Verse 172 of al-A'raf and Ghadir

Template:Infobox Verse Verse 172 of Sura al-A'raf is among the verses used in a supplication related to Ghadir, which considers the *wilāya* of Imam 'Ali (a) at Ghadir as part of the divine covenants taken from the Children of Adam.

The exact Verse 172 of Sura al-A'raf appears in a supplication narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) to be recited after the prayer on the day of Eid al-Ghadir. In an analysis of the use of this verse in the supplication for the day of Ghadir, it has been stated that what the Children of Adam acknowledged at the beginning of creation consisted of four matters: the Oneness of the One Lord, the prophethood of the Messenger of God (s), the *wilāya* and authority of Imam 'Ali (a), and the *wilāya* and authority of the descendants of the Messenger of God (s) from the lineage of Imam 'Ali (a).

The connection of this verse with Ghadir has been mentioned in some narrations; for instance, in a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a) who said: "A covenant was taken from them regarding the Lordship of God, the prophethood of the Prophet (s), and the imamate of Amir al-Mu'minin and the Imams (a). And God said: 'Am I not your Lord, and Muḥammad your Prophet, and 'Ali your leader, and the guided, guiding Imams your leaders?' All the Children of Adam on that day said: 'Yes, we bear witness.' God said: 'This acknowledgment was so that you would not say on the Day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this.'"

A Verse in a Ghadiri Supplication

According to some researchers, Verse 172 of Sura al-A'raf, known as the Verse of Covenant (*Ayat al-Mithaq*) or the Verse of Particles (*Ayat al-Dharr*), is a verse that appears in the text of one of the supplications related to Ghadir. One of the Qur'anic manifestations of Ghadir is the supplications and *ziyārāt* in which the verses related to the Ghadir event are explained and interpreted. In many supplications and *ziyārāt*—especially those pertaining to the night and day of Ghadir—unspoken aspects of the Ghadir issue are found that are not present in any other narration. In some cases, the occasion of revelation of verses, in others, citing Qur'anic verses, and in still others, considering Ghadir as the instance for the aforementioned verse, have been discussed. Among these instances is Verse 172 of Sura al-A'raf:

And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, 'Am I not your Lord?' They said, 'Yes, we bear witness!'

The Verse in the Text of the Supplication

The exact Verse 172 of Sura al-A'raf appears in a supplication narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) to be recited after the prayer on the day of Eid al-Ghadir: وَ مَنَنْتَ عَلَيْنا بِشَهادَةِ الاخْلاصِ لَكَ بِوِلايَةِ اوْلِيائِكَ، الْهُداةِ مِنْ بَعْدِ النَّذيرِ الْمُنْذِرِ السِّراجِ الْمُنيرِ وَ أَكْمَلْتَ لَنَا الدّينَ بِمُوالاتِهِمْ وَ الْبَراءَةِ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِمْ، وَ أَتْمَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا النِّعَمَ بِالَّذى جَدَّدْتَ لَنا عَهْدَكَ، وَ ذَكَّرْتَنا ميثاقَكَ الْمَأْخُوذَ مِنّا فى مُبْتَدَءِ خَلْقِكَ إِيّانا وَ جَعَلْتَنا مِنْ أَهْلِ الإِجابَةِ، وَ ذَكَّرْتَنَا الْعَهْدَ وَ الْميثاقَ وَ لَمْ تُنْسِنا ذِكْرَكَ، فَإِنَّكَ قُلْتَ: And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, 'Am I not your Lord?' They said, 'Yes, we bear witness!' بِمَنِّكَ بِأَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ رَبُّنا، وَ إِنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُكَ وَ رَسُولُكَ نَبِيَّنا، وَ إِنَّ عَلِيّاً اميرَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلِيُّنا وَ مَوْلانا، وَ شَهِدْنا بِالْوِلايَةِ لِوَلِيِّنا وَ مَوْلانا مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ مِنْ صُلْبِ وَلِيِّنا وَ مَوْلانا عَلِىِّ بْنِ أَبى طالِبٍ أَميرِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ: And You have favored us with the testimony of sincerity to You through the *wilāya* of Your friends, the guides after the warning Prophet, the luminous lamp. And You have perfected our religion through their *wilāya* and disavowal of their enemies, and You have completed Your blessings upon us by renewing Your covenant with us, and reminding us of Your compact taken from us at the beginning of Your creation of us, and You made us among those who respond, and You reminded us of the covenant and compact and did not make us forget Your remembrance, for You said: 'And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, 'Am I not your Lord?' They said, 'Yes, we bear witness!' By Your grace, we bear witness that You are God, there is no god but You, our Lord, and that Muḥammad is Your servant and Your Messenger, our Prophet, and that 'Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin, is our *walī* and *mawla*. And we bear witness to the *wilāya* of our *walī* and *mawla* from the progeny of Your Prophet, from the loins of our *walī* and *mawla*, 'Ali b. Abi Talib, Amir al-Mu'minin.

