Hadith of the pond of Khumm

The Hadith of the pond of Khumm (Arabic: ØºØ¯ÙŠØ± Ø®Ù…â€Ž) is an account of a speech given by Muhammad on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar (March 10, 632 AD) at Ghadir Khumm, which is located near the city of al-Juhfah, in present day Saudi Arabia. It has been interpreted variously by the two main sects of Islam, where Shia generally maintain that in this hadith the Islamic prophet Muhammad appointed Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib) as his heir and successor. The Sunnis, on the other hand, do not deny Muhammad's declaration about Ali at Ghadir Khumm, but they argue that he was simply urging the audience to hold his cousin and son-in-law in high esteem and affection. Among Sunnis it is primarily used by Sufis to demonstrate the transmission of spiritual authority to Ali. The sermon also illustrates some of the fundamental tenets of Islamic Monotheism.

Most of sunni scholars and historians and shia sources maintain that 70,000 people were present at this occasion, some scholars such as Tha'labi in his Tafsir, Sibt Ibn Jauzi in his Tadhkirat'u-Khasa'isi'l-Umma fi Ma'rifati'l-A'imma give the figure 120,000.

For the great significance of Muhammadâ€™s words at Ghadir Khumm in their eyes, Shiites solemnly celebrate the anniversary on 18 Dhu al-Hijjah.

Context

A few months before his death, Muhammad went on pilgrimage from his home in Medina to Mecca in a trip referred to as The Farewell Pilgrimage. On the way back from this journey, the following Quranic verse was revealed:

O Messenger! Make known that which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord, for if thou do it not, thou wilt not have conveyed His message. Allah will protect thee from mankind. Lo! Allah guideth not the disbelieving folk.

Following this revelation, Muhammad stopped at the pond of Khumm and delivered a sermon. Shia narrators of traditions therefore consider this verse to relate to the succession of Ali at Ghadir Khumm

The hadith

On the way back to Medina from Mecca, Muhammad ordered his companions to stop at Ghadir Khum and delivered the following sermon (in brief)

O people, Allah the Most Kind the Omniscient has told me that no apostle lives to more than half the age of him who had preceded him. I think I am about to be called (to die) and thus I must respond. I am responsible and you are responsible, then what do you say?' They said, 'We witness that you have informed, advised and striven. May Allah bless you.' He said, 'Do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle, and that His Heaven is true, His Hell is true, death is true, the Resurrection after death is true, that there is no doubt that the Day of Judgment will come, and that Allah will resurrect the dead from their graves?' They said, 'Yes, we bear witness.' He said, 'O Allah, bear witness.' Then he said, 'O people, Allah is my Lord and I am the lord of the believers. I am worthier of believers than themselves. Of whomsoever I had been Master (Mawla), Ali here is to be his Master. O Allah, be a supporter of whoever supports him (Ali) and an enemy of whoever opposes him and divert the Truth to Ali.'

O people, I will go ahead of you and you will arrive at my Pond (in Heaven) which is wider than the distance between Basra and San'a. It has receptacles as numerous as the stars, and two cups of gold and two of silver. I will ask you about the two weighty things that I have left for you when you come to me to see how you dealt with them. The greater weighty thing is Allah's bookâ€"the Holy Qur'an. One end is in Allah's hand and the other is in your hands. Keep it and you will not deviate. That other weighty thing is my family (Ahl al-Bayt) and my descendents. The Most Kind the Omniscient had told me that both of them, would not separate until they come to my Pond.

Another similar narration of part of the hadith goes as follows,

O people! Reflect on the Quran and comprehend its verses. Look into its clear verses and do not follow its ambiguous parts, for by Allah, none shall be able to explain to you its warnings and its mysteries, nor shall anyone clarify its interpretation, other than the one that I have grasped his hand, brought up beside myself,(and lifted his arm), the one about whom I inform you that whomever I am his master, this Ali is his master (Mawla); and he is Ali Ibn Abi Talib, my brother, the executor of my will (Wasiyyi), whose appointment as your guardian and leader has been sent down to me from Allah, the mighty and the majestic.

There are other versions of this hadith that say,

I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet."

I leave for you the Quran alone you shall uphold it.

Interpretation

The word mawla is significant in the first narration of this hadith, and can refer to a client, patron, friend, partner, ally or numerous other similar relationships. Number of 27 different meanings are given for the word mawla and hence the exact meaning should be derived from their syntactical and situational contexts.

Analysis

The current knowledge of the Prophetâ€™s life is mainly based on sources such as Ibn Hisham , al-á¹¬abarÄ«, Ibn SaÊ¿d, etc. that are silent over Muhammadâ€™s stop at Ghadir Khumm. Even when the writers mentioned the event, they said nothing about his speech (evidently due to the fear of provoking the hostility of Sunni rulers by providing material for polemic of Shiites who used the Prophetâ€™s words in support of their belief in Aliâ€™s right to Caliphate). Similarly, western biographers of Muhammad make no mention of what happened at Ghadir Khumm as their works are based on these same sources. Yet thereâ€™s no doubt that Muhammad did deliver a speech there which included the famous sentence, for the account of the event has been recorded not only by al-Yakubi who is famous for his sympathy for Shiite cause, but also in canonical collections as in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal. And considering the sheer number of the hadiths and their different isnads it is impossible to reject them. In fact, the Sunnis on the other hand, do not deny Muhammadâ€™s declaration about Ali at Ghadir Khumm, but they argue that he was simply urging the audience to hold his cousin and son-in-law in high esteem and affection.

