Chapter 6 — the Authority After the Prophet
Shia’s Opinion
A. Requisiteness of Authority
They say: It is untrue that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) left his nation without nominating a leader and an authority, since these two matters are indispensable and rudimentary for the nation every time. The saying of the Prophet's leaving his nation without a leader and an authority contravenes perfection and completion of the religion and the divine grace. It also opposes the thorough explication asserted by the Holy Quran. How should the Prophet explicate a minute affair, such as the proper way of urination, while he neglects a fundamental affair which is leadership of the nation? Similarly, leaving the nation without a leader and an authority is a matter contradicting the Prophet's mercy and care for his people. According to the Holy Quran, God has thrown in his Apostle's heart mercy and care for this nation. Who should represent the Prophet in his political and religious duties? Who should explain the Quran? Who should show limits of circle of legality? Who should be the saving ship of this nation? Who should be guiding people to the right? Who should be the security of this nation? These functions are elements of specialization. Like medicine, engineering or atomics, these elements are in need of an individual specialized. None other than the most favorable, the fittest and the most familiar with questions of the doctrine, who should join political and religious leadership, can make out these concerns intensively. These qualifications are identified by God alone. Legally and logically, it is impractical for God to leave this concern to people's fancies. They are within the fundamental principles of Islam and the basic prerequisites of the divine solicitation, government and nation. The greatest evidence on essentiality of this question is that the deniers who had traversed the fact that the Prophet himself had clarified the succeeding leadership, did their best to establish a positive leadership that was stabilized for the predominant power after the great massacres, suffered by the Islamic nation, committed for the sake of uniting the nation by force under authority of that strongest ruler. Owing to the absence of the
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predominant knight, people were engaged in numerous sects, each of which did establish its own authority.
B. the Divine Declaration of the Authority
God, the Elevated, has revealed the Quran as a divine message to mankind and a divine doctrine that provides an unequivocal depiction for the movements of everything. It also systematizes the political and religious affairs on this earth and exposes the essential characteristics of the other life, and links these two lives in a reciprocal fastened bind. In a like manner, that divine doctrine is provided as one of the essentialities of God's Book revealed to Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family), God's slave, so that he should explicate it to people hypothetically and practically on levels of solicitation and government. The Prophet did lead the solicitation and its outcome; the government. A thorough explication of the divine doctrine was introduced by the Prophet during both stages. The doctrine, likewise, explicated everything thoroughly for those who received the Remembrance; the Holy Quran. Hence, since he was the fittest for leading the followers and applying the doctrine, the most favorable, the keenest and the most acquainted of that divine doctrine, Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family) was elected as the authority. During the Prophet's blessed lifetime, none had the capability of taking his place or shouldering his missions. God, Who does credulously realize the fittest for leading the followers and applying the doctrine, the most favorable, the keenest and the most acquainted of that divine doctrine, has been the specialist in electing Mohammed for this mission. On that account, God dedicatedly has granted Himself the right of nominating the political and religious leader. He, the Elevated, has provided that leader before people and averred of his being the most acquainted, the keenest, the most favorable and the fittest. God has also authorized him to enjoy thorough adequacies of explicating the doctrine to people and being the political and religious leader and judge.
In case people accepted and showed loyalty to that political and religious leadership God has provided, Mohammed should be the leader.
The godly solicitation is ceaseless. The believing government endorses that solicitation. The general purpose is guiding mankind to the right. Mohammed is a man to be inescapably deceased. God, lonelily, realizes credulously the fittest among Mohammed's followers for leading the nation and applying the doctrine, the most favorable, the keenest and the most acquainted of that divine doctrine. For these reasons, it was God's dedicate
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concern to provide the political and religious leader after Mohammed. In case people accepted and swore allegiance to that individual provided by God as the political and religious leader, they should be guided to the right path. Otherwise, a process of disintegration between political and religious leadership would occur, and the political leader would be an individual other than the religious one. Thus, that ruler — political leader — shall certainly predominate the religious leadership someday.
AlHusseinbnAlibnAbiTalib (peace be upon him) is, according to doctrinal texts, the Imam, the political and religious leader and the guide of people during his lifetime. Nevertheless, people, coercively or voluntarily, swore their allegiance to YazeedbnMuawiya who, consequently, became the political ruler while AlHussein was the religious authority. The instance should have been that AlHussein holds political and religious leadership together. As people declared fealty to Yazeed, an isolation between the political and the religious leadership occurred. Yazeed became the actual ruler. Since religious leadership was appendant to the political, the ruler would not be content before he denuded the religious authority from his competencies, so that he would be able to have the religious leadership beside the political. This exactly what happened. Killing was the only way Yazeed had to deprive AlHussein of his competencies. He did kill him.
