The wisdom of the Prophet must, of necessity, have led him to offer guidance on the principle of leadership of the Islamic umma, so we should consider the solution proposed by him. Here, we shall critically address the two main perspectives on this question (leadership):
[either] (a) the Holy Prophet, under divine command, chooses a great individual, one eminently qualified for the task of leadership of the umma, publicly appointing him as his successor;
[or] (b) the Holy Prophet leaves to his people the responsibility for choosing a leader after his death.
A close examination of the life of the Prophet -from the day he was commanded to proclaim the new faith first to his near of kin, then to all mankind- reveals that he repeatedly made clear the distinctive qualities of his successor, thereby indicating that the means by which the leadership of the community was to be established was that of explicit designation (tansis) and not election by the people.
It should be clear which of these two perspectives is corroborated by the Qur'an, the Sunna and the events in the life of the Prophet. A close examination of the life of the Prophet -from the day he was commanded to proclaim the new faith first to his near of kin, then to all mankind-reveals that he repeatedly made clear the distinctive qualities of his successor, thereby indicating that the means by which the leadership of the community was to be established was that of explicit designation (tansis) and not election by the people. This point can be proven by the evidence we offer below:
1. Hadith: Yawm al-Dar ('The Day of the Home'). Three years after the beginning of the Prophet's mission, he was commanded by God to proclaim openly his call, with the revelation of this verse:
And warn, [O Muhammad], your closest kindred.(Sura al-Shu'ara', 26:214)
The Prophet invited the chiefs of the Banu Hashim and said to them:
'I have brought for you the best of this world and the next. God has commanded me to invite you to this [religion of Islam]. Which of you will help me establish this religion, to be my brother and my successor?'
He repeated this question three times, and each time it was 'Ali, alone, who stepped forward, declaring his readiness to help the Prophet. Then the Prophet said:
'Truly, this (Ali) is my brother, my heir and my successor among you.' [1]
2. Hadith: al-Manzila ('The [Spiritual] Rank'). The Prophet, on various occasions indicated that the station and rank of 'Ali in relation to him was that of Aaron in relation to Moses, denying 'Ali only one degree comprised in the station of Aaron, that of prophethood. The Prophet said in a hadith that is almost mutawatir:
'O 'Ali your rank [Manzila] in relation to me is that of Aaron in relation to Moses except that there will be no prophet after me.'[2]
Now, according to the Qur'an, Aaron had the rank of a Prophet,[3] a caliph[4] and a minister (wazir)[5] at the time of Moses, and this hadith proves that 'Ali clearly had the rank of a caliph and a minister, like Aaron, but not that of a Prophet. Naturally, if the meaning were other than that of affirming, in regard to 'Ali, all the ranks apart from prophethood, there would have been no need to make an exception of prophethood alone.
Now, according to the Qur'an, Aaron had the rank of a Prophet,[3] a caliph[4] and a minister (wazir)[5] at the time of Moses, and this hadith proves that 'Ali clearly had the rank of a caliph and a minister, like Aaron, but not that of a Prophet. Naturally, if the meaning were other than that of affirming, in regard to 'Ali, all the ranks apart from prophethood, there would have been no need to make an exception of prophethood alone.
3. Hadith: al-Safina ('The Ark'): The Prophet likened his ahl al¬bayt to Noah's ark, saying:
'Is not the likeness of my ahl al-bayt among you like the ark of Noah among his folk? Whoever takes refuge therein is saved and whoever opposes it is drowned. '[6]
We know that Noah's ark was the sole place of refuge for people seeking to save themselves from the Deluge. Thus, according to this hadith, the ahl al-bayt of the Prophet is the sole refuge for those seeking protection against the tenebrous phenomena-sources of delusion and confusion-that confront humanity.
4. Hadith: Aman al-umma ('Security of the community'): The Prophet made t known that he saw his ahl al-bayt as a source of unity and a means of distancing his umma from divisiveness, saying:
'Just as the stars are a means of securing (aman) the people of the earth against drowning, [7] my ahl al-bayt is a means of securing (aman) my umma from division. If a tribe among the Arabs opposes them, they fall into dispute and become part
of Satan's minions. '[8]
5. Hadith: al-Thaqalayn (The Two Precious Things'): This hadith is one of those classified in Islam as mutawatir, and is found in many books written by scholars of both branches of Islam. In this hadith, the Prophet is preaching to the whole community:
'Verily, I am leaving with you two precious things, the Book of God and my progeny, my ahl al-bayt, for as long as you cling to these two, you will never go astray; and truly they will not be parted from each other until they join me at the Hawd, [a pool of Paradise, identified with al-Kawthar] .'[9]
This [last] hadith places side by side the authoritative knowledge of the ahl al-bayt and the Qur'an, thereby requiring Muslims to hold fast in matters of faith both to the Qur'an and the Ahl al¬bayt. But it is a great pity that some people knock on all doors except the door of the ahl al-bayt! The hadith al-Thaqalayn, upon whose authenticity both Shi'a and Sunni alike are in agreement, can help to bring about a truly unified umma among the world's Muslims; for if the two groups differed over the question of political leadership and authority after the Prophet's death, they are still able, despite this difference over historical interpretation, to be as one as regards the sacred significance of the ahl al-bayt. The Prophet provided no grounds for a schism to occur between the two groups; on the contrary, there ought to have been -according to this universally acknowledged narration- unison of will and singleness of purpose.