Oath of allegiance by Umar and Gabriel's advice to him

On the completion of Muhammad's sermon, Umar (Umar al-Khattab) said, "Congratulations to you, Ali! This morning has brought you a great blessing. Today you have become the master of all believing men and women." At a later occasion when Umar was asked about his special treatment to Ali as compared to other companions, his reply was, "He is my master." Shi'a Believe that, With Muhammad's approbation he recited verses in honour of Ali. The verse are recorded in Ibn Shahrashoub and affirms that Ê¿AlÄ« was named as the successor of the Prophet on the day of Ghadir Khum.

Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, a Shafi'i scholar, writes in his book, Mawaddat al-Qurba in Mawadda 5, that many companions quoted Umar in different places as having said that Muhammad made Ali the chief and leader of the nation and that Muhammad announced publicly that Ali was their master. Umar was also quoted saying that on the day of that announcement, a handsome youth was sitting besides him and that the youth said to him, "Surely, the Prophet has bound a covenant which none but a hypocrite would break. So Umar! Avoid breaking it." When Umar told Muhammad about the incident, Muhammad said that the youth was not of Adam's (Adem) progeny but was Gabriel (Jibril) and was stressing the point about Ali.

Muawiyah is reminded about Ghadir

When Muawiyah arrived (in Mecca) during one of his pilgrimages, accordingly, Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas came to see him, and they happened to mention Ali. He (Muawiyah) thus diminished Ali. As a result, Sa`d became angry and said: "You are speaking of this man! I have heard the Messenger of Allahâ€"peace and salutation of Allah be upon himâ€"declare (On the day of Ghadir): 'Of whomsoever I am the master, then Ali is his master.' I have (also) heard him say: 'You Ali are to me in position that Harun was to Musa, except that there is no prophet after me (See Hadith of position).' And I have heard him announce: 'Today I am indeed going to hand over the banner to a person who loves Allah and his Messenger.'"

Sufi explanation from Sunni texts

The point of view taken up by some Sufi groups is the announcement of "Spiritual Authority" of Ali by Muhammad. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a Sufi scholar, cites 51 different hadith about the incident of Ghadir from various Sunni sources. He states in his book, The Ghadir Declaration that, "This (Ghadir declaration) was the declaration of 'AlÄ«'s spiritual sovereignty and its unconditional acceptance is binding on the believers till the Day of Judgment. It clearly proves that anyone who denies 'AlÄ«'s spiritual leadership in fact denies the Prophet's leadership."

Citations

The above hadith have been cited in various Sunni sources including:

Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Al-Nasa'i in Al-Khasa'is
Ibn 'Asakir in The History of Damascus
Ali ibn al-Athir in Usud al-Ghabah fi Ma'rifah al-Sahabah
Ibnul-Maghazili's Manaqib
Ibn Majah in Sunan ibn Majah
Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haythami in Majma al-Zawa'id
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kanji ash-Shafii in Kifayat at-Talib
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in Al-Isaba
Izz al-Din ibn Hibatullah ibn Abi l-Hadid in Sharh Nahjul Balagha
Abu Nu`aym in Hilyat al-awliya'
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in The History of Baghdad
Al-Kuna wa al-Asma
Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi in Mushkil ul-Athar
Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi in Jami` at-Tirmidhi
Muwazihul-Awham
Ibn Kathir in Al-Kafi ash-Shafi
Ibn Kathir in Tafsir ibn Kathir
Al-Tabarani in Al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer
Ibn Kathir in Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya
Abu Abdullah al-Hakim Nishapuri in Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain
Al-Dhahabi in Talkhis al-Mustadrak
Arjah ul-Matalib
Muá¸¥ammad ibn MÅ«sÄ al-KhwÄrizmÄ«'s Manaqib
Al-Tabarani in Al-Mu'jam As-Saghir
Ibn Abi Hatim in Al-Jarh wa at-Ta'dil
Al-Dhahabi in The History of Islam
Al-Juwayni in Fara'id al-Simtayn
al-Hasaqani in Du'atul-Hudat
Ibn Qutaybah in Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa
Ahmad in Manaqib
Hafiz al-Dhahabi in Mizanul-I'tidal

Abd Al Husayn Amini, Iranian Shia scholar also has gathered narrations of more than 110 companions (Sahaba) of Muhammad, as well as 40 followers of Muhammad about this event in his book named Al Ghadir.

Hadith of the pond of Khumm

Jumat, 20 Februari 2015