; thus, he was called the trustworthy.

Therefore, except Ali, whoever claims having this title, should bring us his proof!’

By means of his documents Ekrama, Hafiz Abu Naeem Isfahani related it from ibn Abbas saying that:

قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه (و آله) و سلم: من سره ان يحيى حياتى، و يموت مماتى، و يسكن جنة عدن غرسها ربى، فليوال عليا من بعدى و ليوال وليه، و ليقتد بالائمة من بعدى، فانهم عترتى، خلقوا من طينتى، رزقوا فهما و علما، و ويل للمكذبين بفضلهم من امتى، للقاطعين فيهم صلتى، لا انا لهم الله شفاعتى.^[3]

‘The Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, said: “Whoever is interested in running his life as I do, and his death to be as my death is, and to live in the paradise that Allah has created, must take the Guardianship of Ali after my demise.

He must obey the Imams and the Leaders who are after me, because they are my Household, they have been created of my nature; they have been given knowledge and nourished by Allah, the Greatest. Woe upon those among the nation of mine who deny their merits and superiorities; woe upon those who cut my relationship with them – Allah will not let my intercession reach them.”’

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The specifications of the Day of Ghadir

The Account of the Assignment of the Holiness Commander of the believers, Ali bin Abī Tālib, Upon Him be Peace, on the Day of Ghadir-e-Khum  for the position of the Divine Great Guardian is of the greatest and the most important event in the history. Perhaps the world has not witnessed like this important event that we are going to explain to you. For, in fact, this event represents the stability of the messenger-ship of the Respectable Messenger, and the stability of the Divine Guardianship the manifestation of that Holiness, the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace.

Ghadir is a demonstration of the unity, the unity of the Messenger-ship to Imamate, Prophet-hood and the Guardianship. It is like two breasts that both are for suckling the baby and either one has the same milk and nature; or resembles two saplings growing from one root.

Ghadir is an exhibition for على منى و انا منه‏ in front of the eyes of all creatures; and it is an announcement for the people until the Day of Resurrection.

Ghadir is a signpost for the manifestation of the secret facts, the hidden mystery, and for the guidance of the people to the straight path.

Ghadir is the straight path and the highest express way of the humanity to the position of Gnostic – and the Guardianship is the whole rights.

Ghadir is a molding for the whole Divine Decree to the destiny, and it is standard, measurement, appreciation and representing the endless Light, Names an the apparent Attributions of the Holiness Unity, appreciating the creatures, and the connection of the Eternal and Created, the revealing of the celibacy within a possible environment, for the access of all creatures and benefitting the endless blessing of the Source of Compassionate and Bliss.  

Ghadir is the Day for the coronation – the Commander of the believers has been honored to wear turbine by the Messenger of Allah.

Ghadir is the Day for من كنت مولاه فعلى مولاه‏.

Ghadir is the Day for اللهم وال من والاه، و عاد من عاداه، و انصر من نصره، و اخذل من خذله‏

Ghadir is the Day of paying homage to the right, it is a day for obedience, it is a day to deal the self with the Creator of self, it is the day of dealing for the army of Satan with the army of Ar-Rahman; it is the day for leaving the darkness and entering the light.

Ghadir is the touchstone day: it is the day for distinguishing belief and disbelief, the sincerity and hypocrisy, purity and impurity and darkness and light.

Ghadir is the day for the sunshine to emerge from behind the thick clouds and cast illumination into the hearts of the lively creatures.

Ghadir is the day for the righteousness, it is for avoiding the trick and panic of Satan, it is the end of concealing the faith, it is the day of the necessary command of revelation and discovering the right feature of the Guardianship and so is it the time knowing He is the main Individuality.

Ghadir is the day for ‘Bravo, bravo to you!

يا علِى اصبحت و امسيت مولاى و مولى كل مؤمنٍ و مؤمنةٍ.

Ghadir is the day of the greatest festival, it is the day when the Messenger of Allah raises Ali bin Abī Tālib up and introducing him to the gathering that are the reparative of all nation, and reciting the sermon and commanding the people to carry out the command of the Master of the pious.

And all laudation and praise be to Allah that we have been blessed in our effort – though very tiny bit – to explain this great event so that to take a present to the Court of the Creator^[4]

However, before going onto the main case of the Ghadir, we find it necessary to mentions a few introductions.

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The first introduction:

The communication of the Guardianship of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, during the whole course of the prophet-hood

Introducing the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, to be at the position of the Imamate was not only on 18^th of the Dhul Hijjat-ul-Haram, the year 10^th of Immigration, and above all, the Farewell Pilgrimage was not in the region of Ghadir-e-Khum, some two miles away from the land of Joh‘fa; it was just introducing him to the public and letting them know the whole story. Previous to that announcement, during the life of the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, the Holiness Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, time and again had introduced him in the different assemblies – both privately and publicly – in the peace and the battle time, in Mecca and Medina, to any group that had a touch with the Holiness. In all occasions, the Messenger of Allah referred to the characters of him and counted his good points as the position of the Imamate, Guardianship, Successor-ship, Caliphate and the brotherhood of him with the Holy Messenger.

The Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, was born in Mecca; and when they handed the baby in the swaddling-clothes to the Messenger of Allah, he recited the chapter قد افلح المؤمنون‏ ‘…surely the believers succeeded, (Qur’an: 23/1),’ upon the baby, and he grown up under the direct care of the Messenger of Allah. And he was the first man who believed in the Messenger of Allah at the age of ten, he said: ‘The command of the prophet-hood was revealed to the Messenger of Allah on a certain Monday, and I too believed in him early morning on Tuesday.’ It was about three or seven years that the Messenger publicized it in secret, except Khadijah and Ali, no one prayed with the Messenger of Allah by the House of Ka‘ba.

On the first day that the Messenger of Allah declared his claim as being a Messenger was in the gathering of his relatives. He invited his relatives and tribes to assist him in affair of the prophet-hood, but no one responded him passively except that clever little child whom the Messenger picked as his Successor and the Guardian.

On that day he stated:

فايكم يوازرنى هذا الامر و ان يكون اخى و وصيى و خليفتى فيكم من بعدى؟‏ 

‏‘Which one of you is going to help me in the affair of the prophet-hood and to fulfill the divine commands, and still to be my brother, Successor and my Caliph?!’

There was no answer except Ali who stated: انا يا رسول الله‏ ‘I am, O the Messenger of Allah. I am your assistant and the Prime Minister.’

The Messenger of Allah stated: فانت اخى و وصيى و وارثى و خليفتى فيكم‏ ‘So you are my brother, my Successor, my inheritor and my Caliph among my nation.’

Here, we see that the assignment of the Commander of believers, Upon Him be Peace, to the position of Ministry, Caliphate and Successor-ship was right from the early time of the mission, and on the very day the announcement of the Prophet-hood to the Quraish was by the command of the Messenger and due to the verse:^[5] و انذر عشيرتك الاقربين and the narrative of the عشيره‏

It is clearly understood that the positions of the messenger-hood and the Imamate are always connected to each other, and they are not separated. There is no use of the messenger-hood without Ministry and the Caliphate, and the prophet-hood without the Guardianship has no root. Guardianship is a guard for the messenger-hood; Imamate is the protector of the prophet-hood, and the revelation sent to the Messenger of Allah is for the Commander of the believers’ protection of them and his whole authority and Guardianship: 

    اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم و اتممت عليكم نعمتى و رضيت لكم الاسلام دينا.^[6]

 ‘…today, I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My favor upon you, and have granted Islam as a religion for you – a commitment to live in peace, (Qur’an: 5/3).’

And we have discussed enough and explained about the narration of the clan in lesson five, volume one of ‘Knowing the Imam.

The Messenger of Allah time and again called the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, as:  

امير المؤمنين و سيد المسلمين و الامام و الحجة و الوصى و سيد العرب و سيد فى الدنيا و الآخرة و سيد الاوصياء و سيد الخلائق و سيد الوصيين و امير البررة و امام البررة و خير البشر و خير الامة و خير الوصيين و خير الخلق بعد رسول الله‏

‘The Commander of the believers, the Master of the Muslims, the Imam, the Proof, the Successor, the Master of the Arabs, the Master in this world and the Word to become, the Master of the successors, the Master of the creatures, the Master of all the successors, the Emir of the pious, the Imam of the righteous, the best of the creatures, the best of the nation, the best Successor, the best creature after the Messenger of Allah.’

In GHAZWAH TABOOK where the Messenger went, he assigned Ali in his place as the Caliph in Medina and told him:

انت منى بمنزلة هارون من موسى الا انه لا نبى بعدى.‏

‘Your status and position to me is as status and position of Aaron to Moses, the exception is that there is not a messenger after me.’ It means, in every respect that Aaron had you are going to have but exception is that you are not going to be a messenger after me – as Aaron was not. That is you are my brother, you are my Successor, you are the Caliph and my Successor after me! You are the Minister, the supporter and the protector of my prophet-hood.’

And the Messenger announced the people:

انى تارك فيكم الثقلين: كتاب الله و عترتى، و انهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض.‏

‘[O people], I am leaving two very costly and precious things with you: the Book of Allah and my Household; these two will never separated from each other until they come to me by the Kow‘thar [river in Paradise].’

The Messenger of Allah said:

مثل اهلِ بيتى مثل سفينةِ نوحٍ، من ركِبها نجى، و من تخلف عنها غرِق.‏

‘The similarity of my Household among you is as the Noah’s Arch, whoever embarks it is saved, and he who avoids embarking it drowns!’

The meaning of ‘the people of the Book’ in the Verse:

فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ ^[7]

‘…so ask the people of the Book if you do not know about, (Qur’an: 16/43),’ refers to the Household.

The meaning of the bound of Allah in this verse:

وَ اعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَميعاً وَ لا تَفَرَّقُوا ^[8]

‘…and cling firmly unto the bound of Allah, altogether, and do not separate, (Qur’an: 3/103),’ refers to the Household of the Messenger of Allah.

They are the right path and the most firm handle:

لا يقبل الله الاعمال من العباد الا بولايتهم عليا.

‘That is without their interference Allah does not accept the deeds of the worshippers unless they accept the Guardianship of Ali and take him as their absolute Master.’

