The narration of Manzilah and the narration of Yawm Al-Dar

A large number of great Sh¢`ah interpreters and Sunni scholars have narrated the narration of Manzilah under verse 142 of S£rah A`r¡f which deals with Moses going to the appointed place to talk to God and the appointment of his brother, Aaron, as his successor.

The narration goes like this: The Prophet(s) headed for the battlefield of Tab£k.⁽[1]⁾ He was informed that Byzantium had organized a large army to attack °ij¡z, Mecca and Medina and stop the further spread of Islamic ideology in their territory. The Prophet headed for Tab£k with a large army and left `Al¢ (s) at home in Medina.

`Al¢(s) told the Prophet(s): Will you leave me among the children and women and refuse to let me come and take part in the Holy War and receive a great honor?

The Prophet(s) replied:

ألاَ تَرْضَى أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى إلاَّ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ نَبِيٌّ بَعْدِي؟

“Are you not content that you are to me in the same capacity Moses’ brother, Aaron was to Moses with the exception that no other Prophet would come after me?”

The above expression is recorded in the most famous books of narrations of the Sunni scholars, i.e. ¯a¦¢¦ al-Bukh¡r¢ and ¯a¦¢¦ Muslim. In ¯a¦¢¦ al-Bukh¡r¢’s account, the whole narration is recorded, but in ¯a¦¢¦ Muslim’s account the whole narration is recorded only once and the second time only the following sentence is recorded:⁽[2]⁾

أَنْتَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى إلاَّ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ نَبِيٌّ بَعْدِي.

This narration is recorded in most Sunni books including the traditions of Ibn M¡jah, that of Tirmidh¢, and the Musnad of Ahmad, and many other books. The number of close Companions of the Prophet(s) who have mentioned this narration is more than twenty. They include J¡bir Ibn `Abdull¡h An¥¡r¢, Ab£-Sa`¢d Khudr¢, `Abdull¡h Ibn Mas`£d and Mu`¡wiyah.

In the History of Baghdad, Ab£-Bakr Baghd¡d¢ narrates from `Umar Ibn al-Kha§§¡b the following tradition: Umar saw a man cursing `Al¢ (s), and Umar said: “I think you are a hypocrite because I have heard the Prophet(s) say:

إنَّمَا عَلِيٌّ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى إلاَّ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ نَبِيٌّ بَعْدِي.

`Al¢ is to me like Aaron is to Moses with the exception that there is no Prophet after me.”⁽[3]⁾

The interesting point is that, in accordance with the authentic books on narration, the Prophet(s) used the above sentence not only in the event of Tab£k, but on seven other occasions.

1. In “the first gathering of the pact of brotherhood i.e. the day on which a pact of friendship was made among his followers, the Prophet (¥) chose `Al¢(s) as his closest friend and repeated this sentence.

2. In “the second gathering of the pact of brotherhood” in which the pact was made between the Emigrants (muh¡jir£n) and the Helpers (An¥¡r), the Prophet(s) repeated the above sentence.

3. The Prophet(s) repeated the same sentence once again when he ordered that all the doors that opened up to the Great Mosque of the Prophet(s) be closed and only `Al¢’s home could have direct access to the Mosque.

4. He repeated the same sentence once more in the war of Tab£k. He also repeated it on three other occasions, the records of which are presented in the books of Sunni scholars.

The content of the Narration on Status

If we could analyze the above narration without any prejudice or pre-judgment, we could easily come to the conclusion that `Al¢(s) occupied all the positions that Aaron possessed among the Ban¢-Isr¡’¢l, without the position of prophethood, of course. This is because we observe that no pre-conditions have been mentioned in the narrations. Therefore, the following conclusions could easily be reached:

1. `Al¢(s) was the most knowledgeable after the Prophet(s) [Because Aaron had such a position].

2. `Al¢(s) was the Prophet’s helper, his special aide, and an associate in the Prophet’s program. This is because all these positions and attributes are confirmed for `Al¢ in the Holy Qur’¡n.⁽[4]⁾

3. `Al¢(s) was the successor to the Prophet(s) because nobody else could fill such a position in the same way that Aaron had filled these positions and had helped out his brother Moses(s).

The Narration of Yawm al Dar [The Day of invitation to his Home]

Based on Islamic history, the Prophet(s) was commissioned in the third year of his prophethood to make known and declare openly his call to Islam. This is clearly stated in S£rah al-Shu`ar¡', verse 214:

وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الأَقْرَبِينَ.

And warn your nearest relations. [Qur’¡n 26:24]

After this, the Prophet(s), invited his close relatives to his uncle Ab£-±¡lib’s house, after having had their meal, he started to say: O Children of `Abd al-Mu§§alib. I swear to God I know of no one among the Arabs who could have brought anything better than I have brought for you. I have brought for you prosperity here and for your future. God has ordered me to invite you to my religion. Who among you will assist me in being my brother, helper, and successor?

No one showed any interest except for `Al¢(s) who was the youngest. He rose up, saying: “O Messenger of God. I will be your assistant in this affair.”

The Prophet(s) put his hand around `Al¢’s neck and said:

إنَّ هَذا أَخِي وَوَصِيِّي وَخَلِيفَتِي فِيكُمْ فَاسْمَعُوا لَهُ وَأَطِيعُوا.

“This brother of mine is my helper, and successor. Listen to him and obey his commands.”

That ignorant tribe not only refused to accept such recommendations but also started making fun of him.

The above narration, known as Yawm al-D¡r or “the day of invitation to his home,” is explicit and quite well known and has been recorded by many Sunni scholars, including Ibn Ab¢-Jurayr, Ibn Ab¢-°¡tam, Ibn Mardawayh, Ab£-Na`¢m, Bayhaq¢, Tha`lab¢, ±abar¢, Ibn al-Ath¢r, Ab£’l-Fid¡’ and a host of others.⁽[5]⁾

If we impartially study the above narration, we will find out more facts related to the issue of Wil¡yah and `Al¢’s caliphate, since this narration explicitly refers to `Al¢’s Wil¡yah (successorship to the Prophet).