According to rahyafte(the missionaries and converts website):“No matter what our faults and sins are, our lack of education, our rough manners, the imamate of Ali ibn Abi Talib inspires his followers across the globe, gives hope in the possibility of justice, boosts morale, and engenders love and devotion,” Rebecca Masterton, a senior lecturer at the Islamic College of London an interview on the occasion of Eid al-Ghadir.
What follows is the full text of the conversation:
Please tell us about the significance of Eid al-Ghadir in Islam.
Masterton: ‘Eid al-Ghadir is the celebration of the completion of Islam with both of its exoteric and esoteric components. Prophet Muhammad (s) was given all knowledge that humanity needed for its benefit and advancement. During his lifetime he was largely only able to convey the exoteric dimension of the message: the Law and the warning of the Last Day.
He transmitted the knowledge of its esoteric dimensions to Ali, son of the Prophet’s uncle Abu Talib, as Ali was the only one capable of bearing the weight of that knowledge and apprehending it fully. The event of the Ghadir was the final affirmation and confirmation that Ali was to be the successor to Prophet Muhammad (s), as the Prophet knew that the end of his life was soon to come.
Imamate is the means by which the esoteric dimensions of the message are conveyed to humanity. It is also the means by which the knowledge that the Prophet had to give to humanity is protected, preserved and practiced.
The significance of this event has been debated by different schools in Islam. This is most likely because, immediately after the death of the Prophet, the branch of Quraysh, descendants of Umayya (Bani Umayya) and cousins of the descendants of Hashim (Bani Hashim), wished to wrest control of the power that Islam had given Bani Hashim. They moved to make themselves caliphs and claimed to be the Ahl al-Bayt (Family of the Prophet). Once in power, they embarked on a campaign of slander and character assassination of Ali ibn Abi Talib, which continued for nearly three centuries.
As part of this campaign, the status of Ali ibn Abi Talib was denied, and therefore, the word ‘walī’ at the event of Ghadir, was interpreted merely to mean ‘friend’. However, what would be the logic of the Prophet gathering all of the pilgrims and making such an announcement merely to ask people to be nice to Ali and to stop complaining about him? And what would be the logic of the companions thereafter congratulating him?
Can you please elaborate on the Hadith of Ghadir Khumm and the Quranic verse of “ikmal al-din”?
Masterton: Sunni historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d. c. tenth century CE), author of the famous Ta’rīkh al-rusul wa l-mulūk (History of Messengers and Kings), writes in his Kitāb al-Wilāyah (Book of Spiritual Authority) that the Prophet said in his speech at Ghadīr al-Khumm: “The angel Gabriel has conveyed Allah’s command to me that I stop at this place and inform the people that Ali ibn Abi Talib is my brother, my successor, my caliph (successor) after me. O people! Allah has made Ali your Walī (guardian), and Imam (leader). Obedience to him is obligatory on each one of you; his command is supreme; his utterance is truth; Allah’s curse be on him who opposes him; Allah’s mercy be on him who befriends him.”
According to the narration, it was after this that verse three of Surah Maida of the Quran was revealed, which includes: “Today have I (meaning God) perfect your religion for you and completed my favour upon you and approved Islam as your religion for you.”
How does Eid al-Ghadir reflect the concept of leadership in Shia theology?
Masterton: This appointment was not based upon the personal choice of Prophet Muhammad (s); nor was it something optional, to be taken or not taken by the Muslims. The appointment of his wasī (executor of his will), successor and leader, or Imam, after him, is entirely within the prophetic pattern, as established in the line of prophets going back to Adam. To deny that Prophet Muhammad (s) appointed any successor, as often stated in many sources of the Sunni schools, is to misunderstand what is the Sunnah of Allah (swt).
There are several verses in the Holy Quran that mention the Sunnah, or the Way of Allah, as follows: “That was the Sunnah of Allah in the case of those who lived before and there will never be any change in the Sunnah of Allah.” (Surah al-Ahzab, 33:62); “(Such was Our) Sunnah in the case of those whom We sent before you {to mankind), and you will never find change in Our Sunnah.” (Surah Bani Israil, 17:77); “Had the disbelievers fought against you, they would take to flight and would have found no guardian or helper. This is the Sunnah of Allah which existed before you, and you will never find any change in Allah’s system” (Surah al-Fath, 48:23); “[Due to] arrogance in the land and plotting of evil; but the evil plot does not encompass except its own people. Then do they await except the way of the former peoples? But you will never find in the Sunnah of Allah any change, and you will never find in the way of Allah any alteration.” (35:43); “Their faith could not avail against Our punishment. Such is Allah’s prevailing Sunnah (law) among His servants in the past. Thus the disbelievers are ruined.” (Surah Mumin, 40:85)
Far from being a bid’a (unlawful innovation), as some claim, imamate is that by which the dīn of Islam is completed. Imam al-Ridhāʾ (as) has clarified this clearly in his speech on imamate, as recorded in Muḥammad b. Ya’qūb al-Kulaynī’s hadith collection, al-Kāfī. As Imam Reza (as) says, “And He sent down in the Farewell Pilgrimage, which was at the end of his (the Prophet’s) life: ‘Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam for your religion (al-Mā’idah, 5: 3). […] And the matter of the Imamate is one of the things by which the religion is completed. […] And [the Prophet (s)] established Ali for them as an ‘alam (person of superior rank) and as Imam (a leader).’
The leaders after the Prophet were chosen by God’s command, just as the prophets were chosen by God’s command to lead the people.
This is also affirmed by verse eleven of Surah Ibrahim:
“Their apostles said to them, ‘Indeed we are just human beings like yourselves; but Allah favours whomever of His servants that He wishes. We may not bring you an authority except by Allah’s leave, and in Allah let all the faithful put their trust.” (Verse 11)
Unfortunately, some of the believers did not put their trust in Allah, and argued that they themselves should choose a successor.
What lessons can we draw from the Ghadir Khumm some 14 centuries after that major announcement?
Masterton: The lessons are bitter – far from the mythologised story of the golden era of Islam, which was meant to have continued all way from its inception up to the end of the Abbasid caliphate, the reality is that jealousy, resentment and a competition for power meant that the Prophet’s family was marginalised and disempowered; that their followers were harassed, imprisoned and executed; that the people’s choice of leader after the Prophet has led to fourteen centuries of turmoil and disunity. It is a lesson in human nature: will we follow God’s commands, or will we be led by our short-sighted worldly desires?
In what ways does Eid al-Ghadir inspire unity within the Muslim community?
Masterton: Apart from a tiny minority, most Muslim historians from all schools cannot deny that the event of Ghadir took place. The rehabilitation of Ali ibn Abi Talib into what became the ‘Four Rightly Guided Caliphs’ of Sunni Islam, after three centuries of his reputation being slandered, shows that Ali can be the person around which all Muslims can unify and build the bonds of brotherhood.
How does the teachings of Eid al-Ghadir influence the daily lives of Shia Muslims?
No matter what our faults and sins are, our lack of education, our rough manners, the imamate of Ali ibn Abi Talib inspires his followers across the globe, gives hope in the possibility of justice, boosts morale, and engenders love and devotion. Imam Ali is a hero of honour and integrity that stands out in a world where the majority are busy plotting and planning for their worldly gains. That is why he is still considered as a leader for this day and age.
iqna
Source: rahyafteha