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Gadir Khumm (Islamic Studies)

Oct 18th, 2019
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  1. Introduction
  2. Ghadir Khumm is well known in the history of Islam as the site where Muhammad pronounced a significant declaration in favor of ʿAli b. Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law. The announcement took place during his return journey from the farewell pilgrimage on 18 Dhuʼl Hijja amid a noteworthy gathering and was destined to have a far-reaching impact on the dynamics of the Muslim community. All Muslims concur on the historicity of the event even if the statements therein remain open to interpretation. The Ghadir Khumm tradition is among the most extensively acknowledged and substantiated of traditions and exists in several variations in classical Islamic sources. The pool (ghadir) in the valley of Khumm is situated three miles from al-Jahfa (al-Juhfa) on the way from Mecca to Medina. Because it was a strategic meeting area from which travelers would disperse to their respective routes, Muhammad called for a congregational prayer and asked for an improvised pulpit to be raised. After a contextual brief, he uttered the famous saying “man kuntu mawlahu fa ʿAli mawlahu” (he whose mawla I am, Ali is his mawla). Exegetical sources suggest that this declaration was made after Muhammad’s initial hesitance on this matter continued. A repeat command was given in Qurʾan 5:67, “O Messenger, deliver [to the people] what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not do so, then you have not delivered His Message; and God will protect you from people,” which confirmed his protection from the people. Muhammad then carried out these instructions with the Ghadir Khumm declaration that the Shiʿa believe to be a nass—a clear designation for ʿAli to lead the Muslims after the Prophet. Those who later formed the Sunni community accept this historic declaration unanimously but maintain that this was a call for ʿAli to be held in affection and esteem rather than a confirmation of his succession.
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  4. General Overviews
  5. The existing findings on Ghadir Khumm are innumerable, substantive, and controversial in interpretation. The earliest evidence for Ghadir Khumm is the poetry of Hassan b. Thabit (see Ibn Thabit 1971), which was composed and recited spontaneously on site as people began congratulating ʿAli. But Horowitz 1904 and Goldziher 1971 deem this poem spurious and regard the verses of Kumayt as the earliest evidence for this tradition. Some historical sources, including Ibn Hisham, al-Tabari, and Ibn Saʻd ignore this incident, yet al-Tabari appears to have compiled a treatise on Fadaʾil al-ʿAli in his later years, as noted in Rosenthal 1989 in an introduction to al-Tabari’s translation of the Taʼrikh. Kohlberg 1992 offers a succinct summary of this controversy. Other early historical sources, such as al-Baladhuri 2003 and Ibn Qays 1994, include substantial details on the Ghadir Khumm event. Besides the early works of the Sunni tradition (see Ibn Hanbal 1949 in History of the Tradition), exegetical sources clearly convey the evidence of Muhammad’s initial reluctance to relay a certain message in favor of ʿAli, which he takes care of after the command in Qurʾan 5:67. This is followed by the revelation of God’s favor in Qurʾan 5:3, which is debatable in some Sunni exegeses. Further evidence from early Tafsir (al-Qummi 1966) is rather comprehensive, as it includes reports on the plotters who lay in wait to kill Muhammad after his announcement. The Ghadir Khumm tradition first became important during the Abbasid period, when the Alids needed to assert their rights against the Abbasids, according to Goldziher 1971, but Madelung 2009 insists that ʿAli was the first teacher of the Shiʿa and that he first publicized the Hadith of Ghadir Khumm when he asked witnesses of the event to come forward and testify to this outside the mosque in Kufa. ʿAli therefore strongly believed that the community as a whole had turned away from him. This was unacceptable to Sunni historiography, which spread the imaginary tale of the Shiʿa erroneously begun by Ibn Sabaʼ, a Yemeni Jew stirring up the rebellion against ʻUthman. Al-Tabari relied on Sayf b. Umar, a Kufan historian whose account of early Islamic history heavily influenced later Sunni historiography (see Rosenthal 1989 and Madelung 2009). Al-Baladhuri 2003 does not use Sayf as a source.
  6.  
  7. al-Baladhuri. Ansab al-Ashraf. Vol. 2. Edited by Wilferd Madelung. Beirut, 2003.
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  11. An early historical source for the life, career, and progeny of ʿAli b. Abi Talib, including traditions on Ghadir Khumm and ʿAli’s appeal to the Kufans after the arbitration to testify to this pronouncement.
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  13. Find this resource:
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  15. Goldziher, Ignaz. Muslim Studies. Vol. 2. Translated by C. R. Barber and S. M. Stern. London: Allen and Unwin, 1971.
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  19. Introduces the Ghadir Khumm event and tradition as a basis of Shiʿi legitimacy but asserts that it became important only as a weapon against the Abbasids.
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  21. Find this resource:
  22.  
  23. Horovitz, Josef, ed. Die Hashimijjat des Kumait. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1904.
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  26.  
