We have chosen to bring up this matter of Ghadir day to be discussed objectively among objective people that are impartial and well wishers of humanity and this not in order to promote or increase differences but in order to have the matter debated in the right place by the right people, instead of being fought over in several battlefields causing b...
loodshed and loss of lives and victims as we are witnessing nowadays . Overlooking the whole thing would not help , let us try to cast a light on what really happened on that day in the light of what has been revealed by the holy Koran itself.
The context definitely of the Ghadir day was that of tension; there was tension among the believers and between them and the Prophet of Islam and this tension had started before the Ghadir day and probably continued till after the death of the Prophet of Islam and increased even more in the days of the four Caliphs to culminate in the event of Karbala’ . But this had started during the lifetime of the Prophet.
The context of the ‘Aya 67 of Sourat Al Ma’ida is that of enmity between the previous messengers of God who preceded the Prophet and their congregation, of how the community around Christ or other messengers had swayed from the injunctions of the religion . This enmity -experienced by Christ or Prophet Ibrahim - and the failure of their followers to apply the religious rules and injunctions reveal the situation of the Prophet of Islam himself who had the same experience with his own community of rebellion and non obedience to the word of God.
There is warning in this Sourat and recall of how the congregation of previous messengers did not carry on the ordinances of God . This is the general context and spirit of the Sourat and reveals the fact that the Prophet of Islam felt unsafe within his own community , and the important message- he wanted to convey to them- was hindered because it contained material that endangered the life of the Prophet because it would be considered provocative by the community and- for this reason- had to wait for a sign from God whereby the Prophet of Islam would be granted protection .
This ‘Aya 67 was revealed to grant divine protection to the Prophet of Islam in relation to the important message he had to deliver in Ghadir day, and to order him to reveal it to the community- without delay- because such message was of great importance to the point that it exposed and threatened the life of the Prophet .
Now – logically speaking - this cannot be a secondary matter that threatened the life of the Prophet or an inoffensive message that had to do with the completion of religion or pointing out the two legacies : that of the Holy Koran and the Tradition . These facts could not and should not be considered as provocative or life threatening .
What was revealed in Ghadir day was of extreme importance for the future of the community, in addition to being life threatening to the Prophet and- logically- this could have been succession and it is succession . Once granted divine protection- according to the interpretation of the ‘Aya 67- the Prophet dismissed the guards who were assuring his protection and relied on God , the message was thus revealed by God’s will and religion had entered a new phase of confrontation.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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