Verse 188 of Sura al-A'raf and Ghadir
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| Ayah Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Surah Name | Sura al-A'raf |
| Ayah Number | 188 |
| Juz' | 9 |
| Ayah Content | |
| Place of Revelation | Mecca |
| Topic | The Prophet is only a Warner and a Bearer of good news |
Verse 188 of Sura al-A'raf is among the verses used in the al-Ghadir Sermon, through which the Prophet (s) introduces 'Ali (a) as a bearer of good news.
Regarding the theological analysis of the use of Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon, it has been stated that in the Quranic exegesis of Ghadir, the two divine missions of warning (indhār) and giving good news (tabshīr) are divided between the Prophet and Amir al-Mu'minin (a), whereas in the Qur'an, both positions are attributed to the Prophet. It is said that if the successorship (wiṣāya) and caliphate (khilāfa) are as announced at Ghadir, then the Imam and the Prophet do not differ in their divine mission; both are warners (nadhīr) and bearers of good news (bashīr), and both introduce the same divine religion to the people.
'Ali (a) is introduced as a bearer of good news (bashīr) in the sermon, while it seems that being a warner (nadhīr) also applies to him. In response, it has been stated that the Prophet (s) brought to an end the difficult period of warning people, and – had it not been for Saqīfa – after the Prophet, the days of giving people good news of the welfare of this world and the hereafter, under the shadow of his twenty-three years of efforts, would have begun.
A Verse for Introducing Imamate and Wilaya
Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf is considered among the verses quoted in the al-Ghadir Sermon. It has been stated that in addition to the verses directly revealed during the days of Ghadir, other verses have been incorporated into the Prophet's (s) speech as evidence, references, and quotations to further explain the aspects of Imamate and divine caliphate in contrast to the leadership of Saqifa, and the verse is not mentioned independently. There are six such verses, and one of them is Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf:
قُلْ لا أَمْلِکُ لِنَفْسِی نَفْعاً وَ لا ضَرّاً إِلاّ ما شاءَ اللَّه وَ لَوْ کُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَیْبَ لاَسْتَکْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَیْرِ وَ ما مَسَّنِیَ السُّوءُ، إِنْ أَنَا إِلاّ نَذِیرٌ وَ بَشِیرٌ لِقَوْمٍ یُؤْمِنُونَ
- Say, I have no control over any benefit or harm for myself, except what Allah may wish. Had I known the unseen, I would have acquired much good, and no evil would have befallen me. I am only a warner and a bearer of good news to a people who have faith..[1]
The Verse in the Text of the Sermon and its Quranic Position
The position of Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon is recorded as follows: O people, know that I am the warner and 'Ali is the bearer of good news[notes 1].[2] This verse appears in the al-Ghadir Sermon at a stage before the exposition of the manifestations of Hadrat Baqiyyat Allah al-Aʿẓam, and in sentences that present characteristics of the Muhammadan prophethood and 'Alawī Imamate. Among these characteristics are warning (indhār) and giving good news (tabshīr), which the Prophet (s) has brought into his speech in the same Quranic order, by quoting from the Qur'an.
The Quranic position of Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf is outlined as follows: The two words "nadhīr" (warner) and "bashīr" (bearer of good news) appear five times in the Qur'an, four of which are in the forms of "mundhir" and "mubashshir". In all cases, these two attributes are mentioned for the Prophet (s). Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf is the closest verse in terms of sentence structure to the phrase used in the al-Ghadir Sermon. Generally, in all instances where these phrases are used in the Qur'an, the emphasis is that God's messengers are bearers of warning from punishment and bearers of good news of eternal paradise.
Theological Analysis of the Verse in the al-Ghadir Sermon
Regarding the theological analysis of the use of Verse 188 of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon, it has been stated: In the Quranic exegesis of Ghadir, the two divine missions of warning (indhār) and giving glad tidings (tabshīr) are divided between the Prophet and Imam Ali (a); whereas in the Quran, both positions are attributed to the Prophet. A study of the quality of the Prophet's propagation shows that the method of warning and giving glad tidings has always been present in his program in a combined manner. Therefore, further precision is needed to clarify the reason for the separation of these two positions in the al-Ghadir Sermon.
To ascertain the reason for this separation, two distinct aspects must be examined: first, how the statement in the al-Ghadir Sermon, which introduces Ali (a) as a bearer of glad tidings (bashīr), can be reconciled with the Quran's explicit declaration that the Prophet is both a bearer of glad tidings and a warner (nadhīr); and second, how we can prove this separation by studying the nature of Ali's (a) propagation in giving glad tidings and warning.
How is Ali (a) a Bearer of Glad Tidings?