  27. For Horovitz and Ignaz Goldziher, it is the poem of al-Kumayt (d. 126/743) that forms the earliest attestation of the Ghadir Khumm event, as they consider Hassan’s verses spurious. Also see J. Horovitz, “KumaytKumayt,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2d ed., edited by P. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. Van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2006). This is an explicit account of the Ghadir Khumm event by a Shiʿi poet, which is presented as a prophetic rather than a divine pronouncement.
  28.  
  29. Find this resource:
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  31. Ibn Qays, Sulaym. Kitab Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilali. Vol. 2. Edited by Shaykh Mohamed Baqir al-Ansari. Qom, Iran: Nashr al-Hadi, 1994.
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  34.  
  35. Contains substantial details of the Ghadir Khumm event and notes the several versions and interpretations. Extends its coverage to the walaya (faith) and to ʿAli’s descendants as well.
  36.  
  37. Find this resource:
  38.  
  39. Ibn Thabit, Hassan. Diwan of Hassan Ibn Thabit. Edited by Walid N. ʿArafat. E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Series. 2 vols. London: Luzac, 1971.
  40.  
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  42.  
  43. These verses are the earliest evidence of the Ghadir Khumm event capturing the sentiments of Muhammad appointing ʿAli .
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  45. Find this resource:
  46.  
  47. Kohlberg, Etan. A Medieval Scholar at Work: Ibn Tawus. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1992.
  48.  
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  50.  
  51. Contains a summation on this controversy of al-Tabari compiling a treatise in his later years on Fadaʾil al-‘Ali, which Franz Rosenthal notes in his translation of the introduction of al-Tabari.
  52.  
  53. Find this resource:
  54.  
  55. Madelung, Wilferd. “Sayf b. Umar: Akhbari and Ideological Fiction Writer.” In Le Shiʾsme Imamite Quarante ans après: Hommage à Etan Kohlberg. Edited by M. A. Moezzi, M. Bar-Asher, and Simon Hopkins, 325–337. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2009.
  56.  
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  58.  
  59. Views Sayf as valuable early source material. But as a historian, he was an ideological fiction writer, although his reports narrated by a single narrator tend to be genuine. Also see Madelung, “Shiʿa,” in Encyclopedia of Islam, 2d ed., Vol. 9, edited by P. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. Van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, 420–424 (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2006), in which he discusses ʿAli as the first teacher of the Shiʿa.
  60.  
  61. Find this resource:
  62.  
  63. al-Qummi, Abu’l Hasan Ali b. Ibrahim. Tafsir al-Qummi. Vol. 1. Edited by al-Tayyib al-Musawi al-Jaza’iri. Najaf, Iraq: N.p., 1966.
  64.  
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  66.  
  67. See pages 171–175. This exegetical work is rather comprehensive and includes reports about the plotters who lay in wait to kill Muhammad after his announcement at the Ghadir Khumm. There is clear evidence from this and other Tafsir literature of Muhammad’s initial reluctance to relay a certain message in favor of ʿAli, which is carried out upon the command given in Qurʾan 5:67, followed by the revelation of God’s favor in Qurʾan 5:3.
  68.  
  69. Find this resource:
  70.  
  71. Rosenthal, Franz, trans. The History of al-Tabari. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989.
  72.  
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  74.  
  75. This introductory volume is a groundbreaking contribution to Islamic historiography, revealing meticulous scholarship on al-Tabari’s writings. Invaluable to all scholars of Arabic and Middle Eastern history.
  76.  
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  78.  
  79. History of the Tradition
  80. The tradition of Ghadir Khumm tends to be viewed suspiciously by many scholars well into the early 21st century, and when accepted, it does not receive the historical credibility it deserves. Ibn Hanbal 1949 provides the authenticity of the tradition, as does al-Jahiz 1955, which argues against the notion that the tradition constitutes a nass (explicit appointment) for ʿAli. The historical work Ibn Kathir 1977 provides numerous reports on the Ghadir Khumm tradition, connecting the episode and the meaningful statement to ʿAli’s expedition to Yemen, during which his conduct provoked apparent criticism. Be that as it may, the tradition was and is significant considering the number of studies devoted to its scholarship. Al-Qadi al-Nuʾman 1993 emphasizes the Ghadir Khumm tradition and depicts ʿAli’s walaya (faith) as being as important as purity, prayer, alms, fasting, struggle, and pilgrimage, if not more so. There is a special section that discusses the tradition man kuntu mawlahu fa Ali mawlahu. The monumental work al-Amini 1974–1976 on Ghadir Khumm speaks to the tradition, exegeses, history, poetry, and biographical notes and critiques the fabrication of Abdallah b. Sabaʾ by Sayf b. Umar. The Tayyibi Ismaili historiography ʿIdrisʿImad al-Din 2007) reports the Ghadir Khumm tradition on the authority of Imam al-Baqir and also includes the report of ʿAli asking companions outside the mosque in Kufa to testify. This gives evidence of not only the event and the statement as historical fact but also of the value attached to it by ʿAli himself.
