IS QURAN AS WE KNOW IT TODAY THE SAME AS WHAT ALLAH TOLD MOHAMMAD VIA GIBREEL (PART – I)

Dear friend, I have attempted to answer 3 of the 4 questions you asked earlier. Here is the answer to the 4^th question. I thank you for asking questions and hence making me work overtime on regular basis. Be prepared to know a lot many things we have never been told so far. Your question is as follows:

Ques 4: “On what reasoned basis do you say that the Quran as we know it today is the same as what Allah told Mohammed via Gibreel? You know that there were many Qurans when Caliph Othman burnt them all and produced a "standardized" version, which angered even Ayesha (mother of the faithful) and Othman was finally assassinated for the sacrilege. Unfortunately, Othman's version was the only version that was around when he was assassinated, so we don't know what the original Quran was.”

Ans.: God repeatedly asks the reader to reflect upon the verses of the Quran. The reader is asked to use his wisdom and intellect. Real problem is that we have ceased to reflect, particularly pertaining to religious issues. This can even be understood from the fact that while Quran completed the teachings of Islam and said that the teachings will remain in vogue till the end of the world, the very fact that a need was felt to modify or amend certain of Quran’s own injunctions during the 23 years in which it was revealed is proof enough that Muslims, who are not in position to change the content of Quran, should always keep the doors for new understanding in the light of new developments. It was supposed to be a message to the Muslims that during all times there will crop up issues which cannot be solved by merely past precedents. Islam wanted to make Muslims as enlightened, reasonable and forward-looking as possible. The worst part is that those who are considered the guardians of faith – the mullahs and the ulemas - are the most orthodox of all and least willing to accept new light. Expecting from these guardians of orthodoxy to make the life of modern-day Muslims less orthodox would be to expect the impossible.

Unfortunately, Muslims have made reciting of Quran as a ritual than a necessity. In India, Quran in Arabic is learnt by heart and recited, without trying to know the real meaning of each verse. Even the ulemas normally don’t want the Muslims to reflect on the verses in Quran. Despite the fact that Quran lays great emphasis on using wisdom and intellect, for several centuries during the initial period of Muslim rule in India, mathematics was not taught in the madrasas lest the Muslims would learn to exercise their mind. A question comes to mind naturally, is there an attempt to hide the followers from reaching a certain understanding? The answer is obvious!

Yet the Muslims would claim that a great deal of research is being done on Quran. Any study becomes incapable of generating new results if the student has some vested interests; if his mind is already cluttered with certain pre-existing thought process; or, he is averse to accepting certain points because of his pre-set mindset. All attachments have to be discarded and all aversions forgotten if we are willing to understand the truth truly. Unfortunately most of the studies succumb due to one or more of the aforementioned reasons. This compiler has reasons to believe that Muslims, of all the existing sects, have not understood till date the profound truths present in the Quran. In spite of this, many of them have the audacity to criticize one or more verses of Quran, without knowing that their lack of understanding of the real teachings of Quran is to such an extent that their entire way of life, their manner of treating rest of humanity including those adhering to various faiths and in particular their views about previously revealed scriptures will drastically change, if they were to understand the Quran in its totality.

This said & done, this writer is of firm opinion that Quran is indeed a miracle that was given to Mohammad and it is relevant for all times but the real storehouse of knowledge that Quran contains is yet to be revealed to mankind. Quran is also very much the same as was revealed upon Prophet Mohammad through Gibreel (as the questioner has asked), though we know very little about the identity of Gibreel and the true manner in which revelations came. [This is another subject and if we dwell on it here, the subject would become too long to contain.]

One of the basic reason for my belief is the great number of secrets that the Quran carry, which mankind is unable to understand fully, and some of which, if told here in one go, would be too hard for even the Muslims to digest. Another reason is the prophecies that are present in abundance. Third is the great similarity in teaching that exists between Quran and other previously revealed scriptures; all of them seem to be complementing each other in all terms. I personally believe this even more because I am presenting some hidden truths that nobody till now has presented till now. If anybody knew these facts, it would surely be the Forces of Guidance (who deliberately let these facts lay hidden in divine scriptures long enough for man to become intellectually aware so as to fathom and comprehend them) and the Forces of Darkness (who did all they could to bury the true understanding lest the man would come to the path of the Forces of Guidance).

Let us ponder for a while, what should a Divine Scripture contain? Should it contain how to perform a ritual sacrifice through pouring oil through a ladle of this much size at this time of the year? Should it contain how to make a steam engine, a car or an airplane? Or should a Divine Scripture contain the purpose of our creation, why have we been put on earth, how best can we get out of this worldly living to attain a life of permanent happiness, what is the path that will lead us to that life of permanent bliss and who are the Divinely Appointed guides that will lead us to that goal. In short, if we take Gita’s terminology, the greatest science is the study of the self and therefore we can concur that the Divine Scripture should show how to lead the self to attain proximity with the Manifest Self or Paramatma and the Straight (and therefore the shortest) path to attain this objective.