Shias say that improvement of the Muslims' conditions and future is depending upon combining the political and religious leaderships. In other words, the ruler should be the religious authority and that ruler and religious authority should be the one elected by God.
As an abstract we say: God has been dedicatedly the specialist in electing and nominating the political and religious leader of the nation. This is by the reason that He, the Elevated, does credulously realize the fittest for leading the followers and applying the doctrine, the most favorable, the keenest and the most acquainted of that divine doctrine. Before the Prophet's being taken to the Exalted Associate, God had elected the political and religious leader for Muslims. He, the Elevated, ordered the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) of declaring so in the attendance of one hundred thousand Muslims during the Farewell Pilgrimage. For ten times, the Prophet repeated this declaration. People, after all, swore allegiance to men other than that authority nominated by God. Therefore, a process of separation occurred between the two leaderships. Rulers, thereafter, marched forwardly and deprived the religious authorities of their capacities. Thus, rulers, using their
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force, held fast on the political and religious leaderships.
The Leader and the Authority Nominated By God
Shias allege that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was the leader and the authority nominated by God who elected him to succeed the Prophet in political and religious affairs. God, correspondingly, ordered His Prophet of declaring this divine election. Therefore, he declared it in front of one hundred thousand Muslims. That was in the Farewell Pilgrimage. They also allege that God has nominated AlHassan and AlHussein respectively as the successors of Imam Ali, and arranged this question in the form that every Imam should nominate his successor. They were twelve Imams. The twelfth was Imam AlMahdi (Mahdi). This Imam is the Shariite ruler of the Islamic republic of Iran pursuant to the Article5 of the Iranian Constitution. The representative of that Shariite Imam is the actual leader of Iran whose missions are practicing the activities of the Shariite Imam substitutionally till God shall cause that Imam to come forth.
With respect to the Islamic Shari'a, the head of the Prophet's household is the Imam, ruler and authority in every time. Headship of the Prophet's household is perpetually operative. In spite of the rulers' active endeavors to terminate the Prophet’s immaculate progeny, they shall never be extinct.
Reasons Beyond Hostility of Sunnis to Shias
As long as Shias are right, what for are they confronted by Sunnis? As an answer to this inquiry, we say: Shias are seen as enemies because their allegations put the rulers on the carpet, and invalidate reasons of their existence as authorities, and create excuses for their enemies to supplant. Rulers had full control on imports of the state. They, practically, had brimming option to dispose in such imports. They had the dominion upon the armed forces and their remunerations. Hence, these forces comply to those rulers amenably. Rulers possessed the entire mass media. Shias, on the other hand, were representing the opposition party all the time. For these reasons, rulers showed malice against them and persecuted and reproduced them as devils, rebellious and deserters of the nation's congruous faith. Majority of people had no option other than agreeing to the ruling authorities' claims. Because Shias had not been granted any opportunity to express their viewpoints without encumbrance, rulers misrepresented and
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distorted such viewpoints. Ordinary people reported these distorted viewpoints rulers had mentioned, surreptitiously, on behalf of Shias, for the sake of making people shrink back from them progressively. As a matter of fact, most people deem these distorted viewpoints’ veracity adopted by Shias. The reason beyond so was condensational reports appertained to this aspect.
Sunnis' Velocity
From all sides, Sunnis shouted repeatedly with earsplitting cries: “Believe not Shias; they devoted themselves to being enemies of this nation, and satisfied themselves with rebellion against congruity.”
Ask them to provide an evidence on their claims.
Replication on that Velocity
Shias say: ‘year of congruity’ for Sunnis was that in which power overcame legality. Conception of Sunnism — pursuing the Prophet's traditions — from which they inferred their name, was originated when power overcame legality. Unlike the belief adopted by the public, ‘Sunni’ does not indicate pursuing the Prophet's traditions. Shias, in fact, are the most careful for pursuing the Prophet's deeds, words and signature. By despising partisan imitation, one can easily perceive that this saying is not irresponsible at all. By the same token, everybody is within reach to the authenticity of the previous allegation. Considering it is true, censure should be alleviated from us. Barring this, we shall retreat from the wrong. (Surely falsehood is a vanishing thing.)
Meeting the urgency of the protruth, the following is the decisive evidence on our claims:
The Two Authorities
For Shias, there were two authorities in Islam after the Prophet's decease:
The individual authority was held by the — foremost — head of the Prophet's household; Ali (peace be upon him). This authority faces the predominant ruler's dictatorship for Sunnis.
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The congregational authority was held by the Prophet's progeny and household. These individuals were loyal to their head. They sided him in conserving sturdy origins of the religion.
God is The Nominator Of The 2 Authorities
Shias allege that it was God, the exalted, who assigned the two authorities and ordered His Prophet of declaring so to the Muslims. So, the Prophet did declare it in various occasions.