  81.  
  82. al-Amini, Abd al-Husayn Ahmad. Al-Ghadir fiʾl-Kitab waʾl Sunna waʾl adab. Tehran: Al-Haydari, 1974–1976.
  83.  
  84. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  85.  
  86. The most exhaustive compilation of Sunni and Shiʿi works. Includes traditions, exegeses, history, poetry, and biographical notes on those who report traditions from authorities, writers, and poets who have included the Ghadir Khumm event in their work. The work itself consists of eleven volumes and is a formidable collection of sources on the subject by a Twelver Shiʾi.
  87.  
  88. Find this resource:
  89.  
  90. Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad b. Muhammad, ed. Al-Musnad. Cairo: Shakir, 1949.
  91.  
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  93.  
  94. An important early source of Hadith that was not purged to please the Abbasids. It comprises traditions of obviously Syrian origin that are sympathetic to the Umayyads and those supporting the Shiʿa, including a number of traditions relating to the Ghadir Khumm incident.
  95.  
  96. Find this resource:
  97.  
  98. ʿIdris ʿImad al-Din.Uyun al-akhbar wa-funun al-athar. Vol. 1. Edited by Ahmad Chleilat. Revised by Maʾmoun al-Sagherji. London: Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2007.
  99.  
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  101.  
  102. See pages 480–487. Occupies a central position in the Tayyibi Ismaili historiography and makes references to early works, such as the Daʾaʾim al-Islam and the Sharh al-akhbar from the Fatimid period. The report on the farewell pilgrimage and the Ghadir Khumm tradition is from Imam al-Baqir, Muhammad b. ʿAli, and it also includes the report of ʿAli asking companions in Kufa to testify on the veracity of the Ghadir Khumm declaration.
  103.  
  104. Find this resource:
  105.  
  106. Ibn Kathir, Imad al-Din Ismail b. Umar. Al-Bidaya waʾl nihaya. 2d ed. Beirut: Maktabat al-Maʿārif, 1977.
  107.  
  108. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  109.  
  110. Records the Ghadir Khumm event as a historic fact but connects the episode to ʿAli’s expedition to Yemen, where his conduct had apparently provoked criticism. This is why the prophet found it necessary to make a strong public statement in favor of his cousin.
  111.  
  112. Find this resource:
  113.  
  114. al-Jahiz, Abu Uthman Amr, ed. Kitab al-Uthmaniyya. Cairo: A. Harun, 1955.
  115.  
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  117.  
  118. The author argues fervently against the Ghadir Khumm tradition as constituting a nass or an explicit appointment for ʿAli by the Prophet, which he maintains to have been misinterpreted by the Shiʿa (also pejoratively known as Rafida in earlier times).
  119.  
  120. Find this resource:
  121.  
  122. al-Qadi al-Numʿan, ed. Sharh al-akhbar fí fadāʾil al-aʾimma al-athar. 3 vols. Qom, Iran: Islamic Publishing Foundation, 1993.
  123.  
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  125.  
  126. A comprehensive work on ʿAli b. Abi Talib’s career in three volumes with significant details on several traditions, including the Ghadir Khumm tradition in detail. Explains the messenger’s role in explicating details on several such aspects, including prayer, alms, fasting, struggle, pilgrimage, and in this case the devotional authority of ʿAli.
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  129.  
  130. Text Collections
  131. A number of original sources have recently emerged in translations. Although not specifically on the Ghadir Khumm, they constitute a sizable section within the general theme of leadership. Makarem’s edition and translation (Abuʾl Fawaris, et al. 1977) of Abuʾl Fawaris is the earliest to state Muhammad’s pronouncement as a nass (explicit appointment) on ʿAli. Al-Mufid 1981 (with a translation by I. K. A. Howard) gives a detailed section on the farewell pilgrimage and the Ghadir Khumm, which includes the verses of Hassan b. Thabit recited at the event. Walker 2007 has an Arabic text and translation of al-Kirmani’s proofs of the Imamate that features Ghadir Khumm. Among many other classics, al-Majlisi 2001 (Bihar al-Anwar) has a detailed account of the Ghadir Khumm that includes traditions pertaining to the twelve Imams, as noted in Kohlberg 1976. Wensinck 1936–1969 is invaluable for study on the Ghadir Khumm and other traditions. That work also lists a number of traditions and includes citations from six canonical works of Sunni Hadith literature. Juynboll 2001 critiques the Ghadir Khumm tradition and other similar traditions as mutawatir (related by numerous narrators). Arzina R. Lalani’s study of al-Naysaburi’s treatise on leadership (al-Naysaburi 2010) highlights the distinction of ʿAli, which underpins his thesis of “degrees of excellence.” Ibn Asakir 1975 includes a number of Ghadir Khumm Hadiths that form the basis of Ibn Kathir’s selection, but the author also observes that these Hadiths do not support Shiʿi claims.
  132.  
  133. Abuʾl Fawaris, Ibn Yaʿqub, and Risala fiʾl Imama. The Political Doctrine of the Ismailis: The Imamate. Edited and translated by Sami N. Makarem. Delmar, NY: Caravan, 1977.
  134.  
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  136.  
  137. Makarem gives numerous sources on the Ghadir Khumm tradition with different interpretations of the word mawla. Abuʾl Fawaris considers the pronouncement of Muhammad as a proof of his explicit appointment (or nass) of ʿAli as his successor.
  138.  
  139. Find this resource:
  140.  
  141. Ibn Asakir, Abuʾl Qasim. Ta’rikh Madinat al-Dimashq: Tarjamat al-imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib ed. 3 vols. Edited by Muhammad Baqir al-Mahmudi. Beirut, 1975.
  142.  
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  144.  
  145. Includes a number of hadiths on the Ghadir Khumm. It is from this collection that Ibn Kathir selected his principal traditions, which according to him do not support the Shiʿi position.
  146.  
  147. Find this resource:
  148.  
  149. Juynboll, G. H. A. “(Re)Appraisal of Some Technical Terms in Hadith Science.” Islamic Law and Society 8.3 (2001): 303–349.
  150.  
  151. DOI: 10.1163/156851901317230611Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  152.  
  153. Critiques the mutawatir (related by numerous narrators) traditions, such as those of Ghadir Khumm.
  154.  
  155. Find this resource:
  156.  
  157. Kohlberg, Etan. “From Imāmiyya to Ithnā-ʿashariyya.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 39.3 (1976): 521–534.
  158.  
  159. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00050989Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  160.  
  161. Includes a variant tradition on Ghadir Khumm from al-Majlisi’s Bihar al-Anwar, mentioning the twelve Imams following Muhammad. This proved helpful in the transition of the doctrine from the Imamiyya to the Ithnaʾashariyya.
  162.  
  163. Find this resource:
  164.  
  165. al-Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir. Bihar al-Anwar. Vol. 9. Tehrān: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyah, 2001.
  166.  
  167. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  168.  
  169. See pages 503–529. A prolific author during the Safavid period, al-Majlisi turns his attention to prophetic traditions in his voluminous Bihar. Surveys the farewell pilgrimage and what transpired on the return journey along with details on the Ghadir Khumm tradition. The work contains several variants of the tradition, including the mention of the twelve Imams.
  170.  
  171. Find this resource:
  172.  
  173. al-Mufid, Muhammad b. al-Nuʿman. The Book of Guidance. Translated by I. K. A. Howard. London: Muhammadi Trust, 1981.
  174.  
  175. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  176.  
  177. Has a long section on the Prophet’s farewell pilgrimage and the declaration of Ghadir Khumm. There is a detailed account of what happened during the pilgrimage, the rituals, the event of Ghadir Khumm, and what the Prophet said and did. It also includes the verses recited impromptu by Hassan b. Thabit at the event. Originally published as Kitab al-Irshad (Najaf, Iraq, 1392/1972).
  178.  
  179. Find this resource:
  180.  
  181. al-Naysaburi, Ahmad b. Ibrahim. “Kitab Ithbat al-Imama.” In Degrees of Excellence: A Fatimid Treatise on Leadership in Islam. Edited by Arzina R. Lalani, 97. London: Tauris, 2010.
  182.  
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  184.  
  185. Mentions the designation of ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm in relation to the oath given to Abu Bakr. He uses the criteria of knowledge, jihad, and piety to demonstrate the distinction of ʿAli, which underpins his thesis of tafādul (degrees of excellence).
  186.  
  187. Find this resource:
  188.  
  189. Walker, Paul E., ed. and trans. Master of the Age: An Islamic Treatise on the Necessity of the Imamate. London: Tauris, 2007.
  190.  
  191. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  192.  
  193. A critical edition and translation of Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, Al-Masabih fi ithbat al-imama. The author mentions the Ghadir Khumm tradition in section 4 of the proofs of the Imamate. See pages 88–89 in English and 55–56 in Arabic.
  194.  
  195. Find this resource:
  196.  
  197. Wensinck, A. J. Concordance et indices de la tradition musulmane. 7 vols. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1936–1969.
  198.  
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  200.  
  201. See under “w-l-y,” Volume 7, pages 330 and 334 for variant traditions. Also see Wensinck’s “ʿAli,” in A Handbook of Early Muhammadan Tradition (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1971) on mawla and wali for this tradition. That work is alphabetically arranged and is an invaluable source for studying Sunni traditions, while the Concordance is even more substantial and meticulous.
  202.  
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  204.  