The meaning of النعيم‏ in the verse:

ثُمَّ لَتُسْئَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعيمِ ^[9]

‘…you will be questioned about true Bounties, (Qur’an: 102/8),’ is the bounty of the Guardianship.

And the meaning of انهم مسؤولون in the verse:

وَ قِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَسْؤُلُونَ ‏^[10]

‘…but stop them, they must be questioned, (Qur’an: 37/24),’it is questioning of the Guardianship.

The Messenger stated: لا يجوز احد عن الصراط الا و كتب له على الجواز

‘On the Day of Resurrection, no one will cross the path hell unless Ali bin Abī Tālib to issue for him a pass.’

The Messenger stated: على قسيم الجنة و النار ‘Ali is the divider of paradise and the Fire.’

The Messenger stated: على مع القرآن و القرآن مع على‏ ‘Ali is with the Qur’an and the Qur’an is with Ali.’

The Messenger stated: على منى و انا منه‏, ‘Ali is from me and so am I from Ali.’

The Messenger stated: على منى كنفسى و كراسى من بدنى‏, ‘To me Ali is as my breath to me, and he is as my head to my body.’

The Messenger stated: على مع الحق و الحق مع على، اللهم ادر الحق معه حيث دار, ‘Ali is by the right and the right is with Ali, O Creator, move the right where Ali is moving to!’

The Messenger stated: على خير البشر، من ابى فقد كفر, ‘Ali is the best of the creatures, whoever denies it he is indeed is a disbeliever.’

The meaning of ‘those in authorities’ أُولوا الامر in the verse:

أَطيعُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَ أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ ^[11]

‘O you who believe, obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those in authorities among you’, are the Commander of the believers and the immaculate Imams, Upon them be Peace.

The Purification Verse:

إِنَّما يُريدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَ يُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهيراً ^[12]

 ‘…Indeed Allah has desires to put away any impurity from you, the Household, and to purify you, (Qur’an: 33/33),’

this verse has been revealed about the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, the Commander of the believers, Hassan and Hussein, Upon them be Peace; and generally about the twelve immaculate Imams, Peace be upon them all.

The Messenger stated: اهل بيتى امان لاهل الارض‏, ‘My Household are the safety for the creatures of the world.’

In the verse of mutual cursing:

فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْاْ نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءنَا وَأَبْنَاءكُمْ وَنِسَاءنَا وَنِسَاءكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَةَ اللّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ ^[13]

‘…so whoever argues with you [concerning] this after the knowledge has come to you, say, ‘Now come on, and let’s call our children and your children, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves together; then let us humbly pray [to Allah] and call for the curse of Allah upon the liars, (Qur’an: 3/61),’

Here, the meaning of أَنفُسَنَا is the Commander of the believers that in this verse refers to the Messenger of Allah himself.

The verse: فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ‏ refers to Divine Illumination that has spread upon the existing world; it means:

[‘…that Light is] in the Houses that Allah has allowed to be raised up, and His name to be mentioned therein, (Qur’an: 24/36),’

Here, the meaning of فِي بُيُوتٍ, the houses, means the hearts and souls of the pure and Holy Imams, peace be upon them.

And the meaning of: ذوى القربى, in the verse of

قُلْ لا أَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْراً إِلاَّ الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبى‏ ^[14]

‘…say, ‘I do not ask you any wage for this but affection towards [my] relatives, (the Household), (Qur’an: 42/23),’ refers to the relatives of the Messenger of Allah who are of the offspring of the Highnesses Fatima, Upon Her be Peace, and the Holiness Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace.

And the meaning of خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ, the best creatures, in the verse:

 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ ^[15]

‘…surely the unbelieving people of the Book, and the pagans will be in Hell-fire forever – they are the worst of the creatures, (Qur’an: 98/6), is the Commander of the believers and his followers.

When this verse revealed, the Messenger of Allah stated: ان عليا و شيعته هم الفائزون‏ ‘In fact it is only Ali and his followers who are saved and successful.’

And the meaning of: النَّبَإِ الْعَظَيم ‘the important account’, in the verse:

 عَمَّ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ عَنِ النَّبَإِ الْعَظَيم ^[16]

‘…what do they ask one another about? About that important account, (Qur’an: 78/1-2), ‏is the Holiness Ali bin Abī Tālib, Upon Him be Peace.

The meaning of: مِنَ النَّاسِ in the verse of:

 وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ ^[17]

‘…and of mankind is one who gives up his 'life' seeking the approval of Allah, (Qur’an: 2/207), is the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace.

And he who was of common secrets with the Messenger, and fulfilled the command of the Verse of Whispering by paying out in the charity for the Messenger of Allah, was the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, according to this Verse:

يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا إِذا ناجَيْتُمُ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْواكُمْ صَدَقَةً ^[18]

‘…O you who believe, when you [intend to] have a private conversation with the Messenger, offer something as charity before you begin your converse, (Qur’an: 58/12).

As a witness and proof for the rightfulness and the messenger-hood of the Messenger of Allah in the Court of the Holiest, the Honorable and Exalted, the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, was on common secrets with the Holiness. It is:

 قُلْ كَفى‏ بِاللَّهِ شَهيداً بَيْني‏ وَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَ مَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتابِ ^[19]

‘…say, ‘Allah is sufficient as a Witness between you and I, and so is one who has the knowledge of the Book, (Qur’an: 13/43).

