1. The speech at Ghadeer Khunun

Ghadeer Khumm is located between Makkah and Madinah at al-~uhfah,~" twentysix miles to the east of Ribigh. Now it is called al-~hurhah.~'~ It is said that in this place, the Prophet (g) addressed the people and mentioned the virtues of 'Ali (&). The R%@s used this event as the basis for their extremist views concerning him on the one hand, and they relied on it with regard to his entitlement to the caliphate on the other hand. They gave this incident more importance than any other incident during the era of the Prophet (@).513 A book of eleven volumes was written concerning it, entitled Kit6b alGhadeer (The Book of Ghadeer); this is a hook whose author filled it with fabricated and weak hadiths. 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia The sound version of the hadith is that which was narrated by Imam Muslim in his sahih from the hadith of Zayd ihn Arqam (&,I, who said: "One day the Messenger of Allah (gJ stood and addressed us at a watering place called Khnmm, between Makkah and Madinah.

He praised and glorified Allah (&), and he exhorted and reminded us, then he said: '0 people, I am only human. Soon the messenger of my Lord will come to me, and I will respond. I an leaving among you two weighty things, the first of which is the Book of Allah, in which is guidance and light. Follow the Book of Allah and hold fast to it.' He encouraged us to adhere to the Book of Allah, then he said: 'And the people of my household, I remind you of Allah with regard to the people of my household, I remind you of Allah with regard to the people of my household, I remind you of Allah with regard to the people of my household."' Husayn [one of the narrators] asked him: "Who are the people of his household, 0 Zayd? Aren't his wives among the people of his household?" He said: "His wives are among the people of his household, but the people of his household are those to whom zaka is forbidden after he is gone." Husayn asked: "Who are they?" Zayd replied: "They are the family of 'Ali, the family of 'Aqeel, the family of Ja'far, and the family of 'Abbh." He asked: "Was zak2h forbidden to all of these?" He answered: " ~ e s .

" ~ l ~ It was narrated by scholars other than Muslim, such as at- ~ i r m i d h i , ~ ' ~ ~ h m a d ? ' ~ an-Nad'i in al-~ha~ci'i~,~" a l - ~ i k i m ~ ~ ~ and others, with sound chains of narration, that the Prophet (s) said: "If I am a person's r n ~ w l a ? ~ ~ 'Ali is also his m a ~ l a . " ~ ~ ~ With regard to additional material, such as the words "0 Allah, support those who support him and take as enemies those who take him as an enemy," this material is regarded as sound by some of the scholars, but the correct view is that it is not sound. As for the addition "support those who support him and humiliate those who humiliate him, and make 'Ali ibn Abi Tirlib truth connected to him wherever he goes," this is something that is attributed falsely to the Prophet (s).~~' There was a good reason for the speech given by the Prophet (g) at Ghadeer Khumm. It was narrated that: 'The Prophet (g) sent 'Ali to Kh%d ibn al-Waleed in Yemen to work out the one-fifth of the booty and take it.

When he had worked out the one-fifth of the booty, there was a slave woman among the one-fifth who was the best of the female captives and had ended up being counted as part of the one-fifth. Then 'Ali (&) came out with his head covered, and he had done ghnsl. They askid him about that, and he told them that the slave woman who had been among the prisoners had become his, and he had been intimate with her. Some of them objected to that, and Buraydah ibn al-Husayb brought the letter of Khilid to the Prophet (gg). Buraydah was one of those who did not like 'Ali (&), and he confirmed the contents of KhZlid's letter, which referred to what 'Ali (4) had done.

The Prophet (s) said: 'Do not hate him, for he has more right to the one-fifth than that."'5" When the Farewell Pilgrimage took place, 'Ali (&) returned from Yemen to join the hajj and brought the sacrificial animals with him.523 He appointed one of his companions to be in charge of the troops, and he hastened to meet the Messenger (g) in Makkah. That man gave the troops some garments that 'Ali (&)had, and when the army drew close to Makkah, 'Ali (&) went out to meet them and saw them wearing those suits. He said to his deputy: 'Woe to you, what is this?" He said: "I clothed them like this today so that they would look good when they came to the people." 'Ali said: "Woe to you, take them off before you meet the Messenger (g)." So the deputy took away the suits and put them with the rest of the garments, and the army started to complain about what 'ALi (&) had done to them.524 When the people complained about 'Ali (&I, the Messenger of AUah (g) stood up to address them. Ibn Katheer said: 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shiu "There was a lot of talk and complaining about 'Ali (&) from that army, because he had prevented them from using the zak& camels and had taken back the suits that his deputy had let them have. And Allah (&) knows best." When the Messenger (@) was on his way back to Madinah after finishing his hajj rituals, he passed by Ghadeer Khumm.

