Ghadir as Narrated by Ahlul Bayt (a.s.)

Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and may our prayer and peace be upon our master and Prophet, Muhammad (S) and his pure progeny, and may Allah’s curse be upon all their enemies from the first one to the last.

One of the indisputable principles of dialogue on matters of differences is that each side of the dispute is supposed to make use of the ideas accepted by the other side or base his or her arguments on principles taken for granted by both sides.

Throughout history, Shiite scholars have used this methodology against other Islamic sects in all issues of disagreement -jurisprudential or theological- especially the issue of Imamate and caliphate.

As far as the Event of Ghadir Khum is concerned, it is dealt with in the same manner. Shiite works are full of narrations that have been narrated by Sunnis. Shiite scholars also quote in their books, narrations from the most important and reliable sources of Sunnis with the same chain of reporters that have appeared in Sunni works.

In order to prove that these narrations support their beliefs, they appeal to the words of the most famous of their scholars. They follow this methodology to the extent, that they even appeal to the words of their linguists in order to determine the meaning of a word.

The application of this methodology may, nevertheless, cause some simpletons to doubt (about the scholarly strength of Shiites) and some fanatics to ignore the truth (about Shiites). For example, Ruzbehan Baqli who says: “It is not surprising that he (a Shiite scholar) suffices to quoting from mere Sunni sources. This is because Shiites do not have any narration (hadith) books nor do they have any scholastic experts in the science of narration. To prove his point of view, he is thus in dire need of Sunnite sources.”[^1]1

The present work is about the event of Ghadir as Narrated by the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). It studies briefly the Ghadir narrations in Shiite works compiled by Shiite Mujtaheeds. This is also a reminder to Ibn Ruzbahan and others, that Shiites have their own books, narrations and Mujtaheeds needing thus no Sunni books to prove their points of view.

Similarly Sunnis need to know that the event of Ghadir narration is agreed on by all Muslims, to the extent that the Shiite and Sunni scholars have the same opinion in quoting some of its versions with the same text and documentation. Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and the scholars who have followed them, have taken the Ghadir narration into consideration, trying their best to disseminate and propagate it.

This work contains beneficial points that are not noticed or are ignored by the Sunni narrators. Relying on first-hand Shiite sources, I will mention versions of Ghadir Narration under certain headings, adding some explanatory points (concerning each one of them).

Sayyid Ali Husaini Milani

[^1]: Dalael al-Sidq, vol. 1, p. 58.