 And the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, was as Master, Guardian, and Assistant and of common secrets for the Messenger of Allah as it is in this verse: 

 وَ إِنْ تَظاهَرا عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلاهُ وَ جِبْريلُ وَ صالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنينَ وَ الْمَلائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ ظَهيرٌ ^[20]

‘…If you [two wives of the Messenger, Aaisha and Hafasa] turn to Allah [it is for your benefit,] for your hearts are so inclined; while if you back each other up against him, then Allah is his protector, so are Gabriel and the Eminent Believers, (as Ali, upon him be peace,) – and the angels will be his supporters, (Qur’an: 66/4).

The Announcement of the Innocence that the Messenger of Allah wrote on a page and handed it to Abu Bakr to read it to the people on 9^th of the Immigration year on the Hajj season at Mina; then according to the revelation brought by Gabriel things changed, Allah commanded to the Messenger that he had to announce it to the idolaters by someone similar to himself.

Therefore, the Messenger of Allah sent the Commander of the believers for Abu Bakr to take the letter back from him and then to go to Mecca and on the season of Hajj to announce it to the idolaters.

The Commander of the believers, who was literally the Messenger of Allah himself, took the letter from Abu Bakr and set out for Mecca before long, and on the Hajj season he read it to the idolaters; the verse said:

وَأَذَانٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ يَوْمَ الْحَجِّ الأكْبَرِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ بَرِيءٌ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَرَسُولُهُ ^[21]

‘…and [this is] a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger to people on the day of the greater Hajj Pilgrimage, Allah and His Messenger dissolve treaty obligations with idolaters, (Qur’an: 9/3).

So the Commander of the believers, who was as the spirit of the Messenger of Allah, took this responsibility.

The meaning of اذن واعية in the verse of

وَ تَعِيَها أُذُنٌ واعِيَةٌ ^[22]

‘…and the ears of the listener receive and save the speeches,’ refer to the Holy Commander of the believers.

And the meaning of ‘آل ياسين’ in the verse

سَلامٌ عَلى‏ إِلْ‏ياسين ^[23]

‘…and peace be upon Aal Yasin, (Qur’an: 37/113; Allah send peace upon all the immaculate Imams, Upon Them be Peace.

And so is the verse:

 أَ فَمَنْ شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلامِ فَهُوَ عَلى‏ نُورٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ ^[24]

‘…is he whose heart Allah has opened up to Islam, so that he receives light from his [Creator and Nurturer] Lord [like the deprived from guidance], (Qur’an: 39/22), which refers to the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace.

And the meaning of ‘صِرَاطِي’ in the verse

 وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ ^[25]

‘…and [know] that this is just My right and straight Path, so follow it and do not follow the paths which will abstract you from His path, (Qur’an: 6/153), the straight path is Ali bin Abī Tālib.

And the meaning of: ‘من يمشى سويا على صراط مستقيم‏’, one who walks prone on his face walks properly along a Straight Path, in the verse:

 أَ فَمَنْ يَمْشي‏ مُكِبًّا عَلى‏ وَجْهِهِ أَهْدى‏ أَمَّنْ يَمْشي‏ سَوِيًّا عَلى‏ صِراطٍ مُسْتَقيمٍ ^[26]

‘…What! Is someone who walks prone on his face better guided or someone who walks properly along a Straight Path, (Qur’an: 67/22), refers to the Commander of the believers.

The Messenger of Allah stated at the Kheibar:

لاعطين الراية غدا رجلا يحب الله و رسوله و يحبه الله و رسوله كرار غير فرار، لم يرجع حتى يفتح الله بيديه.‏

‘Tomorrow, I will give the battle flag to one who loves Allah and His Messenger; and Allah with His Messenger loves him. He always attacks the enemy without turning his back to them, and will not return from this mission until Allah brings victory to the Muslims by him.’

The next day he called Ali and wetted his painful eyes with the saliva of his mouth, trusted the battle flag to him. Then, Heidar Karrar dug out the door of Kheibar and conquered Kheibar.

This happened two days after when the flag was given to Abu Bakr and Omar and they both, without fulfilling their mission and conquering the Keibar had fled the battle field and went home.

It is why the Messenger of Allah had twice announced the brotherhood formula with Ali, one was among the Immigrants in Mecca and another one in Medina among the Immigrants and the Helpers in Medina – in either one he announced the brotherhood formula with Ali, Upon Him be Peace. 

The Messenger stated: على اقضاكم‏ ‘Ali judges better than all of you.’

فتح لعلى الف باب من العلم ‘The Messenger furnished Ali with one thousand knowledge.’

The Messenger of Allah stated: انا مدينة العلم و على بابها ‘I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.’

The Messenger of Allah stated: انا دار الحكمة و على بابها ‘I am the treasure-house for wisdom and Ali is its gate.’

The Messenger of Allah stated: ‘I am as the municipality of paradise and Ali is its gate.’

The Messenger of Allah stated: ‘I am as the house of intelligence and Ali is its gate.’

And he stated: حق على على هذه الامة كحق الوالد على ولده‏ ‘Ali’s right upon this nation is as the right of a father upon his child.’

