The Sermon of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) At Ghadir Khumm

Part 5 : Referring To the Aims of the Hypocrites

O people! Believe in Allah and His Messenger and the light that was sent down with him,

“before We alter faces then turn them on their backs or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath breakers.”2

[By Allah! No one is intended by this (latter) verse except a certain group of my companions whom I know by their names and their lineage, yet, I have been ordered to ignore them.3]

1 cf. Chapter 64, Verse 8, and Chapter 7, Verse 157 of the Holy Quran. The light mentioned in these verses has been interpreted as the 12 Imams (PBUT). cf. al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 194, Hadiths 1-4. The Prophet (PBUH&HF) also emphasizes this in the sermon shortly later.

2 Chapter 4, Verse 47 of the Holy Quran.

3 The Prophet (PBUH&HF) was not supposed to penalize people based on what he knew of their future actions. He only warned them, informed them of the consequences of such actions, and advised people against the wrongdoers, in general. After all, this world is the place of trial, in which everyone may choose between the path of .

O people! The light (created) by Allah, the mighty and the majestic, has been placed in me, then in Ali, and then in his select descendants up to al-Qa’im al-Mahdi 1, who shall re-establish the right of Allah as well as all our rights,

because Allah, the mighty and the majestic, has made us (His) exhaustive argument against the neglectful, the stubborn, the dissenters, the treacherous, the sinful, the unjust, and the usurpers from all worlds.

O people! I warn you that I am the Messenger of Allah. There have been messengers before me who came and passed away.

Allah and all other divergent paths, and thus prove what he deserves of reward and punishment in the Hereafter.

1 al-Qai’m means one who shall stand (to establish the kingdom of Allah on earth). al-Mahdi means the rightly guided. These are the titles of the twelfth divinely appointed Imam, who is alive and waiting for the command of Allah.

Then, should I die or be killed, will you turn back on your heels?

And whoever turns back on his heels shall not harm Allah in the least, and Allah shall soon reward the grateful [who observe patience.

Behold! Ali is surely the one described with patience and gratitude, so are after him my offspring from his loins.

O people! Do not think that you are doing a favor to Allah by accepting Islam lest His wrath should descend upon you, and lest He should afflict you with His punishment; surely He is everwatching.

1 cf. Chapter 3, Verse 144 of the Holy Quran. 2 cf. Chapter 89, Verse 14 of the Holy Quran.

O people! There shall soon be leaders after me who shall invite (people) to the Fire, and on the Day of Judgement they shall not be helped.1

O people! Indeed, Allah and I are both clear of them.

O people! They, their supporters, their followers, and their adherents shall be in the lowest depths of the Fire; and evil, indeed, is the abode of the arrogant.2

Know that these are, indeed, the People of the Sheet;3 so, let each one of you look into his own sheet (of deeds)!”

1 cf. Chapter 28, Verse 41 of the Holy Quran. 2 cf. verses 4:145 and 39:72 of the Holy Quran. 3 By “the sheet”, the Prophet was referring to “the first cursed covenant sheet” that five leading men amongst the hypocrites secretly wrote and signed beside the Ka’ba during the Prophet’s farewell pilgrimage. They took an oath among themselves that they must never let the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) come into power after his departure. cf. Kitab Sulaim Ibn Qais al-Hilali, pp. 597, 650, and 820.

(Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (PBUH), here states that except for a small band (who themselves were the People of the Sheet) most people did not comprehend the issue of sheet).

O people! I leave the authority after me as Imamate (leadership) inherited in my offspring until the Day of Judgement.

Certainly, I just conveyed what I have been ordered to convey as an argument against everyone, be him present or absent, a direct witness or not, and already born or not yet born.

Hence, everyone who is present should convey (this sermon) to those who are absent, every parent should convey it to his/her children, (and they should continue to do so) until the Day of Judgement.

But, (I have been informed that) some people shall replace this (divinelyassigned leadership) with kingdom through usurpation.

May Allah curse the usurpers and dispossessors, And then, “We will soon settle your affairs, O the two weights.

And (also), “on you O the two (greatest enemies) shall be launched a flame of fire and a (flash of) molten brass, thus you shall never prevail.”

O people! Without doubt, Allah, the mighty and the majestic, does not leave you in the state you are now,

1 Chapter 55, Verse 31 of the Holy Quran. According to the traditions, the “two weights” in this verse refers to the Quran and Ahl al-Bait (PBUT). cf., al-Tafsir, Ali Ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 345, Ta’wil al-Ayat al-Dhahira, p. 616.

2 Chapter 55, Verse 35 of the Holy Quran. until He separates the evil from the good ones.

Nor does He make you acquainted with (the knowledge of) the unseen.1 O people! There shall be no (wrongful) community but that Allah shall perish it due to the rejection (of truth) by its people.

Such is what Allah, the exalted, mentioned (in His book) as to how He destroys the wrongful societies.2 This is your leader and your guardian, and these are Allah’s promises. Verily, Allah fulfills His promise.

O people! Most of the early generations before you have strayed, and surely, Allah destroyed them. He shall be the One who destroys the later generations too.

Allah, the exalted, states: “Did We not destroy the former generations? So shall We follow the same for later (generations). Such is how We treat the guilty. Woe on that Day to the rejecters (of truth)!”1

O people! Allah gave me the commandments and the prohibitions, and I gave them to Ali by the order of Allah. Hence, the knowledge of all commandments and prohibitions are with him.

Thus, listen to his orders so that you remain safe, obey him so that you are guided, and leave what he prohibits so that you become mature.

Conform to what he wants, and do not let different paths separate you from his path.2

1 Chapter 77, Verses 16-19 of the Holy Quran. 2 cf., Chapter 6, Verse 153 of the Quran.