Verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj and al-Ghadir
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Verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj is a verse in the al-Ghadir Sermon through which the denial of the wilaya of the Commander of the Faithful (a) is considered a cause for the destruction of the community.
The historical context of the use of verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj is described as follows: In the middle of the al-Ghadir Sermon, while the Prophet (s) was pointing to the intentions of the hypocrites, mentioning the names of the companions of the first cursed scroll, and raising the issue of the usurpation of the caliphate, he turned his speech toward the people so they would know that if the leaders of Saqifa were guilty, the people were also being tested by God in their sedition, and if they assisted them, they would be partners in their deeds and deserving of divine punishment.
From a theological perspective, the following interpretations have been drawn from the inclusion of verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj in this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon: that the denial of the Commander of the Faithful (a) is an injustice; that various forms of denial regarding the status of the Commander of the Faithful (a) constitute an injustice against him, and his denier is an example of the oppressor who is deserving of destruction by God; and that the Commander of the Faithful (a) is God's promise in this community to test them and see whether they are among the deniers and oppressors or if they affirm and speak justly and fairly.
A Verse Concerning the Confrontation with the Enemies of al-Ghadir
Verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj is considered one of the verses used at al-Ghadir to explain the stages of the divine test of al-Ghadir regarding its enemies. Some researchers have explained the basis for using this verse as follows: The greatest test of humanity at al-Ghadir was a comprehensive test in which the completion of the argument was carried out completely, leaving no way of escape for anyone for any reason or excuse.
In this divine test, both the aspects that could be the source of the test were numerous, and the causes that could be a satanic motivation for failing the test appeared in various manifestations. The Prophet (s) explained these conditions of the test to the people in his long sermon so they would welcome it with full preparation. The Prophet predicted this bitter future of the test both by allusion and explicitly, and he described the stages of such a great test by citing eleven verses guaranteed in the al-Ghadir Sermon.[1]
Among these verses is verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj: Template:قرآن
The Verse in the Text of the Sermon
In some sources, verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj is reported in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon as follows: مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ، انَّهُ ما مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ الاّ وَ اللَّه مُهْلِكُها بِتَكْذيبِها وَ كَذلِكَ يُهْلِكُ الْقُرى وَ هِىَ ظالِمَةٌ كَما ذَكَرَ اللَّه تَعالى وَ هذا عَلِىٌّ امامُكُمْ وَ وَلِيُّكُمْ وَ هُوَ مَواعيدُ اللَّه، وَاللَّه يُصَدِّقُ ما وَعَدَهُ.[2]
Historical Context of the Use of the Verse
The historical context of the use of verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj is described as follows: In the middle of the al-Ghadir Sermon, while the Prophet (s) was pointing to the intentions of the hypocrites, mentioning the names of the companions of the first cursed scroll, and raising the issue of the usurpation of the caliphate, he turned his speech toward the people so they would know that if the leaders of Saqifa were guilty, the people were also being tested by God in their sedition, and if they assisted them, they would be partners in their deeds and deserving of divine punishment.
In such a situation, the Prophet, by adapting the aforementioned verse, included it in his speech with changes to some words. What draws attention in this section is the phrase كَما ذَكَرَ اللَّه تَعالى, where the Prophet explicitly recalled his reliance on the Quran.[3]
Quranic Context of the Verse
The Quranic context of verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj has been outlined by some researchers as follows: Several verses with this theme appear in the Quran, including verse 102 of Sura Hud and verse 59 of Sura al-Qasas, but the wording of Sura al-Hajj is more adaptable to the words of this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon. In many cases where the Quran speaks of the destruction of the nations of past prophets by divine punishment due to their denial, this same theme is raised.
The theme of verse 45 of Sura al-Hajj begins from verse 42, where God says to His Prophet: "If they deny you, the people of Noah, and 'Ad, and Thamud, and the people of Abraham, and the people of Lot, and the companions of Madyan, and Moses were denied by their prophets before you, and God destroyed them." Then, in this verse 45, He says: "How many a township have We destroyed while it was wrongdoing," and then continues with matters in the same vein until verse 48, which says: "And how many a township have I given respite while it was wrongdoing, then I seized it, and to Me is the return.".[4]
Theological Analysis
The interpretation and understanding derived from this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon regarding verse 45 of Surah al-Hajj is based on several points:
- That this section follows the previous part concerning the testing of people to distinguish the pure (tayyib) from the impure (khabith).
- That before presenting the content of the verse, the issue of "denial" (takdhib) is mentioned.
- That as an application of the verse, after mentioning its content, the Prophet stated: وَ هذا عَلِىٌّ امامُكُمْ.[5]
Taking the above points into consideration, the following matters are derived from this part of the sermon:
- Denying the Commander of the Faithful (a) is oppression: Denying 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a), in any form, is oppression (zulm). The intent behind denial is the non-acceptance of the wilaya and imamate of him; just as the Prophet, after citing the verse, says: "And this is 'Ali, your Imam and Wali," and there is no doubt that rejecting his commands and opposing him is a form of not accepting him.
- Types of denial and the merit of destruction: Various types of denial toward the sacred presence of 'Ali (a) constitute oppression against him. The one who denies him is an instance of the oppressor who is deserving of destruction by God; for it is stated in the verse: "There is no town but that God will destroy its people on account of their denial." Following this, he uses the word كَذلِكَ as a connector between the two sentences and then says: "And thus God destroys the people of the towns while they are oppressors"; meaning that following this denial, the result is becoming an oppressor.
- The Commander of the Faithful (a) as the place of God's promise: 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) is the place of God's promise in this community to test them and see whether they are among the deniers and oppressors, or if they affirm and speak with justice and fairness. This point is derived from the sentence that appears in the al-Ghadir Sermon after the verse, which states: وَ هُوَ مَواعيدُ اللَّه وَ اللَّه مُصَدِّقٌ ما وَعَدَهُ. The word "mawa'id" is the plural of "mi'ad," meaning a place of promise or the infinitive meaning of a promise. In version "d," the phrase is: "wa huwa muwa'ad" and in version "b": "wa huwa al-muwa'ad," both of which expressions mean: "He is the one about whom the promise has been made." This statement, after mentioning the verse, means that God's promise regarding the destruction of the deniers and oppressors concerns 'Ali (a), and therefore, he emphasizes that God will carry out His promise.[6]
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Asrar-i Ghadir; Muhammad Baqir Ansari, Tehran: Nashr-i Tak, 1384 Sh.
- Ghadir dar Quran, Quran dar Ghadir; Muhammad Baqir Ansari, Qom: Dalil-i Ma Publications, 1387 Sh.