  205. Literary Studies
  206. The literary evidence regarding the Ghadir Khumm event illustrates that it was well known among members of the early Muslim community. The event captured by the contemporary Hassan is not accepted by all, but the attestations of al-Kumayt (al-Kumayt 1904) are undeniable, although these seem equally plausible for the whole clan of Hashim rather than only ʿAli and his descendants (see Ibn Thabit 1971, Kister 1976, Madelung 1989). While the verses of al-Kumayt depict prophetic designation, al-Sayyid al-Himyari 1999 emphasizes the divine provenance of the declaration, as do the poems of Sulaym b. Qays. Al-Qadi al-Nuʿman’s (al-Nuʿman 1970), which poetry celebrates the designation in Fatimid al-Qaʾim’s period, but Brett 1996 considers that this celebration is aimed at the Abbasids as well as the future messiah of the Twelvers.
  207.  
  208. Brett, Michael. “The Realm of the Imām: The Faṭimids in the Tenth Century.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 59.3 (1996): 431–449.
  209.  
  210. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00030585Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  211.  
  212. Brett thinks the Ghadir Khumm is primarily a celebration of Shiʿi principle aimed at the Abbasids and their latter-day Sunnism. Also serves to claim the inheritance of the Prophet for the Fatimid dynasty in the West rather than the messiah of the Twelvers in the East.
  213.  
  214. Find this resource:
  215.  
  216. Ibn Thabit, Hassan. Diwan of Hassan Ibn Thabit. Edited by Walid N. ʿArafat. E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Series. 2 vols. London: Luzac, 1971.
  217.  
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  219.  
  220. These verses are the earliest evidence of the Ghadir Khumm event succinctly capturing the sentiments.
  221.  
  222. Find this resource:
  223.  
  224. Kister, M. J. “On a New Edition of the ‘Diwan’ of Hassan b. Thabit.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 39.2 (1976): 265–286.
  225.  
  226. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X0005000XSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  227.  
  228. The poem exists in different versions in several sources, as observed in this study by Kister.
  229.  
  230. Find this resource:
  231.  
  232. al-Kumayt. Die Hāšimijjāt des Kumait. Edited by Josef Horovitz. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1904.
  233.  
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  235.  
  236. See page 154. For Horovitz and Ignaz Goldziher, it is the poem of al-Kumayt that forms the earliest attestation, as they consider Hassan’s verses spurious.
  237.  
  238. Find this resource:
  239.  
  240. Madelung, Wiferd. “The Hashimiyyat of al-Kumayt and Hashimi Shiism.” Studia Islamica 70 (1989): 5–26.
  241.  
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  243.  
  244. Disputes Josef Horovitz’s position in al-Kumayt 1904 that these poems were meant for ʿAli and his descendants. Agrees with Nagel that they were in fact directed to the whole clan of Banu Hashim.
  245.  
  246. Find this resource:
  247.  
  248. al-Nuʿman, Al-Qadi. Urjuza al-mukhtara. Edited by I. K. Poonawala. Montreal: McGill University, Institute of Islamic Studies, 1970.
  249.  
  250. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  251.  
  252. A poetic rendition of the Ghadir Khumm event as a designation of a nass (explicit appointment) on ʿAli by Muhammad, a long poem written in the reign of the Qaʾim.
  253.  
  254. Find this resource:
  255.  
  256. al-Sayyid al-Himyari. Diwan Sayyid al-Himyari. Edited by S. Hādī Shakar. Introduced by S. M. Taqi al-Ḥakīm. Beirut: Dar al-Sadar, 1999.
  257.  
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  259.  
  260. A Kaysani Shiʿi awaiting his mahdi Muhammad al-Hanafiyya. The theme of Ghadir Khumm runs throughout his poetry in relation to the virtues of ʿAli. Considers his appointment as a religious duty for all Muslims.
  261.  
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  263.  
  264. Illustrations
  265. The tradition of the illustrated book existed in medieval Islam for some time. While the literary tradition commending ʿAli had been prominent in earlier times, the first time that a Shiʿi point of view had been displayed pictorially was the portrayal of the investiture of ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm. The text of this investiture survives in the early 14th-century Ilkhanid manuscript Ibn al-Kutbi 1307–1308, “The Investiture of Ali at Ghadir Khumm.” Soucek 1975, Blair 1993, and Hillenbrand 2000 cite Ibn al-Kutbi 1307–1308, while Momen 1985 includes the image from a Safavid manuscript to show ʿAli’s appointment. With the exception of Momen 1985, all other citations in this section refer to al-Biruni 1879 on the chronology in Ibn al-Kutbi 1307–1308.
  266.  
  267. al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad. The Chronology of Ancient Nations. Translated by C. E. Sachau. London: Allen, 1879.
  268.  
  269. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  270.  
  271. An English version of the Arabic text of Athar al-bakiya. Al-Biruni was one of the most original scholars in medieval Islam. Profoundly versatile, his work on the ancient nations includes scholarship on calendars of eras and important mathematical, astronomical, and meteorological details.
  272.  