In general, during the period of the caliphate, the caliphs themselves referred to 'Ali as their source of authoritative knowledge, and disputes over religious matters were resolved by recourse to him. In truth, from the time the ahl al-bayt of the Holy Prophet was set aside as a source of religious authority, a spirit of sectarianism set in, and groups with different names crystallized, one after the other.
During the period of the caliphate, the caliphs themselves referred to 'Ali as their source of authoritative knowledge, and disputes over religious matters were resolved by recourse to him. In truth, from the time the ahl al-bayt of the Holy Prophet was set aside as a source of religious authority, a spirit of sectarianism set in, and groups with different names crystallized, one after the other.
6.Hadith al-Ghadir Khum. one of the most important and authentic Hadiths that clearly refers to the successorship of Imam Ali after the prophet (SA) is the hadith of Ghadir Khum which is beyond the scope of this article to mention.
7. Apart from the authentic hadiths -which go to prove that the issue of succession to the Prophet was a matter to be determined by God, rather than being left to the will of the community- various historical accounts also indicate that the Prophet, even when he was still in Mecca, not having yet established the Medinan state, regarded the issue of succession as one which pertained to God's decree. For instance, the chief of the tribe of Banu 'Amir came to the Prophet at the season of Hajj and asked him: 'If we pay allegiance to you, and you conquer your enemies, will we benefit from any share in the leadership [ of your community]?' In reply, the Prophet said:
'That is for God to decide; He will entrust leadership to whomever He will. '[10]
It is evident that if the issue of leadership were to be determined by the choice of the people, the Prophet would have had to say: 'This question pertains to the umma,' or that 'It is up to the 'folk who loose and bind"[11] to decide'; but the words of the Prophet in this connection are akin to those of God as regards the Message of Islam itself:
... God knoweth best with whom to place His Message. (Sura al-An'am,6: 124)
1. Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, p. 159; al-Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l¬muluk (Beirut, 1408/1986-7), vol. 2, p. 406; al-Tabari, Jami' al-bayan (Beirut, 1980), vol. 19, pp. 74-5 (commentary on Sura al-Shu'ara', :214).
2. al-Bukhari, ,Sahih,, vol. 6, p. 3 (edition of 1314/1895-6), in the section on the war of Tabuk; Muslim, ,Sahih, vol. 7, p. 120, ( chapter on the virtues of 'Ali); Ibo Maja, Sunan (Beirut, 1975) vol. 1, p. 55; (chap¬ter on the virtues of the companions); Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, pp. 173, 175, 177, 179,. 182, 230; Ibn Hisham, Sira, vol. 4, p. 163.
3. 'And We bestowed upon him of Our Mercy his brother Aaron, a Prophet. ' (Sura Maryam, :53).
4. 'And when Moses said, to his brother Aaron: Take my place (ukhlufni) among the people.' (Sura al-A'raf, :142).
5. 'Appoint for me aminister(wazir)from my folk . '(Sura Ta Ha, 29).
6. Recorded in Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, air Mustadrak. (Beirut, n.d.), vol. 3, p. 351; Ahmad, b. Hijr, al-,Sawa'iq al-mulhriqa (Cairo, 1965) p. 91; Muhammad al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-iitidal (Beirut, 1963); vol. 1, p. 224; Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti,Ta'rikh al-khulafa' (Cairo, 1964), p. 573, and al-Khasa'is al-kubra (Hyderabad, 1319/1900), vol. 2, p. 266; Sulayman b. Ibrahim al-Qanduzi, Yanabi' al-muwadda (Tehran, 1416/1995) p. 28; Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Shawkani, Fath, al¬qadir, (Beirut, n.d.), p. 113; and other books.
7.This is to be understood according to the verse: 'By the stars they are guided' (Sura al-Nahl,: 16 )-the stars provide the light wherewith those at sea can navigate and find their way to the safety of the shore.
8. Hakim, Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 149.
9. Muslim, ,sahih,, vol: 7, p. 122; al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, vol. 2,,p,. 307; 'Abd Allah al-Darimi, Sunan {Beirut, 1978), vol. 2, p. 432; lbn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, pp. 14, 17, 26, 59; vol.4, pp. 366; 371,; vol. 5, pp. 182, 189; Ahmad b. Shu'ayb al-Nisa'i, khasa'is al-imam 'Ali (Qom,. 1983) p. 20; Hakim,.Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp. 109, 148, 533;and other books. In this connection, one can also refer to treatises on this hadith in the publica¬tions of the Dar al-taqrib bayn al-madhahib al-islamiyya (Office ofReconciliation between the Legal Schools of lslam), under the imprint of Mukhaymir.
10.lbn Hisham, Sira, vol. 2, p. 422.
11. This term ahl al-hall wa 'l-' aqd denotes those deemed to have some degree of authority in the community.
Comments
Please share your comments with us.