As part of the Divine Creation Plan, I am talking repeatedly about the Forces of Darkness, referred to as Zulmat in Quran, which too is the least understood concept among Muslims. (Till now I have not proved the existence of Forces of Darkness from Vedas and Upanishads but can do so if desired.) If you have understood the Divine Creation Plan, I am sure you agree by now that that there are Divinely Appointed Guides or Gurus who form the Forces of Guidance or Noor. The Forces of Darkness (referred to as Tamas or dark by Gita) or Zulmat know fully well that it will get defeated the day man will identify the True and Straight Path and the Divine Guides that lead us on that Path towards Manifest Self.

Zulmat has tried to change the teachings related to that Path whenever and wherever on earth a Prophet tried to present those teachings. You have seen how the understanding regarding the identity and role of Devas was changed despite the fact that the Vedas were replete with their mention. While the people of Vedic times and even later were waiting for the Devas to arrive in person, such conditions got created in the land of the Vedas that people even forgot the identity of the Devas, so much so that they continued to chant the mantras of the Vedas, without even knowing what knowledge it contained. They continued to do so, even when the Devas came in human life, they were tortured and killed by man, so much so that 13 of the 14 have already departed.

Buddha foretold to his chief disciple Anand about a torn wall and a child to be born inside (that was obvious reference to Kaaba and Ali’s birth) but what we find is that 14 days after Buddha died, when the congregation took place it was Kasyapa, and not Anand, who presided the congregation. As the series ‘Notes on Buddha and his Dhamma’ that I have commenced here progresses, you will see that the Forces of Darkness succeeded in deviating Buddha’s teachings the very day he passed away and Kasyapa was not a true follower of Buddha. Instead, Buddha wanted Anand to be his successor, but people chose Kasyapa over Anand.

Likewise, Jesus kept on saying that the Spirit of Truth is about to descend. That he also continued to say that the ‘Son of Man’ is about to come was clear indication that those who are related to the Divine Self will come in the form of human beings. He asked his followers not to go with his teachings beyond the tribes of Israel and they would not have finished doing so that the ‘Son of Man’ would arrive. Mohammad arrived about 500 years later but by this time the Christians too had formed a religion out of Jesus’s teachings and had begun regarding him as the ‘Son of God’.

There remains no doubt that the Forces of Darkness have during all times done everything to make the people forget about the Forces of Light. There are time-tested methods that they have used many time over. We have seen wars, bloodshed, character assassination and even assassination as some of the tools. At times the conditions became so bad that people had to hide the teachings if they wanted to survive. A classic example is that of Brahmans during the time of Buddhist prominence in India. For several hundred years, the Brahmins had to hide their scriptures and this, in fact, resulted in loss of a great deal of sacred knowledge related to Vedic knowledge.

Question arises that when the Forces of Darkness wanted to hide the knowledge with such intensity, would they not have done so when the very people who were the Divine Guides – the Devas – took birth as humans.

I am sure you are in position to make a guess that all attempts were to hide what teachings of Islam. The vital truths that the Muslims tried to hide to the best of their ability was regarding the Divine Guides – the Ahlul-bayt – who were living in person between them. This had happened on so many occasions in history. Naturally, the Zulmat (Force of Darkness) was the instigator, which knew fully well that if people came to the path of the Divine Guides, it will be vanquished. When Vedas and all other scriptures tried to make us identify the Divine Guide, when Jesus referred to them as the ‘Spirit of Truth’ owing to their relationship with Manifest Self, and when Buddha prophesied about them, attempts were made during all times to hide their true role. Even attempt at character assassination that was done in history was repeated with such intensity during the time when Ahlul-bayt were living in this world that there was a time, for 90 years, that Ali’s character was under attack from the pulpits of about 70000 mosques, in each Friday prayer. (You have read that Ali was none but the Shiv deva or Marut or Vayu deva of the Vedas.) The Devi who took birth and was named Fatima was attacked and injured and she succumbed to her injuries a few days later. During the six months she lived after the death of her father Mohammad, she used to say that after her father, she has faced so much hardships that if they had fallen on the sun it would have turned black. Fact is that all forces were let loose by the Forces of Darkness. During the succeeding years, all those who were close to the Ahlul-bayt were identified and killed in the cruelest of manner. A governor of Abbasid rulers Hajjaj ibn Yusuf is said to have killed in one city alone several thousand people who were identified as those who kept some affinity for the Ahlul-bayt. Same bloodshed was carried out in other cities of the Islamic world, about which the outside world know only little, engrossed as it was with the Muslim armies attacking its cities and plundering.

If such was the treatment that was given to those who kept affinity with the Ahlul-bayt, you can well imagine the hardships that the Ahlul-bayt had to face all through their lives. They were constantly under house arrest, except for few brief periods. Even those visiting them were kept under surveillance. Most of their lives was spent in prison. It was the public pressure that forced the rulers to leave them time and again. For most of them, they chose poison as the weapon so that their own name as murderer was not known to the public. But for one great sacrifice (the sacrifice of Husain, his family members and his close friends), the true teachings of Mohammad would have been lost forever. Husain aroused the sleeping masses, with a sprinkle of his blood, so much so the Umayyad Empire collapsed in the aftermath of the repercussions and the face of true teachings of God, even if followed by few, became identifiable against all the pseudo-teachings that were put in place to corrupt the original teachings. A good number of Muslims, awakened as they were, led the onslaught against Ummayads. But the Forces of Darkness had other plans. The day the Ummayyads were removed from power, a leader of the masses who was fighting in the name of Ahlul-bayt and reinstating their true position fell the charms of Zulmat and occupied the throne vacated by the Ummayyads. He and descendents turned out to be worse than the Umayyads. For next several decades, the Abbasids rule the entire Muslim empire. They turned out to be even crueler towards the Ahlul-bayt. Six of the Ahlul-bayt were killed under the Abbasid rule.

