The Imam of Mankind

Heartiest felicitations to you all on the Most Glorious Day and the Greatest Eid of Islam. Today is the auspicious 18th of Zi’l-Hijjah, the anniversary of an immortal event in the history of mankind.

It is the day on which in the year 10 AH God Almighty perfected faith, completed favours and decreed Islam as the religion of all mankind, when His Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), on divine commandment halted the huge Hajj caravan of over a hundred thousand returning pilgrims in the wilderness of Khom beside the Ghadeer or Pond, to proclaim as vicegerent his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).

The Islamic Republic of Iran is basking in the blessings of this day, which every year is a public holiday and on which celebrations are held throughout the country as thanksgiving to the Lord Most High for His Favours.

Now we have a special feature on this occasion as follows:

In ayah 124 of Surah al-Baqarah of the holy Qur’an we read:

“And when his Lord tested Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He said, ‘I am making you the Imam of mankind.’ Said he, ‘And from among my descendants?’ He said, ‘My pledge does not extend to the unjust.’”

The Words of God which we recited to you are crystal clear. Abraham, already one of the Five Greatest Prophets, who was regarded as “Khalil” or Intimate Friend by Allah, is now being made the Imam or Leader of mankind. And when he asks God Almighty whether this lofty status would be granted to his descendants, prompt comes the reply that the unjust will never be granted this divinely-decreed position.

It means, Imamate is not the prerogative of anyone who even for a moment has been unjust; and this term includes not just the committing of sins, oppressing others and own self, idolatry, indulging in polytheism, atheism, impolite behaviour, and etc. but deviation for a fraction of a second from firm belief in monotheism,. 

This means, the overwhelming majority of the descendants of Abraham, whether the Ishmaelite Arabs who are the offspring of his firstborn son, Ishmael, or the Israelite Jews who are the progeny of his other son Isaac, are excluded from the prime position of Imamate, even if some of them happened to be chiefs of tribes, rulers of realms, kings, emperors, caliphs, presidents, and prime ministers – however democratically elected, selected, nominated and designated by people’s vote.

We also do not find any reference in any heavenly scripture of the appointment as Imams of other great, pious, just and Infallible Prophets, such as Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, etc.

The only exception is the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), whom the Lord Most High has called Habib or the Most Beloved and made him “Mercy to the entire creation”, thereby decreeing him the “Imam al-awwalin wa’l-akhirin”, which means Leader of all humanity from the beginning till the end.

We have no precise information on which day, date, month or the year Allah the Unseen but Omnipresent had granted Imamate or Leadership of mankind to His obedient servant Prophet Abraham.

Was it in Abraham’s youthful days in his homeland Mesopotamia, where he underwent the ordeal of the huge blaze lit by the tyrant Nimrod? Was it in Palestine, where in old age after decades of childlessness, he became father of Ishmael through Hajar, and then of Isaac through the aged Sarah? Was it in Mecca, where Allah having tested his sincere offer of sacrificing Ishmael, deferred the sacrifice till some future date in the full limelight of history, commanded him to rebuild the holy Ka’ba and call mankind for Hajj?  

However, one date is sure in the life of Abraham. According to Islamic texts, it was on the 18^th of Zi’l-Hijjah that the huge fire into which Nimrod flung him, miraculously turned into a pleasant garden for the person destined to rebuild the Ka’ba, Revive the Hajj, and consequently become the First Divinely-Designated Imam of mankind.

It is interesting to note that on the 18^th of Zi’l-Hijjah some great miracles have occurred in antiquity. It was on this day that Prophet Moses on divine commandment declared Prophet Joshua his successor, and in the following centuries Prophet Solomon appointed Asef Ibn Barkhiya as deputy, and still centuries later Prophet Jesus named Simeon as vicegerent.

Praised be Allah Almighty, Who never leaves humanity stumbling in the dark. The Source of all creation, Who had entrusted Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) with the universal mission of Islam, with the clear message that no scripture is to be sent down after the Most Complete Book, the Holy Qur’an, ensured that the seekers of truth will not be left without a guide in the period after the passing away of the Seal of Messengers and the end of life on Planet Earth.

Since Islam is the religion decreed by God for all humanity, no Tom, Dick or Harry of Arabia, could assume the leadership of mankind, after having spent the greater part of life in idolatry, adultery, ignorance, injustice and all sorts of immoralities.

Thus, on the 18^th of Zi’l-Hijjah, shortly after the Prophet, while returning from his Farewell Hajj pilgrimage, had parted ways with the caravans of pilgrims coming from Yemen and other parts, Archangel Gabriel descended with the express commandment of God:

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

On receipt of this order from the celestial heavens, the Prophet immediately halted beside the Ghadeer (pond or watering place) in the wilderness of Khom, and summoned all those who had parted ways at Juhfa. Then before a huge assembly of 120,000 Hajj pilgrims, he delivered a historic sermon, as memorable as he had delivered nine days earlier on 9^th Zi’l-Hijjah from Jabal ar-Rahma or Mount Mercy in the Plain of Arafaat, where he had informed Muslims of his imminent departure from the mortal world, saying:

“I am leaving behind among you the Thaqalayn (Two Precious or Weighty Things); the Book of God (Qur’an) and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. Hold fast to them if you do not want to go astray, for the two never part with each other, even till they return to me at the Fountain (of Kowthar on Resurrection Day).”

Here at Ghadeer, the Prophet after delivering a sermon asked the Muslims whether he was superior to them than their own selves. “Yes O Prophet of God”, was the unanimous reply from the huge congregation. Then he lifted his Immaculate Cousin and Son-in-Law, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) and proclaimed those immortal words ensuring continuation of divinely-decreed leadership after him:

“Man kunto Mowla fa hadha Aliyun Mowla” (For whomsoever I am Master, this Ali is his Master).

Thus, as should now be clear Imamate or Leadership of mankind, which was entrusted Abraham in antiquity, became the specific position, in the full limelight of recorded history, of the only person to be born in Abraham’s edifice of monotheism, the holy Ka’ba.

Following the formal proclamation as vicegerent of the person regarding whom the Prophet had said: “If you want to see knowledge of Adam, the piety of Noah, the devotion of Abraham, the awe of Moses and the service and abstinence of Jesus, look at the bright face of Ali,” Archangel Gabriel descended with a fresh message from the Lord Most High, as is evident by ayah 3 of Surah al-Ma’edah:

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

The memorable event of Ghadeer-Khom is recorded in all authoritative Islamic texts of hadith and history, of both the Sunni and Shi’a Schools of Islam, and is thus an irrefutable proof of the “Wilayah” or Divinely-Decreed Authority of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).

We felicitate all the true followers of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) on this blessed occasion, and pray to God to hasten the reappearance of the 12^th Infallible Imam, the Promised Mahdi (AS), who will establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice, as the direct descendant of Imam Ali (AS) – and not the descendant of those who had hijacked the caliphate and masqueraded as caliphs, to confound the beliefs of Muslims.

We salute Imam Ali (AS) on this blessed occasion with a passage from the famous Ziyarah of this day: