|
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." |