Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was on his way back from the final pilgrimage and had reached the point of Ghadir, when he received this instruction from the Divine. The tone of the verse suggests a matter of extreme significance and seriousness. If the success of the entire struggle of the Prophet (PBUH) was now dependent on the effective delivery of this very message, it had to be something big. The Prophet (PBUH) immediately told people to gather at the pond and ordered for the creation of a pulpit. He also dispatched messengers to get to the ones who had made the journey ahead or were still behind, to be quick to reach the place. There, before tens of thousands of people, the Prophet asked Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib to stand beside him on the platform. He then raised the hand of Hazrat Ali and announced to each one of them, “For whomever, I am the mawla (master), Ali is his mawla. O God, befriend the friend of Ali and be the enemy of his enemy”. Right after, a tent is pitched where Ali is made to sit and the companions pour in to congratulate him on his appointment as master of the believers.
Some Muslims attempted to trivialise the episode in a bid to serve their vested interests, although the urgency and stress put upon it by the Almighty speaks volumes for the pondering minds.
Subjecting a figure as giant as him to controversy and limiting him to a particular sect, portrays the sheer ignorance of some quarters, considering that the man we are talking about was so magnanimous that he would come to be adored by people of other faiths. The Roman emperors would have his pictures hanged in their palaces and the greatest of warriors have his name engraved on their swords. He was only a newborn when the Prophet of God took him into his house and Ali was raised and fed by the messenger himself.
As he grew a little older, he would mimic the Prophet (PBUH) in whatever He did and the Messenger would be a constant guide for him in every aspect of life. The bond they shared was so special that none but Ali would accompany Him to mount Hira and experience Muhammad (PBUH) receiving the light of revelation. It was only Ali, who at the age of thirteen, offered to help the messenger in the propagation of His Prophetic message, when all the closest kinsmen rebuked and laughed it off.
The Prophet’s encounter with the Christian priests of Najran further indicates the esteemed position of Hazrat Ali, as when the Messenger challenged them for a face off in light of a divine instruction, “Come let us call upon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, and let us call for the curse of God upon those who lie”.(3:59-61).
Acting upon this injunction, the Prophet (PBUH), leaving the entire community, opted to be accompanied by only Imam Hassan, Imam Hussain, Bibi Fatima and Hazrat Ali for this purpose. Later, gathering these four under a cloak with himself and iterating that these are the People of his house and the most purified ones, confirmed of their exclusive bond. He was so sure of their truthfulness that he didn't hesitate to call upon the curse of God in their presence.
The famous hadith al Thaqalayn, serves as another endorsement by the Prophet of the exalted status of his progeny. The timing of this is important to note as well, since this was part of the Prophet’s sermon at Ghadir, where He declared Ali as ‘mawla’. Only three months before His death.
“I leave two things of value/weight among you, for if you hold on to them you will never go astray, the Quran and the people of my house, they will not separate from each other until they reach me by the pond of paradise”.
If any logical mind pushes to interpret this very saying of the Prophet, it becomes self explanatory that the people for whom the two things are being left by the Prophet to hold on for guidance and the ones being left to guide, cannot be of the same level. This is a clear affirmation of the superiority, intellectual and otherwise, of Hazrat Ali and his family. If the Prophet (PBUH) testifies of them being inseparable from the Quran, it means whatever they speak or do is right in line with the Quranic teachings. So, who better than them to interpret the Divine message and guide the community, in absence of the Prophet (PBUH)?
The attributes of Ali are numerous to list here in their entirety. However, each of the ones -- if decoded rationally -- serve as evidence of his supremacy. Think for a moment, If his family was so esteemed for God to name his sons, Hassan and Hussain, the leaders of the youth of paradise, and his wife Fatima, the leader of the women of paradise, the very place, every Muslim longs for, one can easily understand their rank in the eyes of God.
Indeed the best of people, after the Prophet (PBUH). Why would the rulers of the time, secretly plan their executions and put to torture their partisans? Why were they so insecure as to stop people, through force, from reporting the Prophet’s sayings in their praise or attempting to downplay the actual meaning of them. They were indeed the real face of Islam and for people to justify themselves as rulers in the presence of such towering figures, was impossible, and so they had to be set aside, not only physically, but also from history.
It is time we Sunnis attempt to use reason and question the manipulation of our history and stop misusing our privileged position, as being the majority sect of the community, negatively, by subjecting the Shi’ites to constant verbal attacks which then translate into physical attacks on them. All of this because they do not subscribe to the mainstream religious views.
Let us not hinder their right to practice their faith and be tolerant towards the love they express for Ali and his family, for they seem to have better construed the Prophet's message. We on the other hand need to reflect on the version of Islam presented to us by the clerics and check if we are actually doing justice to ourselves by playing in their hands and neglecting the ones who were supposed to form the very core of our religion.