Shariite Proof Of God's Nominating The Individual Authority
First: The Holy Verse of Wilaya 5:556. (Only Allah is your Wali and His Apostle and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor rate while they bow. And whoever takes Allah and His Apostle and those who believe for a guardian, then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant.)
These two Verses were revealed for Ali when he gave his ring as alms while he was performing the ritual genuflection of the prayer. In AtTha'labi's Tafseer, for instance, these two Verses are debated in details. As he saw Ali give his ring as alms while he was in his ritual genuflection of the prayer, Mohammed, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), recited the words Moses, the prophet, had supplicated his Lord with: ( And give me an aider from my family; Ali. Strengthen my back by him…)
AbuTherr reported: “By God I swear, before the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had finished from reciting this supplication, Gabriel, the Angel, descended to him with the revelation of the Holy Verse of Wilaya. Exegesists of the Holy Quran, unanimously, remarked that the Holy Verse involved had been revealed for Ali.
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53 Many exegesis of the Holy Qur'an remarked to Ali's being the one intended in the Holy Verses concerned. Refer to, for instance, to Al-Qawsheji's Sharhul-Tajrid, Chapter of Imamate. Abu-Isaaq Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim An-Nisapuri At-Tha'labi's book of Tafseer, about whom bn-Khellekan, in his Al-Wafiyat, confessed that he had been the only reliable exegesist in his time. Al-Hassakani's Shawahidut-Tanzeel, part. 1, page 161. Ibnul-Meghazili's Menaqibu Ali Bin Abi Talib, page 311. Al-Kinji's Kifayetut-Talib, pages 228 and 250. Muhibbud-Din At-Tabari's Thekha'irul-Uqba, pages 88 and 102. Al-Khawarzmi's Al-Menaqib, part. 2, page 187. bn-Asakir's Tarikhu Dimeshq, Chapter: Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib's life account, part. 2, page 409. Ibnus-Sebbagh's Al-Fussoulul-Muhimmeh, pages 108 and 123. As-Suyouti's Ad-Durrul-Manthour, part. 2, page 293. Ashawkani's Feithul-Qadir, part. 2, page 53. Al-Kelibi's At-Tasiheelu Li Uloumit-Tanzeel, page 181. Az-Zemekhshari's Al-Keshaf (Book of Tafseer), part. 1, page 649. At-Tabari's Book of Tafseer, part. 6, page 288-9. Ibnul-Jawzi's Zadul-Maseer Fi Ilmit-Tafseer, part. 2, page 383. Al-Qurtubi's Book of Tafseer, part. 6, page 216. Al-Jadi's At-Tafseerul-Muneer Li Me'alimit-Tanzeel, part. 1, page 210. Feithul-Beyan Fi Al-Babul-Manqoul-printed in the margins of Tafseerul Jalalein, page 213. As-Sibt Al-Jawzi's Tethkiretul-Kawass, pages 18 and 208. Ar-Razi's Book of Tafseer, part. 12, pages 20 and and 26. bn-Kutheir's Book of Tafseer, part. 2, page 71. There are other thirty six references mentioning the same fact.
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The Prophet indeed assigned Ali, AmirulMu'minin, as the authority and his successor. This process was acted in the presence of one hundred thousand Muslims in Ghadeer Khum. It was on that Thursday when Gabriel, the Angel, descended from the heavens five hours after the daybreak to address at the Prophet: “O Mohammed! Your Lord sends His greeting to you and say (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; surely Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.)” This Holy Verse was revealed on the day of Ghadeer — the day on which the Prophet led the Muslims to a place called ‘Ghadeer Khum’ and declared that Ali would be his successor.
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After the Prophet's assigning Ali as the coming Imam, authority and (caliph), the following Holy Verse was revealed: (This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion.) This very Verse was revealed in Ghadeer Khum, the exact place where AmirulMu'minin Ali, was declared as the succeeding leader. The revelation of that Verse occurred in DhulHijja (the last month
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54 bn-Asakir's Tarikhu Dimeshq, Chapter: Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib's life account, part. 2, page 86. Siddiq Hassan Khan Melik Behubal's Feithul-Bayan Fi Meqassidil-Qur'an, part. 3, page 63. Al-Hakim Al-Hassankani's Shawahidut-Tanzeel Li Qawa'idit-Tafdheel; the Verses dealing with merits of the Prophet's progeny, part. 1, page 187. Al-Wahidi An-Nisapuri's Asbabun-Nuzoul, page 115. Jalalud-Din As-Suyouti's Ad-Durrul-Manthour, part. 2, page 298. Ashawkani's Feithul-Qadir, part. 2, page 60. Ar-Razi's Book of Tafseer, part. 12, pages 50. bn-Talha's Mettalibus-Sa'ul, part. 1, page 44. Ibnus-Sebbagh's Al-Fussoulul-Muhimmeh, page 25. Al-Qanduzi's Yenabi'ul-Mawaddeh, page 120 and 249. Ashehristani's Almilelu Wen-Nihel, part. 1, page 163. Al-Hamawini's Fera'idus-Simtein, part. 1, pages 72 and 74. Badrud-Din Al-Hanafi's Umdetul-Qari Fi Sharhi Sahihil-Bukhari, part. 8, page 58. Al-Hamadani's Mawaddetul-Arabi. Al-Alusi's Rouhul-Me'ani, part. 2, page 348. Mohammed Ebduh's Tafseerul-Menar, part. 6, page 463 and many other references.
