Ghadeer, the greatest Eid of Islam

Heartiest congratulations to you all. We are celebrating a very special day in the history of mankind.

It is the day that determined the continuation of divine guidance for human societies till the end of the world. It is 18^th of Zil-Hijjah, the day on which in the year 10 AH, the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, while returning to Medina from his Farewell Hajj Pilgrimage, suddenly halted in his tracks beside the Ghadeer or the Pond in the wilderness of Khom near Juhfa, as the Archangel Gabriel descended with and expressed commandment from the Lord Most High to be carried out then and there. As recorded in books of hadith and history by scholars of all denominations of Islam, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) instructed that all those of the huge 120,000 strong caravan of pilgrims who had gone ahead to come back to this place and to call on all those who were trailing to hurry up to hear the important announcement. He then mounted a makeshift pulpit of camel saddles under the blazing midday sun to deliver a memorable sermon in which he reminded the neo Muslims – many of them very recent converts from ages of idolatry, ignorance and at times intransigent opposition to the message of Islam – of how diligently he had carried out over the past 23 years the mission entrusted to him by the One and Only God in the most adverse circumstances in the face of the plots and armed battles imposed upon him by the Arabs and the Israelites. The huge gathering nodded in the affirmative. They had come from all corners of Arabia on learning that the “Mercy unto the creation”, who had knit fratricidal tribes into the monolithic Muslim Ummah, was performing his last pilgrimage.

The “Seal of Prophets”, who nine days earlier on the Plain of Arafaat, in his sermon from atop Jabal ar-Rahma (Mount of Mercy) had told the masses of pilgrims of his imminent departure from the world and had bequeathed to them the formula of faith and unity in the form of the Hadith Thaqalayn, which emphasizes firm adherence to the holy Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt as protection from going astray, now enlightened them on the urgent commandment he has just received from the celestial heavens and what it pertains to. As the huge gathering listened with rapt attention, and testified that he the Prophet was superior to the rest of mankind than their own souls, said: 

“I testify, even against my own soul, that I am His servant, and I bear witness that he is my Lord. I convey what He reveals to me, being cautious lest I should not do it, so a catastrophe from Him would befall me, one which none can keep away, no matter how great his design may be and how sincere his friendship. There is no god but He, for He has informed me that if I do not convey what He has just revealed to me in honor of (my cousin, assistant, and son-in-law) Ali in truth, I will not have conveyed His Message at all, and He, the Praised and the Exalted One, has guaranteed for me to protect me from the (evil) people, and He is Allah, the One Who suffices, the Sublime. He has just revealed to me the following (ayah no. 67 of Surah Mae’dah):

“In The Name of Allah, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful,

“O Messenger! Convey that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and if you do not, you will not have conveyed His message, and Allah shall protect you from the (evil of) people. Indeed Allah does not guide the faithless lot.”

In continuation of his memorable sermon, the Prophet of Islam said:

“O people! I have not committed any shortcoming in conveying what Allah Almighty revealed to me, and I am now going to explain to you the reason behind the revelation of this ayah: Three times did Gabriel command me on behalf of the Peace, my Lord, Who is the Source of all peace, to thus make a stand in order to inform everyone, black and white, that: ' Ali ibn Abi Talib is my Brother, Testamentary Legatee, and Caliph over my Ummah and the Imam after me, the one whose status to me is like that of Aaron to Moses except there will be no prophet after me, and he is your master next only to Allah and to His Messenger, and Allah has already revealed to me the same in one of the fixed ayahs of His Book (ayah 55 of Surah Mae’dah) saying, "Your Master is Allah and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay zakat even as they bow down". Ali ibn Abi Talib is the one who keeps up prayers, who pays zakat even as he bows down, seeking to please Allah, the Sublime, the Almighty, on each and every occasion.

“O people! Comprehend (the implications of) what I have just said, and again do comprehend it, and be (further) informed that Allah has installed him (that is, Ali) as your Master and Imam, obligating the Muhajirun and the Ansar and those who follow them in goodness to obey him, and so must everyone who lives in the desert or in the city, who is a non-Arab or an Arab, who is a free man or a slave, who is young or old, white or black, and so should everyone who believes in His Unity. His decree shall be carried out. His (that is Ali's) word is binding; his command is obligating; cursed is whoever opposes him, blessed with mercy is whoever follows him and believes in him, for Allah has already forgiven him and forgiven whoever listens to him and obeys him.”

To be brief, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) then raised the hand of Imam Ali (AS) and expressed those immortal words: “Man kunto Mowla fa hadha Aliyun Mowla”, which means “For whomsoever I am Master this Ali is his Master”.

He then informed the huge gathering of the revelation of another ayah confirming God’s perfection of faith, completion of divine favours, and decreeing of Islam as the religion of all mankind. It is ayah 3 of Surah Mae’dah that reads:

 “Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion.”

In view of these irrefutable facts, without the least doubt, the Day of Ghadeer, according to the Prophet’s 6^th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) is the Greatest Eid in Islam, more significant than Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, because this day decided the continuation of divine guidance for humanity, despite the plots of the seditious, such as the scandalous gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa’da.

As all denominations of Islam agree, the Prophet’s Last Successor, Imam Mahdi (AS), who will reappear in the end times to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice, is not the offspring of any Tom, Dick, and Harry of Arabia, but the direct descendant of Imam Ali (AS) and the Heir of Ghadeer.

We end this brief radio programme with a passage from the special supplication for this day which the faithful recite:

 “We stand up for and comply with Allah's command, and follow the example of the Messenger in the matter of Love and friendship to our "Mowla" and "Mowla" of the believers, the Commander of the faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the servant of Allah, the Brother of His Messenger, the Renowned Truthful, the Decisive Argumentation over mankind, through whom, the Almighty helped and supported His Prophet and His manifest true religion, the Sign (pattern) of the divine system of life approved by Allah, the All-Aware Custodian of His wisdom, the Repository of transcendental things, the Depository of Allah's secrets, the Confidante whom Allah trusted wholly with the affairs of all that which has been created by Him, the Witness who bore witness to Him in the midst of His creation.”

 AS/ME