One must pay heed when the Prophet says, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gateway”. This sets clear that only he is the wisest after the Prophet and only second to the Prophet himself, in terms of knowledge, be it religious or secular. Also that he is the only door through which a person can ascertain the true essence of the Prophet’s message. So, do not leave the door unattended and search in vain for the intellectual legacy of Muhammad.
Some Muslims attempted to trivialise the episode in a bid to serve their vested interests, although the urgency and stress put upon it by the Almighty speaks volumes for the pondering minds.
Subjecting a figure as giant as him to controversy and limiting him to a particular sect, portrays the sheer ignorance of some quarters, considering that the man we are talking about was so magnanimous that he would come to be adored by people of other faiths. The Roman emperors would have his pictures hanged in their palaces and the greatest of warriors have his name engraved on their swords. He was only a newborn when the Prophet of God took him into his house and Ali was raised and fed by the messenger himself.
As he grew a little older, he would mimic the Prophet (PBUH) in whatever He did and the Messenger would be a constant guide for him in every aspect of life. The bond they shared was so special that none but Ali would accompany Him to mount Hira and experience Muhammad (PBUH) receiving the light of revelation. It was only Ali, who at the age of thirteen, offered to help the messenger in the propagation of His Prophetic message, when all the closest kinsmen rebuked and laughed it off.
The Prophet’s encounter with the Christian priests of Najran further indicates the esteemed position of Hazrat Ali, as when the Messenger challenged them for a face off in light of a divine instruction, “Come let us call upon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, and let us call for the curse of God upon those who lie”.(3:59-61).
Acting upon this injunction, the Prophet (PBUH), leaving the entire community, opted to be accompanied by only Imam Hassan, Imam Hussain, Bibi Fatima and Hazrat Ali for this purpose. Later, gathering these four under a cloak with himself and iterating that these are the People of his house and the most purified ones, confirmed of their exclusive bond. He was so sure of their truthfulness that he didn't hesitate to call upon the curse of God in their presence.
The famous hadith al Thaqalayn, serves as another endorsement by the Prophet of the exalted status of his progeny. The timing of this is important to note as well, since this was part of the Prophet’s sermon at Ghadir, where He declared Ali as ‘mawla’. Only three months before His death.
“I leave two things of value/weight among you, for if you hold on to them you will never go astray, the Quran and the people of my house, they will not separate from each other until they reach me by the pond of paradise”.
If any logical mind pushes to interpret this very saying of the Prophet, it becomes self explanatory that the people for whom the two things are being left by the Prophet to hold on for guidance and the ones being left to guide, cannot be of the same level. This is a clear affirmation of the superiority, intellectual and otherwise, of Hazrat Ali and his family. If the Prophet (PBUH) testifies of them being inseparable from the Quran, it means whatever they speak or do is right in line with the Quranic teachings. So, who better than them to interpret the Divine message and guide the community, in absence of the Prophet (PBUH)?
The attributes of Ali are numerous to list here in their entirety. However, each of the ones -- if decoded rationally -- serve as evidence of his supremacy. Think for a moment, If his family was so esteemed for God to name his sons, Hassan and Hussain, the leaders of the youth of paradise, and his wife Fatima, the leader of the women of paradise, the very place, every Muslim longs for, one can easily understand their rank in the eyes of God.
Indeed the best of people, after the Prophet (PBUH). Why would the rulers of the time, secretly plan their executions and put to torture their partisans? Why were they so insecure as to stop people, through force, from reporting the Prophet’s sayings in their praise or attempting to downplay the actual meaning of them. They were indeed the real face of Islam and for people to justify themselves as rulers in the presence of such towering figures, was impossible, and so they had to be set aside, not only physically, but also from history.
It is time we Sunnis attempt to use reason and question the manipulation of our history and stop misusing our privileged position, as being the majority sect of the community, negatively, by subjecting the Shi’ites to constant verbal attacks which then translate into physical attacks on them. All of this because they do not subscribe to the mainstream religious views.
Let us not hinder their right to practice their faith and be tolerant towards the love they express for Ali and his family, for they seem to have better construed the Prophet's message. We on the other hand need to reflect on the version of Islam presented to us by the clerics and check if we are actually doing justice to ourselves by playing in their hands and neglecting the ones who were supposed to form the very core of our religion.
One must pay heed when the Prophet says, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gateway”. This sets clear that only he is the wisest after the Prophet and only second to the Prophet himself, in terms of knowledge, be it religious or secular. Also that he is the only door through which a person can ascertain the true essence of the Prophet’s message. So, do not leave the door unattended and search in vain for the intellectual legacy of Muhammad.