Shi'ism and Its Types During the Early Centuries

We Dwelt in Welfare Before His Assassination

As we saw the mawla of the Apostle of God in our midst. [^57]

There are many verses from some of the Companions of the Prophet (s) who were among supporters of Imam Ali ('a) that refer to the tradition of Ghadir and interpret it in the sense of leadership and wilayah. Among them are couplets belonging to Qays ibn Sa'd ibn Ubadah, Hassan ibn Thabit as well as verses composed by Imam Ali (a) himself. [^58] Abu al-Aswad Du'ali declares in a verse:

I love Muhammad intensely, Abbas, too, and Hamzah, and the Wasi. [^59]

Qays ibn Sad says concerning the episode of Ghadir:

Ali is our Imam and the Imam of others as well, and this has been declared by revelation, The day when the Prophet said in a glorious sermon: "He is the mawla of everyone whose Mawla I am." Indeed, what the Prophet has proclaimed to the Ummah is conclusive, and there is no place in it for hearsay. [^60]

Hassan ibn Thabit recited these verses on the day of Ghadir:

Their Prophet calls out to them on the day of Ghadir at Khumm, and I listen and call out with the Prophet:

He said to him, O Ali, rise, I have made you the Imam after me and the guide! [^61]

These citations indicate the development of an attitude which recognizes Imam Ali (a) as an Imam and leader appointed by the Apostle of God (s). They consider the Imam's authority to derive from his wisayah or designation by the Prophet (s) and call upon others to follow him as the Prophet's veritable successor. Hence Ibn Tayhan would declare, "Indeed our imam and wasi is the wasi of the Apostle of Allah (s)," and Ibn Ajlan asked rhetorically, "How can we disperse while our leader is the wasi?" [^62] Hujr ibn Adi would say, "Wilayah was in him after the Apostle of God (s) and he made him his own wasi after himself." [^63] A man named Zadan Farrukh who had recently embraced Islam encountered the Khawarij on his way.

Asked concerning Ali ('a), he told them, "He is the commander of the faithful, the wasi of the Apostle of God and the master of all men." [^64] They killed him. In a famous letter written to Mu'awiyah, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr referred to Ali ('a) as the "heir of the Apostle of Allah and his wasi." [^65] Ubadah ibn Samit is also reported to have recited verses-during the days of the episode of Saqifah in which he referred to the wasiyyah concerning Ali ('a). [^66]

The efforts of Imam Ali ('a) himself during the days of his caliphate were one of the main causes of propagation of the notion of Imamate as a Divine office. In one of the verses that he composed concerning the event and tradition of Ghadir, he interprets it as ordaining his wilayah over the people:

On the day of Ghadir Khumm, the Apostle of God made my wilayah incumbent upon you. [^67]

In an elaborate letter that the Imam wrote to Mu'awiyah, he deals with this matter iii detail. This letter reveals interesting points concerning the Imam's role in propagation of the Shi'i concept of wilayah. As this letter has an important place from the viewpoint of Imami ideas, we shall cite here its main parts:

God, the Exalted, says, "Obey God and the Apostle and those who have authority among you" (4:59). This verse is about us Ahl al-Bayt, not you. Then He forbade conflict and disunity and enjoined submission and unity. You are the same people who professed faith in that before God and the Apostle. God has informed you that "Muhammad is not the father of any man among you. He is the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets" (33:40). And He has said, "If he dies or is killed will you turn back on your heels?" (3:144).

And you, Muawiyah, and your companions, have turned your backs and apostatized, breaking the covenant you had made with God and breaking the allegiance, although that does not harm God. O Mu'awiyah, don't you know that the Imams are from amongst us, not from among you? God has informed you that those who possess authority should be those who derive knowledge (a reference to 4:83), and He has also informed that in all matters that there is disagreement amongst you, you should refer to God and His Apostle and to those who possess authority and possess knowledge.

Hence anyone who is loyal to his covenant will find God to be faithful to His covenant .... We are the progeny of Abraham who are the envied ones and you are the jealous ones (a reference to 4:54) . . . . It was a group of Israelites who said to their prophet, "Appoint a king over us so we may fight in the way of God" (2:246). When God sent Said as king, they were jealous of him and they said, "How can he have sovereignty over us?" (2:247) and they imagined that they were more worthy of kingship than him.

All these are things that have occurred in the past and now I describe them for you and its interpretation is with us and whoever belies it will be disappointed. We see their example amongst you .... You should know that we, Ahl al-Bayt, are the same progeny of Abraham who are objects of others' envy. We have been victims of jealousy like our fathers before us. God, the Exalted, has mentioned the family (al) of Abraham,"the family of Lot, "the family of Moses,' the family of Aaron' and the family of David;' and we are the Al of our Apostle, Muhammad (s).

O Mu'awiyah, don't you know that God has said, "The nearest to Abraham are those who follow him and this Apostle and the believers, and God is the helper of the believers"?

(3:68). We are the blood relations (ulu al-arham) mentioned in the verse: "The Apostle has a greater right over the believers than themselves, and his wives are mothers of the believers, and the blood relations have a greater right in the Book of God than the believers and the emigrants"?

(33:6) We are the Ahl al-Bayt whom God- has chosen and elected, and He has placed the prophethood in our midst and to us belong the Book, wisdom and knowledge. The House of God, the hijr of Ismail and the maqam of Abraham belong to us. Hence it is we who are worthy of rule. Woe to you, O Mu'awiyah! We are worthier of Abraham. We are his al, and the al of Imran have a greater right to Imran. . . and the al of Muhammad have a greater right to Muhammad.

We are the Ahl al-Bavt from whom God, the Exalted, "has removed all impurity and purified them with a thorough purification" (33:33). Every apostle has an invitation exclusive to himself and his children and family, and every apostle made a wasiyyah in favour of his family. Don't you know that Abraham made his wasiyyah for Jacob, and when Jacob's death drew near he made wasiyyah to his sons, and Muhammad (s) made his wasiyyah to his family. This was the sunnah of Abraham and other apostles, and Muhammad emulated them with the command of God . . . .

The Book of God was revealed to us and the Apostle of Allah was raised from our midst and the scripture's verses were recited to us. We are the relatives of the Book and we are the witnesses over it; we are the callers who summon to it and we are the ones who establish it. So what saying will you believe after this?

O Mu'awiyah! Do you seek a god other than Allah? an scripture other than the Book of God? or a qiblah other than the House of God, the home of Ismail and the station of our father Abraham? Are you after some creed other than the creed of Abraham? Or is it that you seek a king and a sovereign other than God?

God has placed this sovereignty and kingdom amongst us. You have made-manifest your enmity towards Us and disclosed you animosity and jealousy. You have openly violated the covenant of God and you distort His signs and you alter the words of God that He said to Abraham: "God has chosen for you this creed" (2:132). Do you turn your back to the creed of Abraham, whereas God, the Exalted, has chosen him in this world and he is among the righteous in the Hereafter? Do you seek a judgement other than the judgement of God or an Imam outside our family?

The Imamate belongs to Abraham and his seed, to the believers who follow them and who do not abandon his creed, and he said, "Whoever follows me, is mine." (14:36)