And he also stated: على وزيرى و وارثى ‘Ali is my Minister and the Inheritor.’

Then he stated: يا على لا يحبك الا مؤمن و لا يبغضك الا منافق ‘O Ali, no one but only the believer loves you, and no one except a hypocrite hates you!’

He also stated:

عنوان صحيفة المؤمن: حب على بن أبى طالب ^[27]

 ‘The love of Ali is the title of a believer’s deeds record is’.

He sated: النظر الى وجه على عبادة ‘Watching Ali in the face is a kind of worshipping.’

And he also stated: على فى هذه الامة مثل قل هو الله احد ‘The similarity of Ali among this nation represents [the verse] “Say He is Allah, the One! So whoever once recites it (looks at his face), as if he has recited one third of the Qur’an; and if he recites twice, as if he has recited two third of it and then, if he recites three times then has surely recited the whole Qur’an. And whoever loves and follows Ali earnestly has one third of the belief with him, and one who loves his by heart and declares it has two third of the belief; however, if he loves him by the heart, and mentioning it and by his all parts of muscles then his belief is complete.

The Messenger of Allah stated: علىّ منّى كنفسى، طاعته طاعتى و معصيته معصيتى‏ ‘Ali’s relation with me is as he is my soul, following him means following me and enmity towards him is enmity against me.’

And the Messenger of Allah stated: يا على انت تبرئ ذمتى، و انت خليفتى على امتى ‏ ‘O Ali, it is you who fulfills my obligation! And you are my Successor upon my nation!’

The Messenger of Allah stated: يا على انت تقضى دينى ‘O Ali, it is you who are going to see to my duties.’

And the Messenger of Allah stated: ان وصيى و وارثى و منجز وعدى على بن أبى طالب

‘For sure, my successor, my heir, the immediate faithful one to my promise is Ali bin Abī Tālib.

And the Messenger of Allah stated:

يا على انت تؤدى عنى، و تسمعهم صوتى، و تبين لهم ما اختلفوا فيه بعدى ^[28]

'O Ali, it is you who are going to fulfill my promises and responsibilities , and then reach my voice to the people of the world; an it is you who are going to speak right when the disputes rise up after me.'

Apart from all these, because of the donating the ring to the beggar while bowing down to pray in the mosque of the Prophet, bless be upon him and his Descendants, the verse of the Guardianship was revealed; the verse specifically assigned the Holiness at the rank of the Messenger of Allah for the Divine Guardianship:

إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُون ^[29]

'…your guardian is only Allah, and His Messenger and those who believe, establish prayer, and, [like Ali, upon him be peace,] pay the due welfare tax when bowing down [to pray], (Qur'an: 5/ 55).'

And this verse is in the chapter of five "مائده‏", and as we know, this is the last chapter revealed to the Messenger of Allah, and this verse has been revealed to the Messenger of Allah after the Farewell Pilgrimage in Medina in the course of seventy days from the day of Ghadir-e-Khum to the day when the Messenger of Allah passed away.

On the same days of his indisposition, the Messenger of Allah commanded them to close all the doors of the houses were giving way to the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah; they blocked all the entrances so that not to be any way to enter the Mosque, but the only one left open was the front door of the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace; they left it be open by the command of the Messenger of Allah – they did not block it.

They even closed the front door of Abbas, the uncle of the Messenger, as well the doors of Omar and Abu Bakr. Abbas went to the Messenger of Allah asking for his permission to let his front door be open, the Messenger of Allah stated: 'This permission is not with me, Allah has not permitted it!' Omar said: 'O Messenger of Allah, let me open a small trap-door above my front door so that to see your entering the Mosque!' The Holiness stated: 'Allah has commanded that all doors must be closed except the front door of Ali bin Abī Tālib's house.' Therefore, the Messenger of Allah commanded them to close all the doors, trap-doors and even light-letting-in-gaps ^[30] of Abu Bakr's house.

Anyhow, all these subjects are the events concerning the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, which was happened at the time of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants. All these and great many of other events relate the closeness of the holiness, his absolute purity and his Guardianship to be alike the Guardianship of the Messenger of Allah. Even if one does not know the Guardianship of his, and is not familiar with the Caliphate of that Holiness – like a foreigner, a Jew or a Christian – by seeing so many subjects and narratives about him, without doubt, he will say: 'This position is with no doubt the position of the Caliphate and Imamate after the Messenger.' And we have in mind to explain all these subjects in details, and even have done some in our previous books in this series and the rest will come later. All these are based on authentic documents from the books of the Shiite and the Sunnite which we are going to reveal. Whoever is in a hurry to obtain extra information than is put in the books of "Knowing the Imams", it is wise to refer to the noble books, such as: "غاية المرام" of Sayyid Hashim Bahrani, " شواهد التنزيل " Hakim Haskani, " فرائد السمطين" of Hamwini and three volumes of the History of the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, from the " تاريخ دمشق", (The History of Damascus) by Asakar.

