A brief introduction to

GHADEER-E-KHUM incident

It is a presentation of Islamic Occasions

http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/
 Scope
 Background of Ghadeer-e-Khum
– The urgent revelation
– Location of Ghadeer-e-Khum
– Hayya Ala Khair-il-Amal
– When & in front of how many Muslims?
– What happened at Ghadeer-e-Khum
– Homage to Ali
– Contexts
 Quranic Exegesis (Tafsir):
 Prophetic Traditions (Hadith):
 Historical Reports (Tarikh):
– Narrators
– Further studies / References
– Questions
The urgent revelation
 The urgent revelation

 On the return journey to Madina, the

caravan passed Ghadeer-e-Khum near
Al-Johfa.
 The Holy Prophet (SAW) decided to
encamp here.
 He (SAW) suddenly saw the signs of
‘WAHY’ (divine revelation).
 The voice of Arch angel ‘Gibrael’ was
heard by the Holy Prophet (SWA)
saying: Ayat No. 5:67.
Location of Ghadeer-e-Khum
Location of Ghadeer-e-Khum
 Ghadeer is on the way from Mecca to Madina.
 Ghadeer mean a small lake/pond in Arabic,
named as Khum. So this place is known as
Ghadeer-e-Khum.
 The Holy Prophet(S.A.W) broke the journey at
this lake, which is located 3 miles away from
Al-Johfa.
 He(S.A.W) halted at Ghadeer-e-Khum in
midday.
 Which is a wayside tract of barren land with no
shade other than that provided by a few
acacia trees.
 Significant aspect attached to Ghadeer, where
all the routes of the different caravans coming
from various points of Arabia normally parted.
Hayya Ala Khair-il-Amal
 Hayya Ala Khair-il-Amal

 On hearing this urgent command, the

Holy Prophet (SAW) ordered the place
around to be swept.
 He also ordered Hazrat Bilal ( the
Muezzin – caller to prayer ) to recite the
‘Azan’ – call to prayer with the words:
 “Hayya Ala Khair-il-Amal” meaning O
people! Hasten towards the best of
deeds.
When & in front of how many
Muslims?
When & in front of how many
Muslims?

 It was the 18th day of Zil Haj – the 10th

year after Hijra.
 In front of between 90,000 to 120,000
Muslims.
 Those who had gone ahead and those
who were still behind. Also those who
had begun to depart in different
directions.
 All were recalled to this junction and
instructed to assemble in order to hear
an important message.
What happened at Ghadeer ?
What happened at Ghadeer ?

 A shade was arranged for the Holy

Prophet (SAW).
 He (SAW) offered the noon prayers in
‘Jamaat’.
 Thereafter, He (SAW) delivered the
sermon.
 Tabarani and others have recorded the
following tradition as related by Zayd
ibn 'Arqam and transmitted through
sources unanimously acknowledged to
be reliable. Zayd says that the
 "O my people! I am going to be recalled shortly and I
must comply. I shall be interrogated and you also shall
 be
Theinterrogated. What
entire audience will you say
answered: "Wethen?"
shall bear witness
that you did convey to us the message of Allah, and
tried your best to guide us on the right path and always
gave us good console. May Allah bless you with a good
reward."
 The Holy Prophet proceeded: "Why do you not bear
witness that there is no god but Allah and that
Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that
Paradise is true, Hell is true, Death is true, Resurrection
after death is true, that the Day of Judgment will
doubtlessly come and that Allah will raise to life the
dead from their graves?.“
 They said: "O Yes! We bear witness to all this."
 Then Holy Prophet said: “O Allah! You also may
“O my Lord, be a friend of him who is
a friend of Ali, and be an enemy of
one who bears enmity to Ali, help
him who assists Ali and forsake him
who will forsake Ali.”
 He (SAW) further said: "O my people! I will
precede you and you also shall arrive at the
pool of Kawthar. When you shall reach me I
shall interrogate you about your behavior
towards the two in-valuable assets (thaqalayn)
after my death. The major asset is the Book of
Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, one end of
which is in the hand of Allah, the Exalted, and
the other end of which in your hands. Grasp it
tightly and do not go astray and do not change
or amend it. The other asset is my Progeny,
 When
who arethemy
ceremony wasAllah
Ahl al-Bayt. over,the
theGracious
Arch angel
and
‘Gibrael’
Omniscientcame
hasand brought
informed meAyat
thatNo.
the5:3.
two will
not part from each other before they reach me
“…Today have I perfected upon you
your religion and completed upon
you My blessings and approved for
you Islam as your religion...” (Al-
Maeda/5:3)
Homage to Ali
 Homage to Ali
 At this moment the Holy Prophet (SAW)
pronounced Takbir (i.e., ‘Allaho Akbar’) loudly
and then added:

