Hadith of the pond of Khumm

The verse of announcement

According to Shia narrators of traditions the verse of announcement was related to the succession of Ali at Ghadir Khumm. The verse of announcement was revealed during the return from the The Farewell Pilgrimage. It reads

According to Sunnis, this verse was revealed much earlier than this incident. And this is not possible that a verse regarding the most important issue is revealed after the verse regarding the completion of religion, and after Muhammad had taken testification from people that he had delivered the teachings of Islam to the people.

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 book—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. Twenty-seven(27) different meanings are given for the word mawla and hence the exact meaning should be derived from their syntactical and situational contexts.

Unlike the words “Imam, Ameer, Khalifah, Ulil-Amr, Sultan” which are very clear words to describe leader, the word Mawla is more ambiguous. This word has been used by Muhammad for a few other companions as well, and his freed slave Zayd is one of them.

Analysis

The current knowledge of Muhammad’s life is mainly based on sources such as Ibn Hisham, al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Saʿd, etc. that are silent over Muhammad’s stop at Ghadir Khumm. Even when the writers mentioned the event, they said nothing about his speech. Similarly, western biographers of Muhammad make no mention of what happened at Ghadir Khumm. However the account of this event has been recorded by al-Yakubi who is famous for his sympathy for Shiite cause, and it appears in canonical collections as in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal. Some Sunnis scholars 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.

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 ʿAlī was named as the successor of Muhammad on the day of Ghadir Khum.

Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, 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. Muawiyah disparaged Ali. As a result, Sa`d became angry and said: "You are speaking of this man! I have heard the Messenger of Allah—peace and salutation of Allah be upon him—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, and Allah and his Messenger also loves him."

Citations

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