Quran 13:7 and al-Ghadir
Quran 13:7 is used to introduce the Imams of the Ummah in the al-Ghadir Sermon, in which the Commander of the Faithful (a) is introduced as the guide of the Ummah.
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In the exegesis of Quran 13:7, some traditions state that after recognizing the "warner" (mundhir), who is the Prophet (s), it is time to recognize the "guide" (hadi). In this section, the Prophet (s) states: 'Ali is the guide.
From the theological analysis of the inclusion of Quran 13:7 in the al-Ghadir Sermon, the following points have been inferred: that both the Prophet (s) and the Commander of the Faithful (a) are warners and guides, but the manifestation of the warner is more prominent in the Prophet (s) and the manifestation of the guide is more prominent in the Commander of the Faithful (a); that the warning role of the Prophet (s) and the guiding role of 'Ali (a) are in the same direction; that the Commander of the Faithful (a) is the banner of the guidance of the Ummah; and that the position of guidance, when mentioned with the title of 'Ali (a), includes all the twelve Imams (a).
A Verse for Introducing Imamate and Wilayah
Quran 13:7 is among the verses used to introduce the station of Imamate and Wilayah in the al-Ghadir Sermon. It has been stated that in addition to the verses revealed directly during the days of Ghadir, other verses were also combined in the speech of the Prophet (s) through citation, reference, and adaptation to further express the affairs of Imamate and divine caliphate against the leadership of Saqifa, and the verse was not mentioned independently.[1]
These are six verses, one of which is Quran 13:7: 
وَ یَقُولُ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُوا لَوْ لا أُنْزِلَ عَلَیْهِ آیَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ إِنَّما أَنْتَ مُنْذِرٌ وَ لِکُلِّ قَوْمٍ هادٍ
The Verse in the Text of the Sermon
Quran 13:7 is reported in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon as follows: مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ، الا و انّى مُنْذِرٌ وَ عَلِىٌّ هادٍ (in another version: انِّى الْمُنْذِرُ وَ عَلِىٌّ الْهادى)[2]
Historical Context of the Citation
The historical context of citing Quran 13:7 in the al-Ghadir Sermon has been depicted by some researchers as follows: After the Prophet (s) introduced the friends and enemies of 'Ali (a) in the middle of the sermon, as a prelude to introducing Imam Mahdi (a), he introduced himself, 'Ali (a), and the Imams in a few short sentences to state: The seal of the Imams, Imam Mahdi (a), is from us. For this reason, he combined Quran 13:7 with his own words with some modifications.[3]
Quranic Context of the Verse
Quran 13:7 is in the early part of the surah, where God mentions the deniers of the Resurrection and those who demand worldly punishment. In this section, He describes an example of their dispute as follows: 'Why has not some sign or miracle been sent down to the Prophet (s)?' In response to them, who still demand a sign after all these miracles alongside the word of Truth, God concludes the matter by stating that you have fulfilled the duty of warning the people of the punishment, and every people has a guide.[4]
Theological Analysis of the Verse
The appearance of verse 7 of Surah al-Ra'd in this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon has been interpreted and analyzed theologically as follows: This verse is interpreted in the al-Ghadir Sermon in such a way that after recognizing the "warner" (mundhir), who is the Prophet (s), it is time to recognize the "guide" (hadi). In this section, the Prophet (s) states: 'Ali is the guide.[5]
Difference Between Warner and Guide
"Warner" means one who makes others aware of the evil consequences of an action, and "guide" means one who directs and leads toward the right path, in contrast to one who leads astray. From this lexical meaning, a literary analysis suggests that in the first stage of the emergence of Islam, the issue of "warning" was more effective so that people could emerge from ignorance, disbelief, and polytheism. Informing people about the consequences of ignorance, disbelief, and polytheism, and frightening them of their consequences in various forms of propagation, was a program that, over twenty-three years, was able to lead people out of the atmosphere of ignorance and polytheism and toward Islam.
In this regard, it is stated in the Sermon of Lady Fatima (a): The Prophet saw the people, each group having its own religion, turning toward their own lit fires and worshipping their idols, and despite having an innate knowledge of God, they denied Him. It was then that the Almighty God, through the blessing of my father, Muhammad (s), transformed darkness into light, removed hardness from hearts, and dispelled confusion from eyes..., and saved the people from misguidance and enlightened them regarding their obstinacy.[6]
Both Warner, Both Guide
The meaning of the Prophet's (s) words is not that he was not a "guide," but rather that the aspect of being a warner took the primary role according to the situation. Just as it is not intended that 'Ali (a) was not a warner and only held the role of a guide, but rather, as is evident from the sermons of the Imam, guidance was more effective for him than warning. This matter is similar to what we believe regarding the titles of each of the Imams (a), for example, that the attributes of "Baqir," "Sadiq," and "Kazim" inherently existed equally in all Imams (a), but the practical manifestation of each was more prominent according to the conditions existing in the era of that Imam. When the Prophet (s) wanted to recite this verse, he said: You were warned by me, and you were guided by 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a).[7]
Parallelism of Warning and Guidance
A point derived from this hadith is the parallelism between the Prophet (s) being a warner and 'Ali (a) being a guide; meaning that his guidance was not limited to the period after the martyrdom of the Prophet (s) and was also relevant during the twenty-three years of the mission. The special attention of the Prophet (s) to this matter is mentioned in a hadith: On the night of the Mi'raj, this verse resonated in my ears: إِنَّما أَنْتَ مُنْذِرٌ وَ لِکُلِّ قَوْمٍ هادٍ . I said: O God, I am the warner, so who is the guide? God said: O Muhammad, the guide is 'Ali b. Abi Talib.[8]
For further emphasis, the Prophet (s) practically pointed out these two promotional offices when this verse was revealed. There, the Prophet placed his hand on his blessed chest and said: I am the warner. Then, he pointed with his hand to the shoulder of 'Ali (a) and said: O 'Ali, you are the guide. Those who are to be guided after me will be guided by you.[9]
'Ali (a) as the Banner of Guidance
From these hadiths and the context of verse 7 of Surah al-Ra'd, one can conclude that 'Ali (a) has been the criterion and banner of guidance, both during the life of the Prophet (s) and after him; because in the verse and two of the three mentioned hadiths, the guidance of 'Ali (a) is not restricted to the time after the Prophet's (s) passing, although the manifestation of this aspect naturally becomes more prominent after his passing, as the causes of misguidance gain dominance.