There he addressed the people and defended 'Ali (&>), confirming his high status and pointing out his viaues so as to remove whatever negative feelings the people might have developed about him.525 The Prophet (g) did not give this speech when he was in Makkah during the Farewell Pilgrimage on the day of 'Arafah; instead he delayed the matter until he was on his way back to Madinah. This indicates that the matter concerned the people of Madinah only. Those who spoke against 'Ali (&) were from among the people of Madinah, as they were the ones who were with 'Ali on that campaign. Ghadeer Khumm is in al-Juhfah, which is approximately 250 km from Makkah. Those who say that it was the point where the pilgrims part ways are not correct; the gathering point of the pilgrims is Makkah, so the place where the pilgrims part ways could not he as far as 250 km away.

The people of Makkah stay in Makkah, the people of T2if return to T2if, the people of Yemen return to Yemen, the people of Iraq return to Iraq, the Arab tribes return to their original places and so on; when they have finished their hajj, each returns to his own land. There was no one with the Prophet (@) except the people of Madinah and those who were on their way to their homes along the road to Madinah, so these are the people whom the Prophet (g) addressed. The difference between the Sunnis and the RZdi Shia has to do with their understanding of what the Prophet (g) said, not whether or not he said it. The R2fidis say that the words "If I am a person's mawla, 'Ali is also his mawla" mean: 'Whoever I am in 'Ali ibn Abi T6lib charge of, 'Ali is also in charge of." The Sunnis say that what is meant by the Prophet's words "If I am a person's mawla, 'Ali is also his mawla" refers to support and love, the opposite of which is enmity. This is correct for a number of reasons: 1.a.

This was classed as sound by some scholars because of the additional material, namely the words of the Prophet (g): "0 Allah, support those who support him, and take as an enemy those who take him as an enemy."526 Enmity explains the phrase " 'Ali is also his mawla," so it refers to people loving 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib (&). 1.b. The word mawla may indicate a number of meanings. Ibn alAtheer said: "It may be applied to the master, owner, benefactor, supporter, one who loves, ally, slave, freed slave, cousin (son of paternal uncle) or ~on-in-law."~'~ The Labs give all of these meanings to the word mawla. 1.c. There is no evidence in the hadith for the idea of imamate (caliphate). If the Prophet (@) had been referring to caliphate, he would not have used a word that may have all of these meanings that were mentioned by Ibn al-Atheer.

The Prophet (g) was the most eloquent of the Arabs, and he would have said clearly, " 'Ali is my successor after me," or "'Ali is the ruler after me," or "If I die, then listen to and obey 'Ali ibn Abi T2lib." However, the Prophet (@) did not say any of these decisive words that could have put an end to the dispute'if any arose. He said: "If I am a person's mawla, 'Ali is also his m a ~ l a . " ~ ~ ~ l.d. Allah (s) says: dYour abode is the fire. That is your maw16 [friend - proper place], and worst indeed is that destinations (Quran 41 0 'Ali's a t t i d e towards the Kharijites and Shia 57: 15).

He called it mawla because it is close to the disbelievers we seek refuge with Allah (g). In the case of 'Ali (&), the fact that he is a mawla was proven during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (#J and after his death, and after the death of 'Ali (&). 'Ali (&) was the mawla of the believers after the death of the Messenger of Allah (g), and he was a mawla to the believers after his own death (&). Even now he is our ,. mawla, as Allah (&) says: $Verily, your Wali [Protector or Helper] is none other than Allah, His Messenger, and the believers) (Quran 5: 55). 'Ali (&) is one of the leaders of the believers.

Imam ash-Sh2fa'i said concerning the hadith of Zayd: What is meant by that is the concept of love for the sake of Islam, as Allah (g) says: $That is because Allah is the Maw16 Lord, Master, Helper, Protector] of those who believe, and the disbelievers have no Mawli? [lord, master, helper, protector]) (Quran 47: 11).~'~ SO the hadith does not say that 'Ali (&) should be the caliph after the death of the Messenger of Allah (g); it indicates that 'Ali is one of the close friends of Allah (s) to whom love and support is due for the sake of Allah (B).~~' In general, in this speech given in Ghadeer Khumm, the Prophet (g) wanted to confm the good character of 'Ali (&,), raise his status and point out his virtues, so as to remove the ideas harboured by some of these companions who had been with him in Yemen, who had developed reservations about some of his conduct. The Messenger of Allah (g) did not want to do that during hajj, because even though this incident had become widely known, it remained limited to the people of Madinah. On the other hand, he did not delay it until he reached Madinah, lest the hypocrites take 'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib 41 1 advantage of this incident in order to plot against the ~ u s l i m s . ~ ~ ' There is another indication that the Prophet (@) intended in this speech to point out the virmes of 'Ali (&) to those who were unaware of them. When Buraydah ibn al-Husayb began to criticise 'Ali (&) in his presence - because he felt that 'Ali was no longer , . showing him kindness - the Prophet's expression changed, and he said: "0 Buraydah, am I not closer to the believers than their own selves?" Buraydah said: "Yes indeed, 0 Messenger of Allah." He said: "If I am a person's mawla, 'Ali is also his m a ~ l a . " ~ ~ ' Some valuable research on this topic has been undertaken by Dr.