With this as background, we are now in position to respond to the question of my dear friend.

It is reported that when Prophet Mohammad was on his deathbed, he asked those present to give him paper and pen so that he writes, lest the Muslims deviate. Instead of giving the pen and paper as desired, somebody considered very close to him said that he has become insane and is asking for pen and paper in delirium; the book of Allah is sufficient for us. This was said despite Quran saying that the Prophet never errs and whatever the Prophet said or did was the word of God. Quran even took guarantee of the purity of the Ahlul-bayt and Mohammad was the head of those Ahlul-bayt. But sometimes it so happens that the answer itself leads us to the question. Prophet Mohammad never told what he was willing to write and merely asked for pen and paper lest the Muslims deviate. And the answer that was given was that he was talking in delirium and the book of Allah was sufficient for us. Prophet had said all through his life that ‘I am leaving behind you two things: the book of Allah and my Itrat (Ahlul-bayt) and if you hold on to them you will never get deviated, until you meet me on Kausar (in heaven). The Prophet was saying again about writing something so that the Muslims won’t get deviated and the person who answered knew what the Prophet was about to write, hence said that the Book of Allah was sufficient for us. The events that followed too showed that the Muslims left the Ahlul-bayt, who continued to live a peaceful and secluded life, and they rallied behind the Book of Allah. But without the Divine Guides to lead them and assist them in true understanding, the Book of Allah remained merely a book whose content they could never truly understand.

There were a lot many people during the time of Mohammad who remembered the Quran by heart. There were people who had written the various ayats (verses) and the Quran was recited by Muslims on various occasions. Therefore, there was no chance that the Quran could have got lost. But for some strange reason, neither the first Caliph nor the second Caliph felt the need to order a compilation of Quran. The term of the first Caliph was 2 years and 4 months and the term of the second Caliph was 10 years and six months. During this period, attacks were made on the frontiers so much so that Persia got annexed as part of the Muslim world. Attacks were even made further towards Afghanistan and Sind on one side and Syria on the other side. Syria too fell to the Muslims during the rule of the second Caliph. A lot many companions of the Prophet died in the battles. During this period, Khalid bin Walid (proudly called ‘Saifallah’ or the ‘Sword of Allah’) attacked and killed the Muslims who had declined to pay tax to the new caliphs. Hundreds of people were killed, something that only a few books of history recount. Question arises that these people used to pay tax during the time of Mohammad. Why did they stopped paying tax to the next Caliph? Answer is obvious; they did not consider the newly appointed Caliph in accordance with the Divine Command.

It was later when Caliph Othman took over, and it was a little over 12 years after Prophet’s demise, that a commission was set up to compile the Quran. Writes MRA Baig, a famous writer: “Quran was compiled amidst controversy and confusion from snatches scrawled on date leaves, tablets of smooth white stone, scraps of goat and camel skin, and even on the shoulder-blades of sheep, in the possession of various people by a commission appointed by the third Caliph, Osman, twelve years after the death of Mohammad.”

Let us put down the points presented above once again! It is really commendable that the third Caliph was so concerned about the compilation of Quran! The question that needs to be answered is why the subject of compilation of Quran was not brought up during the 12 years after the death of Prophet? Did it not deserve that kind of importance? Or were there more pressing matters to take care of? What can be more pressing for a Muslim than the compilation of Quran? When Prophet Mohammad on his death-bed had asked for pen and paper so that he writes lest the Muslims get astray, Omar (who later became the second Caliph of Muslims) had said that Quran is sufficient for us and we do not want anything else. Despite this, no attempt to compile the Quran was made till the time of Othman – the third Caliph. Why? We know for sure that Iran and Syria were attacked and annexed by the Muslims within these 12 years. Several companions of the Prophet died fighting on the front and whatever verses they remembered would have gone in their hearts.

Since Quran is considered a miracle, all Muslims are unanimous in agreement that not a verse of it has been lost or deleted. But what is sure is the fact that the chronology in which the verses were revealed could not be maintained. Other than the smaller surahs (chapters) which are exactly as they were revealed, the verses in most of the bigger surahs were revealed separately and have been put together randomly, leading to confusion in understanding, as the subject shifts from one topic to another. Worse is that because of this random intermingling of verses, it is not possible to know when and under what situation a particular verse was revealed.

Take for example, the verses revealed on the Prophet while he was returning from his last Haj. At a large gathering assembled at the command of the Prophet at a place called Ghadeer-e-Khum, the Prophet declared that he was to leave them soon since the teachings of the religion Islam have been completed. A verse was revealed to confirm this:

This day have I

Perfected your religion

For you, completed

My favour upon you

And have chosen for you

Islam as your religion.