During the time of the Prophet (s) and after him, many people accepted the Prophet (s) and his religion, but they did not accept the wilaya of 'Ali (a). 'Ali (a) is the path of guidance designated by the Prophet (s) himself, and the Prophet (s) commanded his imamate, wilaya, and love during his own lifetime; yet, even under those conditions, some distanced themselves from him. The continuation of this trend manifested suddenly after the demise of the Prophet (s); that is, the same hypocrites who did not submit to the path of guidance during the lifetime of the Prophet (s) and acted with hostility, took advantage of the absence of the "warner" to pave the path of misguidance and destroy the path of guidance. The Quran forever alerted people that the beacon of the path of guidance is 'Ali (a), and whoever is on any other path will be in misguidance. This is a belief that the Prophet (s) summarized in one sentence: "O 'Ali, if it were not for you, the believers would not have been recognized after me."[10]
Continuation of the Path of Guidance
Another conclusion drawn from the mention of verse seven in the al-Ghadir Sermon is that if 'Ali (a) is the guide of the people, will the people be without a guide on the day he is not present? The line of Imamate and wilaya that was determined at Ghadir is such that, with the introduction of the successors of 'Ali (a), its continuation has been shown until the last day of the world. Thus, when this position of guidance is discussed under the title of 'Ali (a), it includes all the twelve Imams (a). In this regard, and under the verse, traditions have appeared in some sources, including:
- Amir al-Mu'minin (a): "Thus, the Prophet (s) is the warner, and I am the guide to what he has brought."[11]
- Imam al-Baqir (a): "In every age, there is an Imam from us who guides the people of that time to what the Prophet (s) has brought."[12]
- Imam al-Sadiq (a): "Every Imam is the guide of the people of the century in which he lives."[13]
- Amir al-Mu'minin (a): "There is none among us Imams, except that he knows all the people of his wilaya, and this is what God says: You are only a warner, and for every people there is a guide ."[14]
Footnotes
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 169.
- ↑ Asrar-i Ghadir, p. 153, section 7 and footnote 5 of version "B".
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 170.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 170.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qur'an, vol. 2, p. 170.
- ↑ Bihar al-anwar, vol. 29, pp. 240–241.
- ↑ Al-Mi'a Manqaba, p. 44.
- ↑ Bihar al-anwar, vol. 35, p. 401.
- ↑ Al-Mustarshid, p. 359.
- ↑ Bihar al-anwar, vol. 39, p. 19; Bihar al-anwar, vol. 99, p. 106.
- ↑ Bihar al-anwar, vol. 89, p. 79.
- ↑ Bihar al-anwar, vol. 23, p. 5.
- ↑ Al-Ghayba, p. 110.
- ↑ Al-Yaqin, p. 489.
References
- Asrar-i Ghadir; Muhammad Baqir Ansari, Tehran: Nashr-i Tak, 1384 Sh.
- Bihar al-anwar al-jami'a li-durar akhbar al-a'imma al-athar; Muhammad Baqir b. Muhammad Taqi Majlisi, Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi, 1403 Q.
- Ghadir dar Quran, Quran dar Ghadir; Muhammad Baqir Ansari, Qom: Entesharat-i Dalil-i Ma, 1387 Sh.
- Al-Ghayba; Muhammad b. Ibrahim Nu'mani, research: 'Ali Akbar Ghaffari, Tehran: Maktabat al-Saduq, 1397 Q.
- Mi'at manqaba min manaqib Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali b. Abi Talib wa al-a'imma min waladihi (a); Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Shadhan, research: Nabil Rida 'Ulwan, Qom: Entesharat-i Ansariyan, 1413 Q.
- Al-Mustarshid fi imamat Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a); Muhammad b. Jarir Tabari Imami, research: Ahmad Mahmudi, Tehran: Mu'assasat al-Thaqafa al-Islamiyya li-Kushanpur, 1415 Q.
- Al-Yaqin bi-ikhtisas mawlana 'Ali (a) bi-imrat al-mu'minin; Sayyid 'Ali b. Musa b. Tawus, research: Muhammad Baqir Ansari, Qom: Mu'assasat Dar al-Kitab al-Jaza'iri, 1413 Q.