Muhammad 'Ali as-Saloos, who discussed the speech at Ghadeer and the advice to adhere to the Quran and Sunnah. He studied the reports about adhering to the Quran and Sunnah and the reports about adhering to the Quran and the family of the Prophet (e) and examined them critically, then he said: "From the above, we can see that the hadith of the two weighty matters is one of the hadiths which are sound in both chain of narration and text. However, of the eight reports which enjoin adhering to the family of the Prophet (g) alongside the noble Quran, not one of them is free of some weakness in the chain of The texts of these reports say that the Quran and Ah1 al-Bayt will never separate until they come to the Messenger of Allah (B) at the reservoir, and because of this, it is essential to adhere to both. In fact, the reality is contrary to these reports. Some of the supporters (Shia) of Ah1 alBayt went astray and led others astray.

Most of the groups that plotted against Islam and its people found in Shiism and love for Ah1 al-Bayt a screen to conceal and protect them, and you may fmd that some of those who claim to be descendants of Ah1 al-Bayt encourage them for worldly interests, such as taking one-fifth from the wealth acquired by their followers. Avoiding going astray can only he achieved by adhering to the Quran and Sunnah. If Ahl al-Bayt adhere to both, then they have Mi's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia both the virtue of descent [from the Prophet (@)I and the virtue of adherence (to the Quran and Sunnah), and deserve to be leaders of guidance whose example we follow, as Allah (&) says: (And make us leaders of the Muttaqoon [the (Quran 25: 74). This means leaders who follow the example of those who came before us, and whose example will be followed by those who come after us. This is not limited to Ah1 al-Bayt; rather it applies to all who adhere to the Quran and Sunnah.

In the case of reports with chains of narration that were classed as weak, the text itself does not make sense either, and this is a further weakness. Despite all that, even if these reports were sound, that would not offer any proof at all for the imamate of the twelve or their entitlement to the caliphate.534 The great scholar al-Manniwi said in Fiqh Riwriycit alffadeeth: ''If you follow the commands of His Book and heed its prohibitions, and follow the guidance and example of my family, you will he guided and will not go astray."535 Ibn Taymiyah said, after stating that this hadith is weak and cannot he sound: "A number of scholars responded with a comment indicating that Ah1 al-Bayt would never agree on misguidance. They said: 'We say that as al-Qi@ Abu Ya'la and others said it."' He also said: "The consensus of the Ummah is binding proof on the basis of the Quran and Sunnah and scholarly consensus. Ah1 al-Bayt are part of the Ummah, so if there is consensus among the Ummah, it implies that there is consensus among Ahl a l - ~ a ~ t . " ~ ~ ~ The hadith of the two weighty matters is the report in which the Prophet (a) said: "I am leaving behind among you that which, if you adhere to it, you will never go astray after I am gone: the Book of Allah and my family."537 There is some discussion as to whether it is sound and can be proven to be from the Prophet (g).

What is proven in sahih Muslim is that the command was to adhere to the Book of Allah, and the instruction was to show respect and kindness to Ah1 al- 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib Bayt, as we have seen in the hadith of Zayd ibn Arqam in Muslim. The Prophet (B) enjoined adherence to the Book of Allah, then he said: "And the people of my household. I remind you of Allah with regard to the people of my household, I remind you of Allah with regard to the people of my household, I remind you of Allah with regard to the people of my household." What he enjoined was adherence to the Quran. With regard to Ah1 al-Bayt, the Prophet (g) enjoined taking care of them and giving them their rights, which had been granted to them by Allah (&).538 The refutation of the distorted Shiite understanding of the hadith of the two weighty matters is as follows: (a) A man's family are the members of his household, and the family of the Prophet @) are those to whom zak% was forbidden. They are Banu Hiishim, who are the family of the Prophet (@J.