It is logical to conclude that no new verse was revealed after this verse declaring the completion of teachings. Ideally, this verse should have been placed at the end of Quran. But we find that this verse is the 5th verse of Chapter 4; in fact, it is not even at the end of a surah. It is preceded and succeeded by a lot many other verses, dealing with lot many issues unrelated to this. READ FURTHER TO KNOW THE ANSWER.

It is beyond comprehension why such minute care was not taken by the companions of the Prophet, while compiling the Quran. Was it deliberate or due to oversight, you are welcome to frame your own opinion!

Naturally, it is not possible to know the real meaning of any verse until we know the circumstances in which that particular verse was revealed. This has led to differing interpretations by the Muslim ulemas. Today, even the most radical, the most secular, the most peace-loving as well as the most fearsome, the most fundamentalist, the most evil-minded, and the most militant of Muslims – all derive their differing interpretations from the Quran.

Unfortunately, not much can be done about it now. If we are indeed serious about removing such seeming contradictions, all the Muslim ulemas should sit together, go through the pages of history from the life of Prophet Mohammad and try to find when and under what circumstances the various verses were revealed. This will greatly enhance our understanding of the Holy Quran. Only those with vested interests will doubt to such a solution!

THE REAL ISSUE

We have seen in my earlier posts that the Word of Allah (Quran) has taken a guarantee regarding the purification of Ahlul-bayt and Quran says that they are so pure that no blemish can come near them. Keep your hand on heart and tell why there is no attempt in the Muslim world to identify who these Ahlul-bayt are. We have seen that the Vedas and Upanishads too foretell that the Devas would take birth in future and talk of Shivdeva (Marut or Vayudeva or chief Aditya) as the most revered of all along with Indradev, who is the head of the devas. Indradeva took birth and was called Mohammad and Vayudeva took birth inside Kaaba itself and was called Ali. In the light of this, we hope you will agree that when Mohammad would leave his mortal body, he would ask for Ali to be nominated as his vicegerent and successor. Did this happened? No! You are invited to see for yourself how placing the verses separately helped the Muslims in hiding the knowledge related to Ali from Quran.

WHAT HAPPENED AT GHADEER-E-KHUMM?

Verse 5:67 of the Quran states:

(O’ Our Apostle Mohammad!) Deliver thou what hath been sent down unto thee from Thy Lord; and if thou dost it not, then (it will be as if) thou hast not delivered His message (at all); and surely will God protect thee from (the mischief) of men; Verily, God guideth not an infidel people.

When the huge caravan of several thousands of the pilgrims along with the Holy Prophet was on its march, returning from Makkah after the ‘Hajjatul-Wida’ (the last Haj performed by the Prophet) and the Caravan was at the place called ‘Ghadeer-e-Khumm’ in Juhfa, the angel Gabriel brought him this urgent command of God. Immediately on the receipt of the revelation, the Holy Prophet ordered halt to the marching Caravan and called back those who had gone ahead and waited for those who were coming behind. When all the caravans had gathered, the Holy Prophet ordered a pulpit of the ‘Kajawas’ (the seats used at the back of the camels) to be prepared. The acacia thorns were swept away. The day was very hot; people had to stretch their cloaks under their feet and over their heads. The Holy Prophet mounting the pulpit delivered a long sermon, which is as follows:

O you people! Know it well that Gabriel came down to me several times bringing me orders from the Lord, the Merciful, that I should halt at this place and inform every man, white and black, that Ali, the son of Abu Talib, is my brother and my wasiyy (successor) and my caliph, and the Imam after me. His position to me is like that of Harun to Musa, except that there is to be no prophet after me, and he is your master next to Allah and His Prophet.

O you people! Verily, Allah has appointed him to be your Imam and ruler. Obedience to him is obligatory alike on all the muhajirun (Emigrants) and ansar (Helpers) and on those who follow them in virtue, and on the dwellers in cities and the nomads, the Arabs and the non-Arabs, the freeman and the slave, the young and the old, the great and the small, the white and the black. His command is to be obeyed, his word is binding and his orders obligatory on everyone believing in the One God. Cursed is the man who disobeys him and blessed is he who follows him, and he who believes in him is a true believer.

O you people! This is the last time I shall stand in this assembly. Therefore, listen and obey and surrender to the command of your Lord. Verily, Allah, He is your Lord and God; then after Him, His Prophet, Mohammad, who is addressing you, is your Master, then after me Ali is your Master and your Imam, according to Allah’s command. Then after him the Imamate will continue through my descendants begotten by him till the day you meet Allah and His Prophet. O you people! Meditate on the Quran and understand its verses; reflect over its clear verses and do not go to the ambiguous ones. For, by Allah, none will properly explain to you its warnings and expound to you its meanings except this man (i.e., Ali) whose hand I am lifting up in front of myself. And I say unto you that whoever whose Master I am, Ali is his Master; and he is Ali, the son of Abu Talib, my brother and wasiyy (successor); and wilayah (obedience to him and love for him) has been made obligatory by Allah, the Powerful, the Exalted.

The other Imams have also been briefly referred to in this address; and they are mentioned in precise detail in many traditions. For example, on one occasion addressing Imam Husain the Prophet said:

You are an Imam, the son of an Imam, the Brother of an Imam, nine of your lineal descendants will be pious Imams; the ninth of them being their Qaim (he who will rise).