Nevertheless, it is benefitted from this introduction that the ground for the Caliphate of Ali bin Abī Tālib is quite clear and

comprehensible from the beginning of the mission of the

Messenger of Allah up to the twenty-three years of his

Messenger-hood – it was obvious for every tribe and section. However, now that the demise of the Messenger has become clear to everyone, and Gabriel has brought the news of his departure, the public announcement in Ghadir-e-Khum and the plain assignment, and the Guardianship and Imamate of the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, is being announced for all Muslims from every tribe. So, on the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah was preparing things favorable, and in the sermons, he was speaking of the Book of Allah and his own Descendants all the time until the Ghadir Day Approached; Gabriel descended with the verse: بلغ ما انزل اليك من ربك‏.

Now, we are to bring  from the book of "غاية المرام‏" this noble introduction by mentioning a narrative that took place at the session of Ma'moon, by the Holiness Ali bin Musa-ar-Reza, upon him be thousands of peaces and praises, and end up our discussion.

Sayyid Bahrani relates it from  ibn Babweiia, quoting Ali bin Hussein  bin Shazweian Moad'dab and Ja‘far bin  Muhammad bin Masrour that both of them have related it from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ja‘far bin Hemiary, quoting his father, from Rayyan bin Salt that he said:

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The narrative of the Holy Imam Reza, upon him be peace, in the Assembly of Ma‘moon

'The Holiness Imam Reza took part in the session of Ma'moun held in Marv, and in that session a group of scholars from Iraq and Khorasan were present. Ma'moun said: 'Do inform me of the meaning of this verse:

ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتابَ الَّذينَ اصْطَفَيْنا مِنْ عِبادِنا ^[31]

"…then We made heirs to the Book those whom We chose from Our worshippers, (Qur'an: 35: 32).'

The learned said: '[By 'stating] "Those whom We chose" Allah means the whole nation.'

Ma'moun said: 'O Abu al-Hassan, what do you have to say in this case?'

The Holiness stated: 'I am not saying what they say, what I say is that, the purpose of "Those whom We chose" in this verse is the immaculate family of the Messenger of Allah.'

Ma'moun said: 'How does Allah mean 'the family' by this word?!'

The Holiness stated: 'If Allah had meant 'the nation' by this word, then, it would mean all the people should enter paradise; however, He states:

فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ ^[32]

'…..but of them some wrong themselves, and some of them are normal, and of them are some taking the lead in [doing] good works with the permission of Allah. That is the greatest grace.'

He gathers all in paradise and sates:

جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ ^[33]

'…..entering the gardens of Eden; they will wear gold and pearl bracelets there and their clothing will be silk.'

 (Thus, as all people are not in paradise, then, with no question, the phrasal item: "Those whom We chose" means 'the family').

فصار الوراثة للعترة الطاهرة لا لغيرهم.

And accordingly, this inheritance of Allah's Book is specified for the immaculate family of the Messenger, but not anyone else.'

Ma'moun asked: 'Then, who is the immaculate family?'

The Holiness answered:

الذين وصفهم الله تعالى فى كتابه، فقال: انما يريد الله ليذهب عنكم الرجس اهل البيت و يطهركم تطهيرا»، و هم الذين قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم: «انى مخلف فيكم الثقلين: كتاب الله و عترتى اهل بيتى، الا و انهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا على الحوض، فانظروا كيف تخلفونى فيهما! ايها الناس لا تعلموهم فانهم اعلم منكم!

'Those whom Allah has attributed in His Book, and has stated: "It is this, but not else, "Allah only desires to put away any impurity from you, the Household [of the Messenger], and to purify you;" and they are those about whom the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, "I will leave two most loved facts with you, [one] is the Book of Allah and the next is my family! Know that they will never be separated until they join me by the Kow‘thar [river in Paradise]! O people! Now you consider and think well how you are going to respect this Caliphate and the remembrance of mine within those things! And you are going to save me in them! O people! You needn't instruct them; and try not to teach anything to them, because they are wiser than you are!"

Next the scholars ask the Holiness: 'Is the meaning of "The family of the Messenger of Allah" the very "Household of the Messenger of Allah"?

The Holiness answers, "Yes, it is."

Then the Holiness begins his main discussion and he preaches the gathering the most authentic subjects which are put in the book “غاية المرام‏” (Ghayat-ul-Maram) and we are going to explain them to you in short . ^[34]

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The second introduction:

The diversity of the Muslims at the time of the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, and their belief in the Holiness

The companions of the Messenger of Allah, and those who had embraced Islam in the beginning, all knew the meaning of the revelations and the status of the Messenger of Allah. They were aware of the hidden world and were certain of the sincerity of the Messenger of Allah and his private and social life. They knew his purity and the spiritual state and that he was connected to the Lofty position and Gabriel. And they well knew that the Messenger had abandoned himself and joined to his Creator – and he was not in state all the time, he had different positions and moods in the different time.

Some of the companions like Salman, Ammar, Meqdad, Anuzar, Othmanbin Mazoon, and Khabbab bin Arat and many of the martyrs of Badr, Ohu:d and Ahzab and also the other battles believed in the Holiness in such a way that they had no choice in front of the decisions of the Holiness; literally they were mute against his command. They considered the Holiness to be connected to the Secret World, they believed that had forsaken himself and joined to Allah.

It would make no difference for them: whether the Messenger of Allah would command them by the Qur’an or he would personally command them, or whether his word was about worshipping, serving or obeying; or it was about the politics. Whether it was personal or social, the marriage or fast and Hajj, war or peace or any other hundreds of laws and rules, they were all from Allah and were pure and perfect and away from any blunders. 

Some of them made a distinction between the revelations of the verses, between the verdicts and the thoughts of the Holiness, they would say: ‘We believed some of the revealed verses to be essential to follow but we do not believe or follow the verdicts and the opinions of the Holiness; that is, we are not obliged to carry out his personal verdicts and thoughts. What we are after is only the commands of the Qur’an. We are not going to put our wills, desires and thoughts in his hand. The Messenger of Allah is the man of opinion, so do we have our own thoughts and wills, sometimes we think his opinion is sound we take it and sometimes our own opinion is better.

In short, according to what many Sunnite say: Though the Messenger of Allah was in the highest rank and position, he sometimes made mistakes in his personal affairs and verdicts, in his management seeing to the armies and the social affairs, so were the others in that society.

It was why in many occasions they asked the Holiness whether an statement was from his or it was stated by Allah. They asked him: ‘Is it your own statement or Allah has commanded it?’

That which is mostly seen in the authentic history books, such questions were raised by Omar and Abu Bakr; here, we are going to explain a few number of them:

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Omar’s reservation about the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, at Hadibeiia

First: in the year 6^th of Hijri, the month of Dhul Gha‘da, when the Messenger of Allah, together with his companions, left  

Medina for Ka‘ba, and he had camels with him to sacrifice there, on the way the Quraish pagans stopped them to move forward. Therefore, a peace contract was signed between the two parties. Then, the Messenger of Allah commanded to his companions the have their hair shaved there, at Hadaibeiah, sacrifice their animals and to get free from restriction.

It was too much for some companions to bear and they avoided to have their hair shaved and to sacrifice their animals. The Messenger of Allah got so upset that he complained the case in front of Umm Salama. Umm Salama said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you yourself have your hair shaved and sacrifice your own animals. The Messenger of Allah so; he had his hair shaved and then slaughtered his animals. Then, the people, though were in doubt in the Holiness’ messenger-hood, sacrified their animals and had their hair shaved.

Hardly had the peace contract been signed than all of a sudden Omar bin al-Khattab went to Abu Bakr to complain about the whole events: not entering Mecca and fulfilling the Minor Hajj, sacrificing and having their hair shaved in the middle of the desert and the condition of the peace treaty which was hard to the Muslims to accept it. And he sarcastically asked him: ‘Is this not the Messenger of Allah doing such odd things!’

Omar has confessed: ‘after discussing the case with Abu Bakr, I went to the Messenger and said: “Are you not a messenger?”’

He answered: “Yes, I am.” I said, ‘So, are not right but our enemy is wrong?’ He answered: “Yes, we are.”

Then, I said: ‘So what is the meaning of this humiliation falling upon us by your signing this peace treaty?’

He stated: “Yes, I am the Messenger of Allah, and I will never do anything against His command and He will be my assistant and help me in all my affairs.”

I said: ‘Did you not promise to take us to Mecca at once to circumambulate the House?’

He sated: “Yes, I did. But did I tell you I would let you to circumambulate this year?”

I answered: ‘No, never!’

The Holiness stated: “You will certainly go to Mecca and fulfill the circumambulation.”

Omar says: ‘Since the day I embraced Islam I was at Hadibei'ia, and never did I doubt about the messenger-hood of the Prophet – but on that day I did.’^[35]

Second: in the year tenth of the Immigration, on the Farewell Pilgrimage, when the Messenger of Allah by the command of Allah, which was brought by Gabriel, ascended the Mount of Marwah, and announced the pilgrims that those who had not taken the sacrificing animals with them must change their intention from the main Hajj into the Minor Hajj, (Umrah), and to get free from restriction, some people objected the Messenger’s command and Omar was among them. He said:

  'ايروح احدنا الى عرفة و فرجه يقطر منيا؟'^[36]

‘How can one of us go to Arafat while semen dropping from his him!’

The Messenger of Allah has stated: “He will not believe the case until he passes away.”

When the expression of his and his companions reached the Messenger of Allah, he blushed with anger and went among the people and made a lecture, stating:

اما بعد فتعلمون ايها الناس! لانا و الله اعلمكم و اتقاكم له! و لو استقبلت من امرى ما استدبرت ما سقت هديا و لاحللت ^[37]

“O people! Do you want to teach and instruct Allah! By Allah, my knowledge is more than you and so am I more pious than you are. If I had known the event beforehand, prior to the time it happened, I would not bring my sacrificing animals with me and then, I would get free from the restriction of the Hajj like you.”

When they asked the Holiness concerning his wrath, he answered: “How could I not get angry, they do not carry out whatever I command; do you not know that whatever I order them to do they doubt about it. ” ^[38]

Omar did not approve this command of Allah and His Messenger until the time of his government he openly took it away from other commands and said: ‘The Minor Hajj must not be taken at the time of the main Hajj, and whoever does so, he will be lashed.’ Omar has declared: ‘I confess that the enjoyment Hajj the tradition of the Messenger of Allah, but my opinion is that it must not be taken.’

