6 - The way of the Imams

Summary

ALI'S PARTISANS

A few weeks before his death, the Prophet Muhammad set out for Mecca to perform the pilgrimage. This event is known in Islamic tradition as the Farewell Pilgrimage. On the return journey to Medina, he and his followers stopped at a place called Ghadir Khumm. Shaded by palm fronds from the mid-day sun, Muhammad addressed his companions. He took ʿAli b. Abi Talib by the hand, raised it before the assembly and said, “Everyone whose patron I am, also has ʿAli as a patron. O Allah, befriend every friend of ʿAli and be the enemy of all his enemies; help those that aid him and abandon all who desert him.” Ibn Ishaq does not mention Ghadir Khumm in his biography of the Prophet. The event is recorded several times, however, in Sunni Tradition literature, including the account given here transmitted by the great traditionist Ahmad b. Hanbal.

Muhammad's affection and support for ʿAli were evident to all. They were cousins and ʿAli was married to the Prophet's daughter, Fatimah. Muhammad, who had no surviving male heir, is said to have loved his two grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, dearly. Moreover, Ibn Ishaq notes that the youthful ʿAli had been brought up in Muhammad's care, and was the first male to believe in him and accept his message.