It was in 10 A.H. and the time for Hajj. The Hijazi deserts witnessed large crowds of Muslims who unitedly chanted the same slogans and proceeded towards the same holy end. That year the sight of tie Hajj pilgrimage was much more exciting and moving than ever before. Muslims most hurriedly and eagerly traversed the way and went to Makkah - this holy city. The celestial melody of 'Labayka', 'Yes, I have come', resounded through Makkah. Caravans reached the city one after the other. The hajjis unitedly and harmoniously in pilgrim's garb, while shedding tears of joy and love for God, hurried to the sacred threshold of God and circumambulated the Ka'aba - the Holy House built by the champion of monotheism - Abraham, the Friend of God. Farid Vajdi has calculated the number of hajjis to have been 90,000 169 in the year 10 A.H., but there are some who hold that the number was 124,000." 170
The Holy Prophet of Islam watched that splendid scene with the utmost affection and eagerness. He was pleased to observe that the Masjid al-Haram was overflowing with Muslims who had gathered together in conformity with the holy precept, 'Truly the faithful are brothers', and were worshipping God like brothers and angels. The Holy Prophet was clearly happy with his great achievement - with having fulfilled his divine mission in the best manner possible. Nevertheless, his resplendent face was sometimes covered with a halo of sorrow and anxiety, and his pure heart filled with sadness and worry. He was in fact worried about the fate of the Muslims after his leaving this world for heaven. He feared lest after him the society of Muslims should break apart; Muslims should disperse, the spirit of unity and fraternity should vanish among them, and consequently they regress. Obviously, the Holy Prophet of Islam was well aware of the fact that the Ummah of Islam was in great need of honest, knowledgeable leaders, or otherwise the fruits of his years of efforts would all be wasted. For this reason, whenever he was going to leave Medina either for war or for other purposes, even if his trip was short, he would assign a competent, trustworthy person to supervise their affairs and would never leave the people of Medina without any guardian and supervisor. 171
Thus, how is it possible to imagine that such a compassionate, sympathetic prophet might have left the momentous affairs of his beloved Ummah of Islam to chance and not have designated any reliable administrator for them. And no doubt he knew very well who deserved the position of the caliphate of the Muslims and for whose mature stature the garb of the caliphate had been sewn. That celebrated man was the same who, in the presence of the chiefs of the Quraysh and the relatives of the Prophet who had been invited to the House of the Prophet of Islam at the beginning of his prophetic mission, had been acknowledged as the successor of the Holy Prophet of Islam by the Prophet himself. 172
He was a pious, God-fearing man who did not associate anything with God and did not prostrate before idols even for a single moment. He was a sacrificial soldier of Islam. His knowledge originated in the knowledge of the Prophet of God and his judgment was the best. 173
He was well-known. He was 'Ali, son of Abu Talib. The Hajj ceremonies were over, and the Muslims were preparing to move towards their own towns when suddenly the call of the herald of the Holy Prophet of Islam resounded in the Hijaz desert and made the Muslims stop. His heralds called on the people to gather together again. The Muslims, of course, did not know why they had been given this command, but the fact was that the Angel of Revelation had descended and conveyed this verse to the Prophet, 'O Prophet! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and God will protect you- from the people; surely God will not guide the unbelieving people' (5:67). The issue about which God spoke to His Prophet in such a serious tone was nothing other than the formal announcement of the caliphate of 'Ali, the significant subject that the Prophet hesitated to declare, for he feared lest this announcement should cause dissension and discord among the Muslims and was thus waiting for a favourable occasion to make clear the matter to them. Upon receiving this revelation, he knew that the time had come for the crucial purpose. So he, immediately assembled the Muslims at Ghadir Khum, which was a hot, arid desert, to clarify the vital issue in Islam - the issue of the caliphate. The people started wondering why that command had been issued, but before long the congregational ritual prayers was announced and after saying the noon ritual prayers, the crowd of Muslims witnessed the celestial, enchanting countenance of the Prophet over a pulpit made of saddles of camels.
A profound silence prevailed. Then the divine, meaningful words of the Prophet broke the silence of the Hijaz desert. After praising Almighty God, he announced the heart-rending news of his oncoming death and then asked the Muslims, 'O people! What kind of a prophet have I been for you?' All exclaimed unitedly, 'O Prophet of God! You did your best to admonish and rectify us and never neglected to train us and led us onto the path of piety. May God reward you best'. The Holy Prophet of Islam said, 'After me, God's Book and the sinless leaders are side by side your leader and guide. You should perfectly follow them, so you will not go astray'. Then he took 'Ali by the hand, lifted him so that all would see him and exclaimed, 'O people! Who is the guardian and supervisor of the faithful?' The Muslims answered, 'God and His Prophet know best'. The Holy Prophet of Islam said, 'God is my Master and I am the Master of the faithful'. Then he added without any pause, "Ali is the Master of those whose Master I am. Almighty God be the friend of his friend and be the foe of his foe. Help those who help him and frustrate the hope of those who betray him ...'. The Prophet repeated the sentence, "Ali is the Master of those whose Master I am', three times. At the end of the speech he said, 'Those present should convey this truth to those who are absent'.
The crowd of Muslims had hardly dispersed when this verse was revealed to the Prophet, 'This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion' (5:3).
After the magnificent ceremonies of designating the successor of the Holy Prophet of Islam were over, the Muslims hurried to congratulate 'Ali for being appointed as the Prophet's successor and Caliph. Abu Bakr was the first to congratulate 'Ali and 'Umar was the second. They parted with 'Ali while saying the following words, 'Blessed are you, son of Abu Talib, who have become my Master and every believer's Master'. 174
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169. Encyclopedia of Farid Vadji, Vol. 3, p.542.
170. Al-Ghadir, Vol. 1, p.9.
171. Kamil, pol.p.216, 278, 242.
172. Tarikhi Tahari, Vol. 3, pp.1171-1173.
173. Fadail ul-Khamsih, printed by Dar ul-Khutub ul-Islamiyah, Vol. 1, pp.178-186.
174. Al-Ghadir, Vol. 1, pp.9-I1.
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