Even a casual observer would not fail to realize that it was a matter of vital importance to Islam and that is why the Prophet, under the Divine Command, made all the possible preparations to accomplish it. Exposed to the scorching rays of the midday sun, he mounted the pulpit to make the important pronouncement.

First of all, he informed the audience of his approaching end and then called them to witness and acknowledge his services towards the fulfillment of his mission as the Apostle of God, He asked if he had conveyed the Commands of God about the faith and its practice enumerating them one after another. The gathering in one voice replied to each question saying ‘Yes’ (O’ Apostle of God we do acknowledge that thou hast conveyed the commands of the Lord to us). At last he asked ‘Alasto Aulo bil Momineen min anfosihim? (33:6) i.e., Am I not superior or the Master to the believers more than their own selves? The huge crowd in one voice shouted ‘Certainly O’ Apostle of God!’ Again he asked ‘Alasto Aula Kulle Momineen min Anfusehim’ i.e., Am I not superior (or Master) to every faithful one than his self? Every one of the huge gathering shouted ‘Certainly O’ Apostle of God!’ Then the Holy Prophet called Ali son of Abu Taleb to mount the pulpit and raised him with the miraculous strength of his apostolic hands so much that the whole gathering could see the white under his armpit and declared:

Man kunto Maulaho fahaza Aliyun Maulahu

To whosoever I am the Maula (the Lord – the Master) this Ali is his Maula (the Lord – the Master).

Having said this he prayed:

Allahomma Waa’le man Waa’lahu’

Aade man aadahu

Wansorman nasarahu

Wakhzul man Khuzalahu

O’ God! Be Thou a friend to him who is a friend to him (Ali). (Be Thou) an enemy to him who is enemy to him (i.e. Ali). Help the one who helps him (i.e. Ali). Forsake the one who forsaketh him (i.e. Ali).

As the Holy Prophet completed this declaration, the Verse 5:3 of Quran was revealed:

This day have I perfected your religion for you and have completed my bounties on you and am pleased your religion to be Islam.

(Quran, 5:3)

This Divine Communication clearly shows that because of Ali’s appointment to the Imamate the religion was perfected; the bounty and favour of Allah completed, and Islam approved by Allah. On the arrival of this glad tiding from heaven the believers congratulated Ali in the Prophet’s presence and many poets composed poems on this event. These entire facts stand recorded in books of tradition.

[See how the two verses 5:67 and 5:3 that were revealed on the same day have been placed so far apart. What was the motive of putting these verses so far apart at the time of compilation of Quran is not certain.  What is evident however is the fact that the Muslims have certainly got confused due to this. We know for sure that the verse that was revealed later has come towards the beginning (5:3) and the verse which was revealed a few minutes earlier has come after a gap of 63 verses in Quran (5:67) and the intervening verses were not revealed at Ghadeer-e-Khumm at all. Why is that some commentators do not talk of the background of these verses; when and under what circumstances were they revealed?]

Descending from the pulpit, the Holy Prophet commanded every one of the huge gathering to pay his ‘bayat’ or homage or allegiance to Ali. The first one to pay the bayat was Omar ibn Khattab (who later became the 2nd Caliph) saying:

“Bakhkhin Bakhkhin laka yabna Abu Talib, Asbahta Maulaee wa Maula Kulle Momineen wa mominatin.”

Hurrah, Hurrah, O’ Son of Abu Taleb thou hast now become my Maula (Master) and the Maula (Master) of every faithful man and faithful woman – (Ghuzzali, Sirrul-Alameen).

\Hearing the words with which Omar felicitated Ali, the Holy Prophet commanded Omar not to address Ali as son of Abu Taleb but as ‘Ameerul-Momineen’, i.e., the Commander of the Faithful. Every one paid his bayat and the Holy Prophet commanded everyone in the audience to receive ‘bayat’ for Ali as the ‘Ameerul-Momineen’ in their own places on their return from the ‘Haj’.

Like his other titles, viz. ‘Asadullah’ – the Lion of God’, ‘Abu Turab’ – the Father of the Earth, ‘Akho Rasullah’ – The Brother of the Apostle of God, etc., the title of Ameerul-Momineen also was bestowed upon Ali exclusively for him by the Holy Prophet himself, for none else held any of the titles during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, particularly the title Ameerul-Momineen.

As to the revelation of this verse and the action taken by the Holy Prophet at Ghadeer-e-Khumm it will be unnecessarily swelling of the note on this verse to give the whole list of the great traditionists, historians, the scholars and the divines who have related this event with its true significance. The number of such authorities is innumerable. One of the most famous and the celebrated historians has collected them in a book called ‘Kitabul Vilayat’ about which the great critic Zahabi remarks that when he looked at the book, he was thunder-struck at the number of the authentic sources through which the author has brought the event to be recorded. Ibne-Uqda has written a book named ‘Hadeesul-Wilayat’, entirely devoted to this event, in which he cites the authorities of no less than 120 ‘Sahabas’ (companions of the Holy Prophet) giving the names of 101 Sahabas. Of the long list of the named Sahabas, only a few who are well-known ones, is given here: (1) Abu Bakr, (2) Omar, (3) Uthman, (4) Talha, (5) Zubair, (6) Abdur Rahman ibn Auf, (7) Salman Farsi, (8) Saad, (9) Khazimah, (10) Abu Ayyub, (11) Sahl ibn Hunaif, (12) Zaid ibn Sabit, (13) Hassein ibn Sabit, (14) Abul Tufail, etc. As a matter of fact, there is not a single event of the Islamic history nor even of any other Quranic verses which has earned so much of unanimous, universal, unquestionable and doubtless attention from such great authorities in such a huge manner.