Abu Musa Ash‘ari says:

اِنّ عمر قال: هى سنة رسول اللهِ صلى اللهِ عليه و آله و سلم- يعنى المتعة- و لكنى اخشى ان يعرسوا بِهِن تحت الاراك ثم يروحوا بِهِن حجّاجاٌ ^[39]

‘Omar used to say: ‘The enjoyment Hajj is one of the commands of Allah and His Messenger but what I am worried about is that I am afraid the pilgrims might dismount their wives in the shades of the ARACK Trees and then, from there, taking them to Arafat to fulfill their Hajj rites.’

Therefore, praise be to Allah, by His endless power and might, we had enough discussion on this event at the beginning of volume 6 of ‘Knowing the Imam.’

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Omar’s prevention the others to bring ink and pen and paper to the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants

Third: there are many narratives in the “Tabaghat” of ibn Sa‘d saying that when the Messenger of Allah, in his death-bed, asked for a pen and some paper to write something that his nation not to get lost after his demise, Omar said: ان الرجل ليهجر ‘Severe illness has overtaken this man and he is raving; كفانا كتاب الله‏ ‘The Book of Allah is enough for us.’ He did his best to avoid it until dispute erupted among those in the presence of the Messenger: some said let’s the pen and paper be brought,

and some of Omar’s side said that it was not necessary. The Messenger of Allah got angry and raised his voice saying: “Stand up and leave the room, this gathering is not for dispute.” Then, his soul departed with a load of sorrow!

Ibn Abbas always used to say:

الرزية كل الرزية ما حال بين رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم و بين ان يكتب لهم ذلك الكتاب من اختلافهم و لغطهم ^[40]

‏‘Disastrous event! The most disastrous event was that they obstructed the letter to be written by the Messenger of Allah, and because of their disputation there, they prevented that important subject to be broadcast.

Muhammad Hussein Heikal says:

و فيما هو فى هذه الشدة و فى البيت رجال قال: هلموا اكتب لكم كتابا لا تضلوا بعده ابدا..

قال بعض الحاضرين: ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه (و آله) قد غلبه الوجع، و عندكم القرآن، و حسبنا كتاب الله، و يذكرون ان عمر هو الذى قال هذه المقالة. و اختلف الحضور، منهم من يقول: قربوا يكتب لكم كتابا لا تضلوا بعده، منهم من يابى ذلك مكتفيا بكتاب الله، فلما راى محمد خصومتهم قالوا: قوموا! ^[41]

And at that moment, the fever of the Messenger was crucial and his situation was the worst, they put a bowl of cold water at his bedside and he continually socked his hand in the water and rubbed it on his face; his fever was so high that it almost made him unconscious and then was revived. The Messenger hardly tolerated it; there were some men in room and the Messenger of Allah told them: “Come closer to me, I am going to write you a letter so that not to get lost after me!”

A few of them said: ‘The illness and its pain had overtaken the Messenger; you needn’t do it. You have already the Qur’an with you and it is enough for you.’ But some of them said: ‘Bring the writing instruments closer and let him write something for you so that not to get lost after his demise.’ So others prevented it and said: ‘The Book of Allah is enough for us.’ However, when Muhammad noticed their enmity, he ordered them to stand and leave the room.

After explaining this part, Heikal continues:

و ما فتى‏ء ابن عباس بعدها يرى انهم اضاعوا شيئا كثيرا بان لم يسارعوا الى كتابة ما اراد النبى املاءه.

اما عمر فظل و رايه، ان قال الله فى كتابه الكريم: ما فرطنا فى الكتاب من شى‏ء. ^[42]

‘After this event, ibn Abbas always remembered it and mentioned it that: ‘Those present in the assembly lost many important things by neglecting the Messenger’s command on writing a letter.

But Omar was insisting on his opinion that Allah had stated it in His Noble Book: “We have not neglected but brought whatever is needed to man in Our Book.”

Fourth: there has been related six narratives from ibn Asaker that, on the day of Taeef, the Messenger of Allah and the Commander of the believers, Upon Them be Peace, had a personal discussion for a while, but when their discussion lasted longer than they expected, some of the companions, (Abu Bakr and Omar), were displeased with their prolonging the discussion. Some later, when they asked the Messenger of Allah concerning his private discussion with the Commander of the believers, Upon Him be Peace, the Holiness answered: “it was not me speaking with Ali, but it was Allah Who had picked him to trust His secret to him.”

It is in one of the narratives that:

فراى الكراهية فى وجوه رجال فقالوا: قد اطال مناجاته منذ اليوم فقال: ما انا انتجيته و لكن الله انتجاه.‏

‘The Messenger noticed the sign of hatred on the faces of some men who were saying spontaneously: ‘Messenger’s whispering with Ali has lasted since the morning until now, and now the Messenger of Allah is saying it was not he who was speaking with Ali, but It was Allah Who was saying him something in secret.’

And it is in another narrative that:  

فلحق ابو بكر (ظ) و عمر فقالا: طالت مناجاتك عليا يا رسول الله! قال: ما انا اناجيه (كذا) و لكن الله انتجاه. ^[43]

‘Then Abu Bakr and Omar got closer to the Messenger of Allah and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, this whispering of you with Ali lasted for a long time!’’

The Messenger of Allah stated: “I never speak with him in secret, it was but Allah Who had chosen him as His companion to speak to.”

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