  273. Find this resource:
  274.  
  275. Blair, Sheila. “The Development of the Illustrated Book in Iran.” In Essays in Honor of Oleg Grabar. Edited by Oleg Grabar, 266–274. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1993.
  276.  
  277. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  278.  
  279. Blair maintains that in “The Investiture of ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm” the Prophet reaches out to touch ʿAli on the shoulder. She cites Priscilla Parsons Soucek, “The Life of the Prophet: Illustrated Versions,” in Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World, edited by Carol Bier, Priscilla Parsons Soucek, and Richard Ettinghausen, 193–218 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988), who maintains that the literary tradition extolling ʿAli had existed for some time but that this was the first time that a Shiʿi point of view had been displayed pictorially.
  280.  
  281. Find this resource:
  282.  
  283. Hillenbrand, Robert. “Images of Muhammad in al-Biruni’s Chronology of Ancient Nations.” In Persian Painting from the Mongols to the Qajars: Studies in Honour of Basil W. Robinson. Edited by Robert Hillenbrand, 129–146. Pembroke Persian Papers 3. London: Tauris, 2000.
  284.  
  285. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  286.  
  287. Gives a number of stunning color images and has a full-page illustration of Muhammad designating ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm and citing Ibn al-Kutbi 1307–1308.
  288.  
  289. Find this resource:
  290.  
  291. Ibn al-Kutbi, ed. “The Investiture of ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm.” MS Arab fol. 162r. 1307–1308. Edinburgh University Library, Edinburgh, UK.
  292.  
  293. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  294.  
  295. Page from a copy of Kitab al-athar al-baqiya ‘an al-qurun al-khaliya (Chronology of ancient nations) copied by Ibn al-Kutbi in northwestern Iran or northern Iraq. This was the first time that a Shiʿi point of view had been displayed pictorially, specifically portraying the investiture of ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm.
  296.  
  297. Find this resource:
  298.  
  299. Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam. New Haven, CT: George Ronald, 1985.
  300.  
  301. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  302.  
  303. See pages 15 and 26. Has a translation of the Ghadir Khumm tradition from the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal and describes the event. Also includes the painting of Muhammad appointing ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm using the Safavid manuscript of Mir Khwand’s Rawdat al-Safa’.
  304.  
  305. Find this resource:
  306.  
  307. Soucek, Priscilla. “An Illustrated Manuscript of al-Biruni’s Chronology of Ancient Nations.” In The Scholar and the Saint: Studies in Commemoration of Abul-Rayhan al-Biruni and Jalal al-Din al-Rumi. Edited by Peter J. Chelkowski, 103–168. New York: Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York University Press, 1975.
  308.  
  309. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  310.  
  311. Commemorates al-Biruni as a scholar and a saint. Soucek’s article is among the earliest such works to include the Ghadir Khumm investiture of ʿAli by the Prophet. Many later studies rely on this Edinburgh Codex of the Investiture first used in this work.
  312.  
  313. Find this resource:
  314.  
  315. Studies on the Festival
  316. First introduced publicly by the Buwayhid ruler Muʾizz al-Dawla in 352/964 in Iraq and by the Imam caliph al-Muizz in 362/973 in Fatimid Egypt, the observance of the anniversary of the Ghadir Khumm has been celebrated and appropriated by many. Evidence suggests it was invariably used by several competing states representing different Shiʿi communities to commemorate the designation of ʿAli as successor in order to link their own leadership claims (Sanders 1992). The Zaydi leadership in Yemen celebrated the Ghadir Khumm festival after ousting the Ottomans (Vom Bruck 1998), and as recently as the 19th century the ruler of Awadh insisted that his coronation should take place on the day of Ghadir Khumm (Fisher 1985). Ibn Khallikan 1970 discusses the festival in Fatimid Egypt on the tradition of “ʿAli is to me what Aaron was to Moses” alongside its auxiliary tradition of befriending and helping ʿAli’s friends. Shainool 2009 has Maqrizi’s translation of the Ghadir Khumm celebration during the caliphate of Muʾizz. Hamdani 1974 includes a source by Hamidi, Al-Majalis al-azhār, discussing the festival of Ghadir al-Khumm. Amedroz 1901 describes the Shiʿa festival of al-Ghadir in Baghdad being introduced by the Buwayhid Muʾizz ad-Daula with a countercelebration initiated by the Sunnis to commemorate the anniversary of the Prophet and Abu Bakr entering the cave. Yet it has to be admitted that within many Shiʿi communities the Ghadir Khumm festival is celebrated solemnly in places of worship. For the Nusayris, the celebration of the Ghadir Khumm festival portrays the eternal nature of ʿAli (Bar-Asher and Kofsky 2002).
  317.  
  318. Amedroz, H. F. Three Years of Buwaihid Rule in Baghdad, a.h. 389–393. Hertford, UK: Austin, 1901.
  319.  
  320. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  321.  