The event was so much known to every one during the time of the Holy Prophet and so many of the great personalities have witnessed and vouched it that none could ever venture to deny, excepting that some with vested interest have only attempted to misinterpret the meaning of the word ‘Maula’ to mean an ordinary friend but a Persian poet has given an apt reply to such perverted interpretation saying:

Abbas dar mana-e-mankomto Maula Meeravi harsoo

Ali Maula ba-on ma’na ke paighambar bowad Maula

In vain, for the interpretation of the expression of whomsoever can the Maula dost thou run in every direction, Ali is Maula in the very same sense as the Holy Prophet himself was.

The very word and the construction of the verse is sufficiently eloquent about the actual meaning and the object of the revelation.

‘Ma’ Onzila ilaik’ – that which has already been sent down to thee (O’ Our Apostle) – It clearly indicates that ‘that’ which the Holy Prophet had then been commanded by God to convey had already been communicated to him on earlier occasion.

The Holy Prophet had already preached the Unity of God.

All the Divine attributes had also been preached.

The faith in all the previous apostles of God and in the Holy Prophet himself being the last of God’s Apostles had also been established.

The faith in the Last Day i.e., the Day of Resurrection for the Final Judgment had also been preached.

This was all about the fundamentals of the theoretical side of the religion, Islam. As regards to the practical side of the faith –

‘Salat’ or the prescribed prayer had already been taught and it was being regularly offered.

‘Saum’, i.e. fasting was being done.

‘Haj’, i.e. pilgrimage to Ka’aba; that was being done and the multitude was returning only after performing it.

‘Zakat’, i.e., the prescribed poor-rate was being paid and daily collected.

‘Khumms’, i.e., the 1/5th of the net gain was being duly paid and collected.

‘Jehad’, i.e. the Fight for the cause of God was already being done whenever the believers were called to do it.

‘Amar ibn Maaroof’, i.e., Enjoining of good and ‘Nahih anil munkar’, i.e., the preaching of abstinence from evil, was being done. There was nothing of the fundamentals of the doctrines of the faith or its practice was left unconveyed to the people.

The succeeding words of Quran raise the importance of the object of the revelation to the climax.

Wa in lam taf’al fama ballaghta risalateh

[and if thou doeth it not, then thou hast not discharged His apostleship at all.]

This means that the thing which the Holy Prophet was now under this revelation commanded to convey, was the life and soul or the chief object of his apostleship on the discharge of which duty, depended the fulfillment of the object of his apostleship. The concluding words of the revelation reveal the cause of the Holy Prophet having deferred the conveyance of that which had already been sent down to him ‘Wallaho Ya’simuka Minan-nas’ – verily will God save thee (O’ Our Apostle Mohammad) form the mischief of the people.’

This assurance from Quran to Prophet Mohammad against the mischief of the people makes the whole situation quite clear that the Holy Prophet had received something very important to be conveyed but it was something in his own knowledge which would have never been relished or even accepted by a certain group of some mischief-mongers, the hypocrites, who were powerful elements for it would have frustrated all their hopes in their plans for the future (i.e., after the departure of the Holy Prophet). The Holy Prophet apprehending some great flare-up and awaiting some suitable opportunity to discharge the duty in a safer way had deferred the action as the revelation already received would have demanded any immediate action then and there as it has now imperatively demanded. But the matter was of such an important and vital one that without it, the faith was not a faith complete and all that the Holy Prophet had done for it would have been of no effect or of any avail at all for humanity. And what the Holy Prophet did immediately on the receipt of this revelation must be the object of this revelation and that alone would by all reasoning be the matter upon which depended the fulfillment of the mission of the Holy Prophet.

Immediately as this revelation was revealed, the Holy Prophet halted the whole caravan. Certainly this speaks very eloquently clarifying the position, the value and the greatness of the significance of the object of the revelation. It appears that the Divine Plan was to leave the security of the message conveyed by the Prophet in the hands of the Divine Representatives only and since the Message was to be valid till the Day of Judgment, God wanted to safeguard from misinterpretations and sabotage, as had happened with the previous scriptures at the hands of the Jews and the Christians.

Thus without the faith in the Imamat, i.e., continuation of the divine guidance, the religion Islam remains incomplete, to be nothing but what the fancy of the corrupt minds would have remolded it to suit their own selfish ends.