 “I thank Allah for having perfected His religion

and for having completed His favor and for
having been pleased with the mastership and
succession of Ali after me.”
 Then He (SAW) stepped down from the platform
and said to Ali:
 “Sit in a tent so that the chiefs and
“Congratulations, O son of Abu Taleb,
You become Maula of all believers,
men and women.” (Umar Bin Al-
Khattab)
Prophetic Tradition (Hadiths):
 Prophetic Tradition (Hadiths):
 Imam Ahmad has recorded the tradition related by
Bara' ibn 'Azib in his Musnad, vol.4, p. 281,
transmitted through two different sources. Bara'
says: "We were with the Messenger of Allah. We
alighted at Ghadeer-e-Khum. Congregational prayer
was in order. An area under two trees was swept
and cleaned for the Messenger of Allah,(Allah's
blessings and peace be upon him and his posterity).
He offered midday prayers and he grasped the
hand of 'Ali and said: 'Do you not know that I have
superior authority over the lives of the faithful than
the faithful themselves?' 'Yes you have,' they
replied. He again inquired: 'Do you not know that I
have superior right to the life of every believer than
the believer himself?' 'Surely, you have,' they
answered. Then he grasped the hand of ‘Ali and
said: 'Ali is the mawla of all those of whom I am
Historical reports (Tarikh):
 Historical reports (Tarikh):
 Here we just like to mention one instance which took
place in Kufa during the khilafah of Imam Ali, 25 years
after the Prophet's death.
 At Ali's insistence a large number of people gathered in
the plain of Rahbah in Kufah, he addressed them
saying: "I administer an oath in the name of Allah to all
such Muslims as heard the Holy Prophet(SAW) making a
proclamation on the day of Ghadeer-e-Khum, to stand
up and testify what they heard him say. Only those who
saw the Holy Prophet(SAW) that day with their own
eyes and heard the proclamation with their own ears
should stand up." Thereupon, thirty companions of the
Holy Prophet(SAW), including twelve of those who had
participated in the battle of Badr, stood up and
witnessed that the Holy Prophet(SAW) grasped his
(Ali's) hand and said to the audience: "Do you know
that I have a prior right to and superior authority over
 It is logically impossible that thirty companions
might have secretly agreed to speak a
unanimous lie. In addition to the thirty
witnesses there were other male companions
whom enmity with Ali prevented from standing
up and giving their evidence as eye-witnesses,
 When Imam
like Anas ibnAli said to Anas: "Why do you not
Malik.
stand up and testify what you heard from the
messenger of Allah on the day of Ghadeer?" he
answered, "O Amir al-Momineen! I have grown
old and do not remember." Thereupon Ali said:
"May Allah mark you with a white spot (of
leprosy) unconcealable with your turban, if you
are intentionally withholding the truth." And
before Anas got up from his place he bore a
 Also bear in mind that this incident took place
25 years after the event of Ghadeer-e-Khum,
and during this period hundreds of
eyewitnesses had died naturally or in the
battles fought during the first two khulafah's
rule. Add to this the fact that this incident took
place in Kufa which was far from the center of
 This incident which took place in Kufa in the
the sahabas, Medina.
year 35 A.H. has itself been narrated by four
sahaba and 14 tabi'un and has been recorded
in most books of history and tradition.
Narrators:
 Narrators:

 110 companions of the Holy

Prophet(SAW)
 84 Successors (Tabiun)
 Over 360 scholars to the present day
Further studies/references:
 Further studies/references:
 Al-Ghadeer fi al-kitab wa al-sunnah wa al-adab
– A book written in Arabic by Allamah 'Abd al-
Husayn Ahmad al-'Amini al-Najafi (d. 1390
AH). Where he gives with full references the
names of 110 sahaba of the Prophet and
also 84 tabi'un (disciples of the sahaba) who
have narrated the hadith of Ghadeer. He
has also chronologically given the names of
the historians, traditionists, exegetists and
poets who have mentioned the hadith of
Ghadeer from the first until the fourteenth
Islamic century in 11 volumes .
 Abaqat al-Anwar
– A book written in Persian by Allama Sayyid
Hamid Husayn Musawi Lakhnawi (d. 1306
AH) of India. Allama Sayyid Hamid Husayn
The Questions
 The Questions
 What is the urgent revelation?
 Where is Ghadeer-e-Khum located?
 What is mean by Ghadeer-e-Khum?
 What is the significant aspect attached to
Ghadeer-e-Khum?
 Who said: Hayya Ala Khair-il-Amal?
 When did this historic event happen?
 What is the order of the following?
 Who said: Whomsoever I am the master Ali
is his master?
 Who said: Congratulations, O son of Abu
 The End

Visit the following web sites for answers

and more information on the Ghadeer-
e-Khum incident
http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/ghadir
.asp
http://www.al-islam.org/ghadir/