Ghadeer: The Day of
Salvation of Mankind
By:
Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
“O’ Messenger! Proclaim what has been revealed from your Lord, if you do
not do it, then you have not discharged your mission, and Allah will
protect you from the (evil of) people.” Holy Qur’an 5:67
On 18th Zil-Hijja in 10 AH, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), while returning to
Medina from his farewell Hajj pilgrimage and shortly after parting ways
at Juhfa with pilgrims that had come from different directions of the
Arabian Peninsula, was suddenly stopped in the scorching sands beside a
pond (Ghadeer in Arabic) in the obscure place called Khum by the
emissary of God, Archangel Gabriel, who brought the above verse. As is
clear from the wording of the ayah there was urgency in the matter. The
divine tone was rather unusual and stern to the person whom God refers
in the Holy Qur’an as “Mercy to the creation”.
It was reassuring as well, as is clear from the Lord’s promise in the
last part of the ayah to protect the Last and Greatest of Prophets from
the evil of mankind. It means people were averse to follow whatever the
Prophet preached and could easily veer off the track in pursuit of
selfish tendencies in absence of divine authority. After the Seal of
Prophets no divine messenger would ever come since the All- Wise Creator
had decreed Islam as the universal faith for all humanity with emphasis
on the dynamism of the Qur’an, whose timeless wisdom was designed to
cater to all aspects of mankind’s needs even anticipating ideas and
progress in scientific and other spheres. Still the mission of the
Messenger was not quite complete.
Obviously there was something vital, which needed public proclamation in
view of the fact that Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) was God-sent and was not
someone who had been chosen to guide and reform society by the Arabs,
the majority of whom until recently were fiercely opposed to his mission
because of the residue of polytheism that lingered in most minds and
prevented them from understanding the dynamics of monotheism. Prophet
Muhammad (SAWA) “never speaks, but it is revelation revealed”, says God
in Surah Najm (Holy Qur’an 53).
Without an iota of doubt this is confirmation of the Prophet’s every
single word by the One and Only Creator, Who among other things reminds
humanity in the Holy Book about the creation of Adam and his appointment
as vicegerent (khalifa) on earth with explicit orders for angels and the
until then obedient genie Iblis, to prostrate to the first ever man. The
Qur’an then tells us that all prostrated except Iblis who was cast out
as the Satan for having disobeyed divine commandment by resorting to the
warped reasoning of his fallible mind.
The Qur’an cautions us against the seditious whispers of the
ever-deceiving devil - granted respite by the All-Wise in order to test
the faith of the children of Adam, whether they heed divine decrees or
are misled by satanic reasoning. We read in the Holy Qur’an the prayer
of Prophet Abraham (AS) after being appointed by God as Imam (Leader of
mankind) to keep this divinely ordained authority among his descendants.
Prompt comes the reply that the imamate will never reach oppressors (of
all kinds and various degrees even if it means living a part of life in
ignorance of God’s commandments) We also read in the Holy Qur’an the
prayer of Prophet Moses (AS) to God to make Aaron his legatee, a request
that was granted since deputizing for the Prophet needs divine decree
and not the choice of people who could be easy swayed by that avowed
enemy of humanity, the Satan.
The heavenly scripture then mentions how Satan deceived the Israelites
(just delivered from the tyranny of Pharaoh) to ignore the divine
appointee Aaron and worship the golden calf in a ‘democratic manner’
during the absence of Moses (AS) who was in meditation on Mount Sinai.
We are also informed by God that it was He Who sent Prophet Jesus (AS)
to guide the lost sheep of Israel but the treacherous Israelites ganged
up against the Messiah in violation of divine commandments. Thus in view
of these realities, the express commandment to Prophet Muhammad (SAWA)
to stop then and there in his tracks in the wilderness on 18th Zil-Hijja
and proclaim a very important matter (more significant than prayer,
fasting, zakat and other forms of worship that need no urgency).
Moreover barely 9 days ago the Prophet in his memorable sermon at Jabal
ar-Rahma (Mount of Mercy) in the plain of Arafat during the Hajj had
informed the huge multitude that his days in the world were numbered and
in order to prevent the ummah from going astray after him he was leaving
behind amongst it the Thaqalayn (two weighty things).
Although he specified these two as the Holy Qur’an and his progeny the
Ahl al-Bayt, still a sort of ambiguity prevailed as to which person
actually had the God-approved authority to be in charge of mankind’s
affairs. Certainly, it is against the principle of Divine Justice to
leave people groping in the dark. Thus in obedience to God’s commandment
and after receiving assurance of safety from evildoers, Prophet Muhammad
(SAWA) recalled all those who had parted ways some hours earlier and
waited for those who lagged still behind. At midday (in broad daylight)
amongst a 140,000 strong gathering, he proclaimed those memorable words:
“Man konto Mowla fa haza Aliyun Mowla (For whomsoever I am Master, this
Ali is his Master).”
This was in fact a official declaration of all that he had formally and
informally said about the prime position after him of his dear cousin
Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) right from the day 23 years ago in Mecca
when the barely 10-year old lad had stood up to voice support for his
divine mission as the Prophet while the rest of the Arab gathering had
mocked at him. The Day of Ghadeer is thus a vital link in the chain of
divine authority (wilayat) from Adam’s proclamation as khalifa to the
promised advent of Imam Mahdi (AS) to establish the global government of
justice, and ensures adherence to God’s Will, without which mankind is
liable to fall into the dark abyss of Saqifa and all other
democratically disguised devilish plots to confound the fate of humanity
by that avowed enemy of mankind, the Satan.
That was the reason that God swiftly sent Gabriel again that day with
the tidings - amidst the greetings of the Prophet’s companions bakhin
bakhin laka ya Ali (congratulations to you O’ Ali), you are our Master
and the Master of all true believers (Amir al-Mo’menin): “Today I have
completed your religion for you, chosen Islam as your faith and
perfected My favours upon you.” (Holy Qur’an 5:3) |