Besides the others, the following great authorities of even the accredited Sunni Scholars, have reported this event with all its details:

(1) Ahmad ibn Hambal, (2) Abdullah ibne Ahmed, (3) Abdullah ibne Mohammad ibne abi Shaiba Asdi, (4) Abdul Abbas Nasvi, (5) Abdul Malki Farkoosh, (6) Abu Ishaq Naishapuri, (7) Ismail Ali as Ibne Samam, (8) Abdul Karim Sam’aani, (9) Moaffaq ibn Ahmad, (10) Omar ibn Mohammad, (11) Yousuf ibn Qari Ali Sibt ibne Jawzi, (12) Moheb-Tabari, (13) Ibrahim ibne Mohammad, (14) Mohammad ibne Abdullah, (15) Jamaluddin Karandi, (16) Ibne Kathir, (17) Ali ibne Shahabuddin-e-Hamadani, (18) Ahmed ibn Ali Maqreezi, (19) Ibne Sabbagh Malliki, (20) Allama Maiband, (21) Aseeluddin Waiz, (22) Mahmood ibn Mohammad, (23) Mohammad ibn Abdur Rasool Barzanji, (24) Mirza Mohammad ibn Mo’tamed Khan Hadsi, (25) Mohammad ibne Sadre Alam, (26) Mohammad ibne Ismail ibn Salatul Amir, (27) Sulaiman ibn Dawar, (28) Ahmed ibn Manee’ Baghavi, (29) Ibrahim ibne Mohammad Jovaini, (30) Jalaluddin-e-Suyuti, (31) Jamaluddin, (32) Atauddin, (33) Fazlullah Mohaddis, (34) Alauddin Muttaqi, (35) Mahmood ibn Ali Subhani Qadri, (36) Ahmed ibn Mohammad Qushas, (37) Ibne Uqdah.

Some books which have repeated this event:

(1) Sirrul Aalamam-Ghuzaali, (2) Asadul Ghaba, (3) Kitabul Masool - Mohammd ibn Talha-e-Shafayi, (4) Tazkirah-e-Khawasul-Umma – Sibt ibne Jawazi, (5) Manaqib-e-ibne Maghazili – Faqeeh Shafayi, (6) Tafsir Thalabi, (7) Tafsir Abu Saud, (8) Tafsir-e-Durrer Manthur, (9) Moaddatul Qurba – of Syed Ali Hamadani, (10) Kitabul Rasul wal Malook – Tabarri, (11) Sawaeq-e-Moharriqa – Ibne Haja-e-Macci, (12) Nuzulul Abrar – Mirza Md. Motamad Khan, (13) Hisn-e-Haseenul Mataleb – Shamsuddin Mohammad ibne Mohammad Jazari, (14) Arbayeen – Hafiz Jamaluddin, (15) Tazkiratul Haffaz – Hafiz Zahabi, (16) Sharhe Mishqat – Mullah Ali, (17) Insaanul Oyoona – Hafiz Nooruddin Halbi, (18) Abqathul-Masdooh – Allama Ziauddin Salah-ibn Mahdi Muqbih, (19) Zainul Fata – Hafiz Ahmed ibn Mohammad Asemi, (20) Siratus Sawa – Hafiz Mahmood ibn Mohammad ibn Ali – Shaikhani Qadri, (21) Lam’ate Sharhe Mishkat – Shaik Abdul Huq-e-Muhaddis Dahlavi, (22) Nawaqizur Rawafiz – Mirza Maqdom ibn Mir Abdul Baqi, (23) Rawzatun Nadiah – Mohammad Ismail ibne Salahut, (24) Ma’arijul Ola – Allama Mohammad Sadrul-Alam, (25) Saiful Maslool – Qazi Sanaull Panepatti, (26) Do’atul Hadat ila Ada-el-Haqqul Mo’aalat – Allama Abul Qasim-Ubaidullah ibne Abdul Alhaskani, (27) Diraya-e-Hadeesul Wilaya – Allama Abu Syeed Masibn Nasir Assanjari (28) Miftahul-Kanzul Daqaiq – Hafiz Shamsuddin Abu Abdullah Mohammd ibn Nasir Assanjari, (29) Musnad-Imam-e-Ahmed Hambal, (30) Shawahidun Nubuwwath – Mullah Jami, (31) Tawzihul-Dalail – Syed Shahabuddin, (32) Yanabiul-Mo’addah – Sheikhi Sulaiman-Qandozi Hanafi, (33) Rauzatus Safa, (34) Tarikhe Kamil, (35) Tarikhe-ibnul Wardi, (36) Kitabul Saniul Mataleb – Allama-Jarazi, (42) Istee-aab – Abdul Bar, etc.

A complete list of all the historians and the traditionists (Mohaddesin) is impossible to give here. Only the well-known and the leading ones whose position is universally accepted by the Sunni School have been given. In spite of so much of the doubtless and the unchallengeable acknowledgement of the facts it is only a wonder how man could ever insist upon his own fanciful notions and hold himself fast to them, unless his conscience and reasoning cease to work or he does not want to be corrected.

[Those disbelieving are invited to search and tell the background of the verse from Quran; where it was revealed and what happened on that day that was so important that God had to tell Prophet that if he did not do so, it would be akin to giving no teaching at all. Also search when was the verse 5:3 revealed and under what conditions?]