The RZ&s have no chains of narration going back to the Messenger (g), and they admit that they have no chains of narration for the narrations in their books. Rather they are books that they found and said: "They narrated it, so it must be true."539 As for their chains of narration, as al-Hurr al-'Amili and other RZdi Shiite scholars said: "The Shia have no chains of narration at all, and they do not rely on chains of narration."540 So how can they prove what they narrated in their books from the family of the Prophet (g)? Rather it is Ah1 as-Sunnah (the Sunnis) who were the followers of the family of the Prophet (g) and respected their rights, and did not add or subtract anything, since the Prophet (g) said concerning himself: "Do not praise me as the Christians praised 'Eesa the son of Maryam; rather say: The slave of Allah and His ~essenger."~~' (b) The leader of the family of the Prophet (gJ was 'Ali ibn Abi T a b (&), and after him in knowledge comes Abdullah ihn 'Ahbiis, who was the scholar of the Ummah and who believed in 'Ali's attitude towards the Kharijites and Shia the caliphate of Abu Bakr and 'Umar before 'Ali (&). In fact, it is proven in mutawgtir reports that 'Ali (&) said: "The best of the people after the Messenger of AUah (&) are Abu Bakr and mar."^^^ So 'Ali (&) affirmed the superiority of the two shaykhs (Abu Bakr and 'Umar), even though he was the head of the family of the Prophet (@)?43 (c) This hadith is like the hadith in which the Prophet (g) said: "I am leaving behind among you that which, if you adhere to it, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my ~ u n n a h . " ~ ~ ~ The Prophet also said: "You must adhere to my Sunnah and the way of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me; hold on firmly to it,"545 He enjoined clinging firmly to it and said: "Follow the example of those who come after me: Abu Bakr and mar."^^^ He also said: "Follow the guidance of 'Amm&, and adhere to the advice of Ibn ~ a s ' o o d .

" ~ ~ ~ This does not refer to imamale at all; rather it indicates that these people were following the guidance of the Messenger (g). Similarly, the family of the Messenger (g) can never agree upon misguidance.548 (d) The RSfidi Shia undennine the status of a l - ' ~ b b b ? ~ ~ his son AbduUah and the sons of al-Hasan, by saying that they were jealous of the sons of al-Husayn. They also undennine the status of the sons of al-Husayn himself, apart from those who they claim were Imams, such as Zayd ibn ' ~ l i . ~ ~ ' They also undermine the status of Ibraeem, the brother of al-Hasan al- '~skari?~' and others. As such, they are not supporters of the Prophet (@J and his family; the supporters of the Prophet and his family are those who praised them and respected their rights, and did not undermine their (e) How the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g) understood the text. The Companions (4) understood that what was meant was love, support and obedience.

Hence they 'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 41 5 expressed their obedience and respect to the leader of Ah1 alBayt, 'Ali ibn Abi r i b , by calling him 'our mawla'. It was narrated that Riyq alH%ith said "Some people came to 'Ali in ar-Rawah and said: 'Peace be upon you, 0 our mawla.' He said: 'How can I be your mawla when you are Arabs?' They said: 'We heard the Messenger of Allah (&) say on the day of Ghadeer Khumm: "If I am a person's mawla, 'Ali is also his mawla.""' Riy* said: "When they left, I followed and asked: 'Who are these people?' They said: 'Some of the An&, among whom was Abn Ayyoob a l - ~ n s i k i . " ' ~ ~ ~ The most important thing we learn from this hadith is that 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib (&) , ., himself did not understand the word 'mawla' as referring to imamate and rulership. It may be noted that Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) found it strange that they called him 'our mawla'. If Amir at-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&), who was an Arab and had a good command of the language, thought it was synonymous with 'Amir' (ruler) or 'Imam' (caliph), why would he find it strange that the people were calling him by this title?554 (0 The hooks of the Twelver Sbia narrated some reports of Ah1 alBayt in which they denied that what is meant in the hadith of Ghadeer Khumm is the imamate or rulership of 'Ali (&) after the Messenger of Allah (g).

It was said to Imam al-Husayn ibn 'Ali, who was the leader of the descendants of 'Ali (&) at his time, the appointed heir of his father and the one who was in charge of his grandfather's charity: "Didn't the Messenger of Allah say 'If I am a person's mawla, 'Ali is also his mawla"'? He said: "Yes indeed, hut the Messenger of Allah (g) did not mean thereby imamate and rnlership. If he had meant that, he would have said it clearly to them." His son, Imam Abdullah, said: "We do not have any right concerning this issue (rnlership) that no one else has, and there is no one among Ah1 al-Bayt who 'Ali's anitude towards the Kharijites and Shia is appointed by Allah as an Imam (rnler) whom everyone should obey." He denied that the imamate or caliphate of 'Ali (&) was on the instrnction of Allah (+~g)."' If these are the wordd of Ahl al-Bayt, and they are the descendants and supporters of 'Ali (&), what do you think others should say?556