Tajdeed

Although there are other words the Prophet could have used when appointing ‘Alī, such as ‘Alī is the successor after me, the words of the Prophet that are famously transmitted in Ghadīr Khumm are sufficient in clarity and inference because the famous words of ‘man kuntu Malwa fa ‘Alī’yun Mawla’ cannot be interpreted in any other coherent way.

The words of Thaqalayn, Awla and Mawla contextualise the conclusion. Thus, the only implication is that ‘Alī has authority over the believers. This is because the Prophet used the word awla before he equated himself and ‘Alī in wilayah (guardianship and authority) through the word mawla.

It is evident that awla indicates having precedence and authority and since ‘Alī has spiritual authority, he is then deserving of political authority too.

If those who came after the Prophet are able to clearly understand ‘Alī’s position, then how did prominent companions not understand this clear Prophetic command? Moreover, it is crucial to bear in mind that the transmitted and preserved word choices of the Prophet at Ghadīr are more powerful than the statement “Alī is the successor after me”.

The reason why ‘Mawla’ is more powerful than the word ‘Khalifa’ is because successor can be confined to something political or personal.

However, the words Awla, Mawla and Wilayah delivers the thought that the Prophet gave his Divine religious authority to ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib and this is why the Zaydis assert that it is a Divine obligation to obey Imam ‘Alī in religious matters.

The famous, preserved words at Ghadīr also indicate that the chosen guide and Imam is the true Imam of guidance regardless of him reaching political authority or not. The words at Ghadīr demonstrate that ‘Alī’s spiritual and religious authority transcends political power.

In addition to this, it is useful to bring the argument of Ḥasan Farhan al-Maliki. To support the Imamate of Imam ‘Alī, al-Maliki argues that even if the Prophet said that ‘Alī is the successor after me, those who wanted to reject would have made excuses to denounce it.

They would have claimed that what the Prophet really meant was that ‘Alī is the successor of my family after me, and not the Ummah (Al-Maliki, 2022).

This is a compelling argument because the Sermon of Ghadīr Khumm is not the only evidence to substantiate the explicit appointment of ‘Alī, yet the other proofs are also rejected or interpreted in other ways.

There are countless proofs that show the Prophet using different phrases when referring to ‘Alī’s Imamate and immaculate position.

The main examples are Hadith al-Manzila and Hadith al-Thaqalayn but there are others too. Although we are not Hadith-Centric, another report shows that when Khalid b. Walid continued to complain about ‘Alī, the Prophet then replied to Khalid and Burayda angrily by exclaiming, “what do you want from ‘Alī? ‘Alī is from me and I am from him, and he is the walī of every believer after me” (bin Muḥammad bin Ḥanbal., 2006).

The chain of this hadith is Sahih (sound and authentic), and Yazīd al-Rashq is Ibn Abī Yazīd and he is thiqa (reliable) amongst the scholars of rijāl. Al-Tirmdhi said that the classification of the report is ‘Ḥasan Gharīb’, which means the chain of transmission is good, but it is a report with only one chain of transmission, hence why the report is classified as a Gharīb narration (bin Muḥammad bin Ḥanbal., 2006).

Nevertheless, the most famous, the most important and the most reliably transmitted phrase of the Prophet is “whoever’s master I am, ‘Alī is his master” and this is why there is an emphasis on this declaration.