Eid-e-Ghadeer
Zain Gulamali
The 18th of Dhul Hijjah marks the
symbolic occasion of Eid-ul-Ghadeer
on the Islamic calendar.
To this day, we recognise the date as
being a day of change and progression
on the path towards the further spread
of Islam.
The events that took their course on
that day led to Imam Ali a.s being
announced the successor to Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w as the leader of the
Muslim believers of the time.
The Holy Prophet s.a.w alongside
around a 100,000 of his followers
arrived at a place by the name of
Ghadir Khum, halfway between
Mecca and Medina.
They were on route to Medina after
completing the Hajj pilgrimage for
that year of 10 AH. The group were
brought to a standstill whilst Allah swt
revealed a verse to the Holy Prophet
s.a.w. It read, in Al  Ma-idah 5:67,
"O our Messenger! Deliver what
has been sent down unto you and
from your Lord; and if you do not,
then you have not delivered his
message."
In this strong verse of authority, Allah
swt was referring to the Holy Prophet
s.a.w declaring Imam Ali a.s his
successor.
Showing no signs of questioning, the
Holy Prophet s.a.w followed up by
instantly mounting his pulpit.
He started his sermon off by asking his
followers, "Have I conveyed the
commands of Allah to you?"
They replied as a sole unit, "Yes."
Following on, the Holy Prophet s.a.w
asked, "Do I wield authority over
your souls more than you do?"
Once again, as a group, his followers
replied, "Certainly it is so, O
messenger of Allah."
With no doubt in his mind, the Holy
Prophet s.a.w asked Imam Ali a.s to
come up. He held his hands high
above the rest, and brought him high
enough for all to see, and declared,
"O men and women! Allah is my
mawla. I am the mawla of the
faithfuls. I have a clear authority
over their souls, and of
whomsoever I am the mawla, Ali
is his mawla. O Allah! Love him
who loves Ali, hate him who hates
Ali."
This great declaration on the part of
the Holy Prophet s.a.w was greeted
with an honourable vow of allegiance
from all who were observing. Male
followers shook hands, whilst women
placed their palms in water to show
their own respective allegiance
towards the man who they now knew
would be their next leader. Even the
likes of Umar, a man who later on
forcefully became the Caliph, was the
first one to accept this and gave Imam
Ali a.s allegiance. He admitted,
"Congratulations to you O the son
of Abu Talib. You have become the
Mawla of all the faithful men and
women."
This declaration resulted in another
verse being revealed in the Holy
Qur'an.
It was revealed in Ma-idah, 5:3,"This
day I have perfected for you, your
religion, and have completed my
favour on you, and have chosen for
you Islam, as religion."
As firm as this declaration was, there
are still, to this day, some who yet
question the authenticity of the
declaration of Ali a.s becoming the
future leader of the Muslims. The
word mawla that was mentioned on a
number of occasions by the Holy
Prophet has become a means of critics
attempting to question the true
meaning of the word used by
Muhammad s.a.w. The word mawla
literally means master, lord or
guardian. One who is deserving of
superior authority.
With this announcement, The Holy
Prophet s.a.w officially declared Imam
Ali a.s as his successor. But to this very
day, all these years on, there are still
Muslims who deny Imam Ali a.s as the
leader of the Muslims, either through
stubbornness or simple ignorance. It
would have been unimaginable for
someone in the league of the Holy
Prophet s.a.w to have passed away
leaving no future successor to follow in
his footsteps. Even in this modern day
and age, every institution has a process
in place to groom and appoint a
successor after the exit of their current
leader. Whether it be the head of a
bank, or a manager of a football club,
it has always been prevalent in society
for a successor to be appointed in due
course, to further build on the firm
foundations that already exist.
Likewise, it is more than obvious to see
how the Holy Prophet s.a.w would
have known that his time was to come
to an end, and therefore appointing
Ali a.s would not only have been a
result of the order of Allah s.a.w.
In conclusion, it is clear to see how the
events of Eid-ul-Ghadeer were
enormous for the future of Islam, and
how everything lay in the appointment
of Ali a.s. Choosing Imam Ali as the
leader was undoubtedly the correct
choice, that led to the further spread of
Islam, in a world where many were
still unaware of the true word that was
to be expressed through Islam and its
teachings.