Day of Perfection of Faith By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz On the anniversary of this major day in the history of Islam, often called Eid al-Akbar or the Greatest Celebration, here is the ayah that God revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), after he had proclaimed his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) as the divinely-designated Leader of the Ummah, on the 18th of Zilhijjah while returning from his Farewell Hajj Pilgrimage: Today the faithless have despaired of your religion. So do not fear them, but fear Me. Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion.” (5:3) This was revealed to signify the perfection of faith, completion of divine blessings and establishment of Islam as the universal religion of mankind, before a huge gathering of 120,000-plus Hajj pilgrims. The formal declaration of the imamate of Imam Ali (AS) thus set up an everlasting barometer in order to discern truth from falsehood, and it made the faithless despaired of completely distorting Islam – as had been done by imposters with the messages entrusted to the Prophets of the past. This historic event occurred in the wilderness of Khom near Juhfa beside the Ghadeer (Pond) – perhaps to signify the perennial freshness of this event. It capped the 23-year mission of the Seal of Messengers that had begun on Mount Noor in Mecca, where the ten-year old Ali (AS) was also present. The day chosen by God for this great phenomenon had seen certain miracles in antiquity, such as the turning into a garden of the huge fire the tyrant Nimrod had ignited and flung Prophet Abraham into it. This is yet another indication that even the most intricate plots of the faithless will come to naught against the epitome of faith that emerged at Ghadeer. Moreover, according to Hadith, it was on the 18th of Zilhijja, as per divine commandment, Prophet Moses (Mussa) had designated Prophet Joshua (Aruun) as his successor, while in the following centuries Prophet Solomon (Suleiman) had appointed Asef the son of Barkhiya as his deputy, and Prophet Jesus (Issa) (AS) had named Simeon as his vicegerent. Thus, when Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), after a memorable midday sermon under the blazing Arabian sun, extracted the pledge of obedience to his superiority over all others from the huge assembly and then lifted his cousin to proclaim for whomsoever I am Master, this Ali is his Master,” he was not saying anything from himself, but like the Prophets of the past, was only pronouncing what God had inspired him to do so for fixing a permanent criterion for humanity to recognize faith. Interestingly, God and the Prophet did not choose as custodians of Islam any Tom, Dick and Harry of Arabia, who had spent the greater part of life in idolatry and vices before paying lip service to monotheism. This would have been against the principles of Divine Justice, and contrary to the course of events ever since the Day of Mab’ath, when in the solitude of Cave Hera, Archangel Gabriel (Jibriil) had descended to the 40-year old son of Abdullah with the first rays of divine revelation, while outside stood a 10-year boy, hearing what transpired, and who later testified to the prophethood of his cousin while the Arabs exchanged stupefied looks, as Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) said: O Ali! You are my legatee and my caliph.” (Refer to Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and other Sunni sources). The rest is history. Every single person from the huge gathering, including women for whom a separate arrangement had been made, surged to congratulate Imam Ali (AS) and swear allegiance to his leadership, thus de-legitimizing forever any bid in the future by any person (other than the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt), to call himself caliph or successor of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). Now we understand, why Divine Providence has decreed that Imam Mahdi (AS), who would reappear in the end times, with Prophet Jesus as his lieutenant, to establish the global government of peace and justice, will be the direct descendent of Imam Ali (AS) and the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) – and not the offspring of any of those who had masqueraded as caliphs to terrorize Muslims. Heartiest Felicitations on the Day of Ghadeer.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 10:52:22 +0000
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