Theological Analysis of the Verse in the Supplication

Some researchers have analyzed the use of Verse 172 of Sura al-A'raf in the supplication after the prayer on the day of Eid al-Ghadir as follows: The Qur'an explicitly states that at the beginning of human creation, all the Children of Adam, as particles, made acknowledgments before God. This part of the supplication, by citing the explicit Qur'anic verse about the Day of Alast, reminds us that that covenant is to be remembered and not forgotten. It also reminds us that God places that covenant of Alast before humanity and tests them in this regard to see who remains faithful to their pledge and who shirks from loyalty to it.

The subject of acknowledgment on the Day of Alast is expressed in the most detailed manner in this supplication: what the Children of Adam acknowledged at the beginning of creation, according to what is stated in this supplication, consisted of four matters: the Oneness of the One Lord, the prophethood of the Messenger of God (s), the *wilāya* and authority of Imam 'Ali (a), and the *wilāya* and authority of the descendants of the Messenger of God (s) from the lineage of Imam 'Ali (a).

Narrations Regarding the Verse of Covenant and its Connection to the *Wilāya* of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)

In line with the analysis presented for Verse 172 of al-A'raf in the supplication after the prayer on the day of Eid al-Ghadir, narrations have been cited in Shi'i sources; including:

1. Imam al-Baqir (a): The Almighty Lord, when He took the children of Adam from their loins and made them testify concerning themselves, said to them: أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ وَ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولى وَ عَلِىٌّ اميرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ: 'Am I not your Lord, and Muḥammad My Messenger, and 'Ali Amir al-Mu'minin?'
2. Imam al-Sadiq (a): A covenant was taken from them regarding the Lordship of God, the prophethood of the Prophet (s), and the imamate of Amir al-Mu'minin and the Imams (a). And God said: 'Am I not your Lord, and Muḥammad your Prophet, and 'Ali your leader, and the guided, guiding Imams your leaders?' All the Children of Adam on that day said: 'Yes, we bear witness.' God said: 'This acknowledgment was so that you would not say on the Day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this.'
3. Imam al-Baqir (a): The Prophet (s) said to 'Ali (a): "You are the one through whom God, at the beginning of people's creation, raised them as spirits and said to them: 'Am I not your Lord?' They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'And is Muḥammad not My Messenger?' They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'And is 'Ali b. Abi Talib not My *waṣī*?' At this point, the majority of people, except for a small number, refused to give a positive answer, due to arrogance and rebellion against your *wilāya*. And that small number—who were truly few—are the Companions of the Right Hand."

References

• Al-Amālī; Muḥammad b. Ḥasan Ṭūsī, Qum: Dār al-Thaqāfah, 1414 AH.

• Al-Balad al-Amīn wa al-Dirʿ al-Ḥaṣīn; Taqī al-Dīn Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-ʿĀmilī al-Kafʿamī, Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li al-Maṭbūʿāt, 1418 AH.

• Dalāʾil al-Imāmah; Muḥammad b. Jarīr Ṭabarī al-Ṣughrā, edited by: Qism al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmīyah, Muʾassasat al-Biʿthah, Qum: Muʾassasat al-Biʿthah, 1413 AH.

• Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qum: Intishārāt Dalīl-i Mā, 1387 SH.

• Madīnat Maʿājiz al-Aʾimmah al-Ithnay ʿAshar wa Dalāʾil al-Ḥujaj ʿalā al-Bashar; Sayyid Hāshim b. Sulaymān Baḥrānī, edited by: ʿIzzat Allāh Mawlāʾī al-Hamadānī, Qum: Muʾassasat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmīyah, 1413 AH.

• Al-Yaqīn bi Ikhtiṣāṣ Mawlānā ʿAlī (ʿalayhi al-salām) bi Imrat al-Muʾminīn; ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Ṭāwūs, edited by: Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī and Muḥammad Ṣādiq Anṣārī, Beirut: Dār al-ʿUlūm, 1410 AH.