  322. Describes the Shiʿa festival of al-Ghadir in Baghdad being introduced by Mu’izz ad-Daula in 352 AH (962 CE) with street decorations, illuminations, and the sacrifice of a camel. The Sunnis began a countercelebration eight days later commemorating the anniversary of the Prophet and Abu Bakr entering the cave.
  323.  
  324. Find this resource:
  325.  
  326. Bar-Asher, Meir Michael, and Aryeh Kofsky. The Nusayri-Alawi Religion. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2002.
  327.  
  328. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  329.  
  330. Includes discussion of the Nusayri text of al-Tabarani, Majmuʿa al-aʿyād. Al-Tabarani has an unusual version of the famous sentence where the tradition is read as “man kuntu mawlahu fa Ali maʾnahu” and ʿAli is seen as the meaning or essence and not only as an Imam, as the Shiʿa believe. The significance of the festival lay in Muhammad elucidating the eternal reality manifested in ʿAli.
  331.  
  332. Find this resource:
  333.  
  334. Fisher, Michael H. “The Imperial Coronation of 1819: Awadh, the British, and the Mughals.” Modern Asian Studies 19.2 (1985): 239–277.
  335.  
  336. DOI: 10.1017/S0026749X00012324Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  337.  
  338. Article about the Shiʿi ruler of Awadh insisting that the coronation of 1819 take place on the day of Ghadir Khumm supported by the Mogul ruler. The British East India Company disliked this, and in 1856 it annexed Awadh. Much resentment followed there and in North India, eventually leading to the 1857 mutiny.
  339.  
  340. Find this resource:
  341.  
  342. Hamdani, Abbas. “The Dāʿí Ḥātim ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ḥāmidī (d. 596 H./1199 A.D.) and His Book Tuḥfat al-qulūb.” Oriens 23–24 (1974): 258–300.
  343.  
  344. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  345.  
  346. Hamdani notes in his article that the authorial Hamidi has written Al-Majalis al-azhār, which focuses on the festival of Ghadir al-Khumm.
  347.  
  348. Find this resource:
  349.  
  350. Ibn Khallikan, Ahmad b. Muhammad. Ibn Khallikan’s Biographical Dictionary. Translated by MacGuckin de Slane. Vol. 3. Beirut: Librarie du Liban, 1970.
  351.  
  352. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  353.  
  354. This 13th-century writer mentions the festival of Ghadir Khumm under the entry “Fatimid imam-caliph Mustansir Billah” in relation to the tradition of “ʿAli is to me what Aaron was to Moses” but does not include the famous sentence “man kuntu mawlahu,” although he mentions the supplementary tradition of befriending and helping those who are ʿAli’s friends. Translated from Wafayat al-a‘yan (Cairo, 1950).
  355.  
  356. Find this resource:
  357.  
  358. Sanders, Paula. “Claiming the Past: Ghadir Khumm and the Rise of Ḥafiẓi Historiography in Late Faṭimid Egypt.” Studia Islamica 75 (1992): 81–104.
  359.  
  360. DOI: 10.2307/1595622Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  361.  
  362. Gives a traditional Ismaili interpretation of Ghadir Khumm before discussing the assertion of this proclamation that al-Amir had transmitted the Imamate to his cousin al-Hafiz, just as Muhammad had conferred the succession on his cousin ʿAli at Ghadir Khumm.
  363.  
  364. Find this resource:
  365.  
  366. Shainool, Jiwa. Towards a Shiʿi Mediterranean Empire. London: Tauris, 2009.
  367.  
  368. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  369.  
  370. Provides translations of al-Maqrizi’s Ittiaz al-hunafa. The celebration of Ghadir Khumm in Fatimid Egypt in the time of al-Muʾizz is on page 112.
  371.  
  372. Find this resource:
  373.  
  374. Vom Bruck, Gabriele. “Disputing Descent-Based Authority in the Idiom of Religion: The Case of the Republic of Yemen.” Die Welt des Islams, 38.2 (July 1998): 149–191.
  375.  
  376. DOI: 10.1163/1570060981254831Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  377.  
  378. Depicts the Ghadir Khumm ritual in Yemen during the Zaydi rule of Imam al-Mutawakkil Isma’il b. al-Qasim (b. 1644–d. 1676) after the expulsion of the Ottomans. Celebrations were also held during the Zaydi Imam Yahya’s reign on 19 Dhuʾl Hijja, when this pronouncement was made, establishing a link between ʿAli and the ruling Imam. The ceremony did not take place after 1963 but was revived in the early 21st century.
  379.  
  380. Find this resource:
  381.  