When the Holy Prophet declared about Ali being the ‘Maula’ or the Lord or the Commander of the Faithful, one of the hypocrites – Harith ibn No’man Fehri could not tolerate the appointment of Ali in the place of the Holy Prophet and got upon his camel and deciding to leave the gathering, approached the Holy Prophet and said:

“O’ Apostle of God, thou wanted us to discard idolatry, we did it. Thou wanted us to pray, fast, to go on pilgrimage, give the poor-rate, the Khumms, to fight in the way of God, we did everything.

And now thou art placing Ali over and above us. Is this what thou doest of thine own accord or in accordance with the command from God?”

The Holy Prophet said: “Whatever I have done is nothing, but the execution of the revealed will of God.” Then the hypocrite prayed God saying that if what the Holy Prophet said was true then let a torment come from heaven and kill him. Immediately a stone came from heaven and passing right through the man’s body killed him. [This event shows how God fulfilled His promise of protecting Holy Prophet from the mischief of infidels. Surely, had there been no stone from heaven, a lot many more would have stood up in rebellion. But the very incident of the death of this hypocrite must have stunned others into silence.]

The aforementioned incident is also to be seen in the light of another Quranic Verse, as per which the word of the Holy Prophet is final.

And it is not for a believer man or woman to have an choice in their affair when God and His Apostle have decided a matter; and whoever disobeyed God and His Apostle, indeed he hath strayed off a manifest straying.

(33:36)

The following verse even suggests that God keeps appointing leaders (Imams) from amongst men.

Verily God has chosen him (last) in preference to you and has increaseth him abundantly in knowledge and physique and God granteth His Kingdom to whosoever he pleaseth, and God is Ample Giving, All Knowing.

(2:247)

We invite you to note that abundant knowledge and physique are the parameters chosen by God for granting His Kingdom. Search the entire history of Islam and you will find that ‘the Gate of the City of Knowledge’ and the every triumphant ‘Lion of God’ are the distinctions exclusively held by Ali and none else.

GENERAL MEANING OF MAULA

Those who cannot deny the authenticity of the hadees of Ghadeer try to downplay its significance by saying that the word “maula” in this hadees means ‘friend’, and that the Holy Prophet wanted to announce that: “Whoever whose friend I am, Ali is his friend!”

The trouble is that not a single person who was present in Ghadeer grasped this alleged meaning. Hassan ibn Thabit, the famous poet of the Holy Prophet composed a poem and recited it before the audience, in which he said:

The Prophet then said to him: “Stand up, O Ali, as I am pleased to make you Imam and Guide after me.”

Omar ibn Khattab, who later played an important part in the choice of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph on the very day the Prophet died, and who later became the second Caliph of the Muslims, himself congratulated Ali in these words:

“Congratulations, O son of Abu Talib, this morning you became maula of every believing man and woman.”

If maula means ‘friend’ then why the congratulations? And was Ali ‘enemy’ of all believing men and women before that time, so that Omar said that ‘this morning’ you became friend of them all?

Imam Ali himself wrote to Muawiya: “And the Messenger of Allah granted to me his authority over you on the day of Ghadeer-e-Khumm.”

And there are many other Companions of the Holy Prophet who used in their poems the word “maula” in connection with Ghadeer-e-Khumm in the sense of “master”.

Moreover, if a word has more than one meaning, the best way to ascertain its true connotation is to look at the association (qarinah) and the context. There are scores of “associations” in this hadees which clearly show that the only meaning fitting the occasion can be “master”. Some of them are as follows:

First: The question which the Holy Prophet asked just before this declaration: He asked them: “Do I not have more authority upon you than you have yourselves?” When they said: “Yes, surely,” then the Prophet proceeded to declare that:

Whoever whose maula I am, Ali is his maula.

Without doubt, the word “maula” in this declaration has the same meaning as “having more authority upon you” has in the preceding question. At least 64 Sunni traditionalists have quoted that preceding question; among them are Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Majah, an-Nasai and at-Tirmidhi.

Second: The following prayer which the Holy Prophet uttered just after this declaration:

O Allah! Love him who loves Ali, and be the enemy of the enemy of Ali; help him who helps Ali and forsake him who forsakes Ali.

This prayer shows that Ali, on that day, was entrusted with a responsibility which, by its very nature, would make some people his enemy (and that responsibility could not be that except of a ruler); and in carrying out that responsibility he would need helpers and supporters. Are helpers ever needed to carry on a ‘friendship’?

Third: The declaration of the Holy Prophet that: “It seems imminent that I will be called away (by Allah) and I will answer that call.” This clearly shows that he was making arrangements for the leadership of the Muslims after his death.

Fourth: The congratulations of the Companions and their expressions of joy do not leave room for doubt concerning the meaning of this declaration.

Fifth: The occasion, place and time: Imagine the Holy Prophet breaking his journey in midday, and detaining nearly one-hundred-thousand travelers under the burning sun of the Arabian desert, making them sit in a thorny place on the burning sand, and making a pulpit of camel saddles; then imagine him delivering a long lecture and at the end of all those preparations coming out with an announcement that: Whoever loves should love Ali,” or “Whoever whose friend I am, Ali is his friend!”

Sixth: Last, but not the least. Allah too knew the gravity of the announcement that He was commanding the Prophet to make and the differing impact that it will have on different people. That is why, Allah pacified any fear that may have been in the mind of His Prophet by saying “. . . if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message (at all); and Allah will protect you from the people. . .”