In response to this question, it has been stated: The Prophet (s) was certainly aware of this duality between his words and the Quranic verse, and he intentionally expressed it. The Prophet's response was directed at the events after him, which, by confining Ali (a) to his home, created a deviation in the divinely ordained plan (the Imamate as a continuation of prophethood). Such an understanding of the issue of prophethood (nabuwwah) and Imamate (imāmah) can be encompassed under the title of "mission" (risālah), the meaning of which is the conveyance of divine commands, which, according to various exigencies, is sometimes the responsibility of the prophet (nabī) and sometimes that of the legatee (waṣī). It is under these circumstances that the Imam, after the Prophet, is a bearer of glad tidings (bashīr).
Under these circumstances, the Saqīfah disrupted humanity's divine system, transforming the caliphate (khilāfah) into a monarchy and representing a return to the Age of Ignorance (Jāhiliyyah). It was a blatant opposition to the Prophet's words and actions and a trampling of the Quran's explicit text. In the atmosphere of Saqīfah's dominance, the mission of conveying divine commands was closed, and people were deprived of any warner (nadhīr) or bearer of glad tidings (bashīr). In contrast to the Saqīfah discourse, the Ghadir discourse represents the original divine plan for the people of the world. In this culture, divine propagation and propagators are always present, as God wills, in the form of givers of glad tidings and warners. The Ghadir discourse is just and trustworthy with people's property; unlike Saqifah, which established a bureau of grants and unjustly distributed the public treasury (bayt al-māl) of the Muslims,[3] encroached upon Fadak,[4] and, like 'Uthmān and Muʿāwiyah, confiscated people's wealth and bestowed it upon their relatives and friends.[5]
The proponent of the Ghadir discourse is a mine of knowledge, seeking those who would receive these sciences from him and suffering from the ignorance of the people, unlike the proponents of the Saqīfah discourse who officially prohibited the dissemination of the Prophet's words and the exegesis of the Quran, allowing only its recitation, and imprisoning and exiling seekers of Quranic knowledge.[6] The proponent of Ghadir considers himself the Prophet's deputy and deems his lawful (ḥalāl) and unlawful (ḥarām) enduring until the Day of Judgment, and unlike some companions of Saqīfah, he does not introduce multiple innovations (bidʿah) into God's religion. Therefore, if the legateship (waṣāyah) and caliphate (khilāfah) are as announced at Ghadir, then the Imam and the Prophet do not differ in their divine mission; both are warners (nadhīr) and bearers of glad tidings (bashīr), and both introduce one divine religion to the people. This analysis is solidified when we consider Ali (a) to be the "self" (nafs) of the Prophet, a point affirmed by numerous narrations, in addition to the Verse of Mubahalah (61 of Āl ʿImrān) in the Quran.
How is Ali (a) a Warner?
In response to the second question, regarding how Ali (a) is introduced as a bearer of glad tidings (bashīr) while it seems that being a warner (nadhīr) also applies to him, it has been stated: The Prophet (s) brought to an end the difficult era of warning people, and – had it not been for Saqīfah – after the Prophet, the days of giving glad tidings to people about the good of this world and the hereafter would have begun, under the shadow of his twenty-three years of efforts. Salmān al-Fārisī said during the days of the usurpation of the caliphate: "By Him in whose hand is Salmān's soul, if you had entrusted the caliphate to Ali, you would have eaten of God's blessings from above your heads and beneath your feet… No friend of God would have become poor, no share of divine obligations would have gone astray, and not even two people would have disagreed on God's decree."[7] However, this glad tidings of Ghadir was transformed into permanent sorrow and grief by the intervention of Saqīfah.
Footnotes
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qur'an, vol. two, pp. one hundred seventy-five–one hundred eighty.
- ↑ Asrār-e Ghadir, p. 153, section 7.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 31, pp. 45–46.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 29, pp. 105–415.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 31, p. 218.
- ↑ al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, vol. 3, p. 287; Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, vol. 1, p. 5; Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, vol. 1, p. 13.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 29, p. 80.
- ↑ مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ، الا وَ انّى انَا النّذيرُ وَ عَلِىٌّ الْبَشيرُ
References
- Asrār Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Naṣṣārī, Qom: Nashr-i Mawlūd-i Kaʿbah, 1420 AH.
- Biḥār al-Anwār; Muḥammad Bāqir b. Muḥammad Taqī Majlisī, d. 1110 AH, Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, second edition, 1403 AH.
- Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ; Muḥammad b. Aḥmad Dhahabī, Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, undated.
- al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā; Muḥammad b. Saʿd al-Kātib al-Wāqidī, Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, undated.
- Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt-i Dalīl-i Mā, 1387 SH.