  382. Contemporary Interpretations
  383. In Western studies of Islam most scholars view the Shiʿa and especially the Ghadir Khumm with suspicion. Donaldson 1933 is a pioneering work on the Ghadir Khumm event from historical and traditional sources. A number of other works followed, but Vaglieri 1960 confirmed the historical authenticity of the event. Jafri 1979 historically reassesses the origins of the early Shiʿa, and Madelung 1998 is a study of the early caliphate that provides meticulous scholarship on the question of succession. Lalani 2000 situates the Imamate within early Islam, arguing also for the Ghadir Khumm declaration as constituting a clear designation for ʿAli, while Afsaruddin 2002 debates the notion of excellence and precedence in relation to the leadership issue, providing counterarguments from al-Jahiz, among others. Amir-Moezzi 2002 portrays walaya (faith) as the central notion that the Imam’s own nature becomes absorbed, and Dakake 2006 argues that the Ghadir Khumm declaration signifies ʿAli’s spiritual inheritance but not his succession. In contrast, Hazleton 2009 describes how the event of Ghadir Khumm turned into an ongoing contextual and linguistic debate.
  384.  
  385. Afsaruddin, Asma. Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2002.
  386.  
  387. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  388.  
  389. Focuses on how legitimate leadership was defined in the early period of Islam in reference to two key Qurʾanic concepts of excellence and precedence. Argues on the merits of Abu Bakr and ʿAli as leaders. The chapter on nass (explicit appointment) notes the Ghadir Khumm tradition as mutawatir (related by numerous narrators), citing how this event in certain Sunni sources is not featured as part of the farewell pilgrimage. Among the sources, al-Jahiz is invariably used to provide counterarguments.
  390.  
  391. Find this resource:
  392.  
  393. Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali. “Notes à Propos de la Walaya Imamite (Aspects de Lʾimamologie duodécimaine, X).” Journal of the American Oriental Society 122.4 (October–December 2002): 722–741.
  394.  
  395. DOI: 10.2307/3217612Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  396.  
  397. Views walaya (faith) as the central notion of the Shiʿa and how the Imam’s own nature becomes submerged in this. It examines walaya in the Qurʾan, enlisting several verses with variants with detailed notes and additional sources on page 725 in relation to Ghadir Khumm.
  398.  
  399. Find this resource:
  400.  
  401. Dakake, Maria Massi. The Charismatic Community: Shi‘ite Identity in Early Islam. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006.
  402.  
  403. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  404.  
  405. Reviews many sources, including Shiʿi, Sunni, and Sufi, on this tradition. Argues that the Ghadir Khumm declaration signifies the spiritual inheritance of ʿAli but does not entail his succession to the Prophet. The second chapter exclusively discusses the Ghadir Khumm tradition.
  406.  
  407. Find this resource:
  408.  
  409. Donaldson, Dwight M. The Shiʿite Religion: A History of Islam in Persia and Iran. London: Luzac, 1933.
  410.  
  411. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  412.  
  413. In Western studies of Islam, this is among the earliest works to describe the Ghadir Khumm event using historical and traditional sources. The author also informs us that the Ghadir Khumm tradition was proclaimed during the expedition of al-Hudaybiyya rather than at Ghadir Khumm.
  414.  
  415. Find this resource:
  416.  
  417. Hazleton, Lesley. After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shiʾa-Sunni Split. New York: Doubleday, 2009.
  418.  
  419. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  420.  
  421. Describes the succession crisis in a narration of past and present events. Characterizes Ghadir Khumm as an event carrying a significance that seemed clear enough at the time but in the three months before Muhammad died sparked an ongoing contextual and linguistic debate.
  422.  
  423. Find this resource:
  424.  
  425. Jafri, S. Husain M. Origins and Early Development of Shiʿa Islam. Beirut: International Book Centre, 1979.
  426.  
  427. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  428.  
  429. Reassesses the origins and early development of Shiʿa Islam with an overview of the Ghadir Khumm and substantial scholarship on ʿAli in early Islam.
  430.  
  431. Find this resource:
  432.  
  433. Lalani, A. R. Early Shiʿi Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir. London: Tauris, 2000.
  434.  
  435. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  436.  
  437. Focuses on the early development of the Imamate in the history of Islam based on early reports from al-Baqir on the Ghadir Khumm event, arguing the case for ʿAli’s clear designation.
  438.  
  439. Find this resource:
  440.  
  441. Madelung, Wilferd. The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  442.  
  443. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  444.  
  445. Madelung reviews the early history of Islam in reference to the crisis of succession. He critiques Leone Caetani’s mistranslation of the Ghadir Khumm, observing that the people of the Prophet’s house are not to be excluded from rendering the legal alms of sadaqa and zakåt. There is reference to the Ghadir Khumm tradition in the new oath for ʿAli that took place after the arbitration in Kufa.
  446.  
  447. Find this resource:
  448.  
  449. Vaglieri, Laura V. “Ghadir Khumm.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2d ed. Vol. 2. Edited by P. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. Van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, 993–994. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1960.
  450.  
  451. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  452.  
  453. An excellent article that surveys several features of the Ghadir Khumm event and gives a comprehensive analysis of the location, context, and resources on the event’s historical authenticity.
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