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of the Hijri year) immediately after the ceremonies of assigning Ali as the succeeding leader.
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Exactly after the ceremonies of designating AmirulMu'minin Ali, OmarbnAlKhattaab approached him and said kiddingly: “Congratulations, son of AbuTalib! You became my master as well as the entire Muslims.” This is an authentic report.
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In the coming eras, the Ghadeer day became a general festivity for Muslims.
57 The hadith of Ghadeer has attained such a high rank of continuous narration that many Sunni scholars compiled thorough books in this concern. As examples of these books, we mention the following:
bnHajar AtTabari's KitabulWilaya.
AbulAbbasbnAhmedbnUqdeh's KitabulWilaya. (333A.H.)
AbuBakr AlJessabi's Men Rawa Hadithe Ghadeeri Khum. (355A.H.)
AdDarqutni's ways of narrating the Hadith of Ghadeer. (385A.H.)
AbuSa'd AsSejistani's AdDirayeh Fi HadithilWilaya. (477A.H.)
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55 bn-Asakir's Tarikhu Dimeshq, Chapter: Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib's life account, part. 2, page 75. Ibnul-Meghazili's Menaqibu Ali Bin Abi Talib, page 19. Al-Hassakani's Shawahidut-Tanzeel, part. 1, page 157. Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi's Tarikhu Baghdad, part. 8, page 290. As-Suyouti's Ad-Durrul-Manthour, part. 2,page 295. As-Suyouti's Alittifaq, part. 1, page 31. Al-Khawarzmi's Al-Menaqib, part, 1, page 47. Al-Qanduzi's Yenabi'ul-Mawaddeh, page 115. Al-Hamawini's Fera'idus-Simtein, part. 1, page 72 and 74. Al-Ya'qubi's At-Tarikh, part. 2, page 35. bn-Jarir At-Tabari's Kitabul-Wilaya. Al-Alusi's Ruhul-Me'ani, part. 6, page 55. bn-Kutheir's Al-Bidayeh Wen-Nihayeh, part. 5, page 213 and many other references.
56 bn-Asakir's Tarikhu Dimeshq, Chapter: Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib's life account, part. 2, page 75, hadith 575, 577 and 578. Ibnul Meghazili's Menaqibu Ali Bin Abi Talib, page 18, hadith 24. Al-Khawarzmi's Al-Menaqib, page 94. Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi's Tarikhu Baghdad, part. 8, page 290. Al-Hassakani's Shawahidut-Tanzeel, part. 1, page 158, hadith 213. Abu-Ahmed Al-Ghezzali's Surrul-Alemin, page 21. Ihqaqul-Haq, part. 6, page 256. Al-Amini's Al-Ghadeer, part. 1, page 132. Ibnul-Jawzi's Fera'idus-Simtein, part. 1, page 277 and many other references.
57 Al-Amini's Al-Ghadeer, part. 1, page 267 who referred to Al-Beiruni's Al-Atharul-Baqiyeh Fil-Qurounil-Khaliyeh, page 334. bn-Talha's Mettalibus-Sa'ul, part. 1, page 44. bn-Khellekan's Wefiyatul-A'yan, part. 11, page 60. The life account of Al-Musta'il Bin Al-Muntessir. The life account of Al-Mustensir Al-ubeidi, part. 2, page 223.
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AbulQasim Ubeidullah AlHanafi's Du'atulHudati Ila Eda'i HaqqilMuwalat. (490A.H.)
In addition, a great deal of other compilers of hadiths did collect hadiths appertained to this concern in many books. 116 Sahaba and 84 Sahaba's followers reported the hadith of Ghadeer. Beginning with the second to the fourteenth Hijri century, almostly, all of the Sunni scholars of various classes and sects, narrated the hadith of Ghadeer. AlAmini, in his AlGhadeer, mentions that 360 scholars did refer to the hadith of Ghadeer. We should be sufficed with the fact that OmarbnAlKhattaab approached Ali and addressed at him: “Congratulations, son of AbuTalib! You have become the master of every male and female believer.” That was on the day of the Ghadeer declaration.
