Verses 25 and 26 of Sura al-Tawba and Ghadir
Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba are verses that, during the turban-tying ceremony for Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) by the Prophet (s), were referenced in relation to an event mentioned within them: the assistance of angels to Muslims in the Battle of Hunayn. This topic has been addressed in a narration from Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a).
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| Ayah Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Surah Name | Sura al-Tawba |
| Ayah Number | 25 - 26 |
| Juz' | 10 |
| Ayah Content | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Angels' assistance to Muslims in the Battle of Hunayn |
The historical context for referencing Verses 123 and 124 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is depicted as follows: One of the ceremonies performed atop the minbar of Ghadir was the tying of a turban by the Prophet (s) on the head of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a). This act, based on an Arab tradition, held significant meaning regarding the succession of the Imam. At Ghadir, the Prophet (s) tied his own turban, named 'Saḥāb', as a crown of honor on the head of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a). He then explained the specific style of this turban, recalling the Battles of Badr and Hunayn, stating that in these two battles, God sent angels to assist him, and they wore turbans in this manner.
Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba recount the story of the Battle of Hunayn, where the enemy's ambushes were strong, and the Muslims were suddenly surrounded; despite the Muslims being numerically superior, many of them fled. In such a situation, God sent His invisible army to assist and rescue the Muslims from defeat.
Verses Related to Specific Occasions at Ghadir
Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba are among the verses used in the Ghadir event. Considering that Ghadir was an elaborate three-day ceremony, besides the verses directly revealed during those days, other verses were also alluded to in speeches, and their meanings were explained. These instances are mentioned in the exegesis of eighteen verses.[1]
Among these verses are Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba:
و لَقَدْ نَصَرَکُمُ اللَّهُ فِی مَواطِنَ کَثِیرَةٍ وَ یَوْمَ حُنَیْنٍ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْکُمْ کَثْرَتُکُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنْکُمْ شَیْئاً وَ ضاقَتْ عَلَیْکُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِما رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّیْتُمْ مُدْبِرِینَ
ثُمَّ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ سَکِینَتَهُ عَلی رَسُولِهِ وَ عَلَی الْمُؤْمِنِینَ وَ أَنْزَلَ جُنُوداً لَمْ تَرَوْها وَ عَذَّبَ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُوا وَ ذلِکَ جَزاءُ الْکافِرِینَ - And Allah has certainly helped you in many battlefields and on the day of Ḥunayn, when your great number pleased you, but it did not avail you in any way, and the earth became strait for you despite its breadth, then you turned your backs in retreat.|25|Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Apostle and upon the faithful, and He sent down hosts you did not see, and He punished those who were faithless, and that is the recompense of the faithless.[2]
Verses in the Text of the Narration
Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba are considered related to the Ghadir event in a narration from Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a): On the day of Ghadir Khumm, the Messenger of Allah (s) tied a turban on my head and let its end hang over my shoulder, and he said: 'Allah supported and assisted me on the day of Badr and Hunayn with angels who wore such turbans.' [notes 1].[3]
Historical Context for Referencing the Verses
The historical context for referencing Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba is depicted as follows: One of the ceremonies performed atop the minbar of Ghadir, before the eyes of one hundred twenty thousand attendees, was the tying of a turban by the Prophet (s) on the head of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a). This act, based on an Arab tradition, held significant meaning regarding the succession of the Imam. Whenever Arabs wished to declare the leadership of a great person over a tribe, they would tie a turban on his head during a ceremony. Whenever a great person tied his own turban on the head of the designated individual during such a ceremony, it was a sign of his trust in him.[4]
At Ghadir, the Prophet (s) tied his own turban, named 'Saḥāb', as a crown of honor on the head of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), placed the end of the turban on his shoulder, and said: 'The turban is the crown of the Arabs.' He then explained the specific style of this turban, recalling the Battles of Badr and Hunayn, stating that in these two battles, God sent angels to assist him, and they wore turbans in this manner, and this was a reference to three verses in the Qurʾān concerning this: Verses 25 and 26 of Tawba and Verses 123 and 124 of Āl ʿImrān.[5]
Qurʾānic Context of the Verses
The Qurʾānic context of Verses 25 and 26 of Sūrat al-Tawba has been depicted by some researchers as follows: During the Ghadir ceremony, the Prophet (s) referred to four verses in two sūras of the Qurʾān, which recount the story of angelic assistance to him in the two Battles of Badr and Hunayn. In Sūrat al-Tawba, the story of the Battle of Hunayn is presented, where the enemy's ambushes were strong, and the Muslims were suddenly surrounded; despite the Muslims being numerically superior, many of them fled. In such a situation, God sent His invisible army to assist and rescue the Muslims from defeat.
It is stated in a ḥadīth that in the Battles of Badr and Hunayn, these angels descended from the heavens, took on human form, and fought alongside the Muslims, killing many of the disbelievers, although the Muslims could not see them. So much so that many disbelievers later asked in astonishment: 'At the beginning of the battle, your numbers were few. Who were these who joined your army? Those were the two-colored horses and white-clad riders who killed our men.'[6] A characteristic of these angels was the turban they wore on their heads, with its end hanging over their shoulders.[7]
Footnotes
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 93.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 160.
- ↑ ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2/15, p. 199.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 161.
- ↑ ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2/15, p. 199; al-Ghadīr, vol. 1, pp. 537–541; Kanz al-ʿUmmāl, vol. 15, p. 483.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 19, p. 284; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 21, p. 151.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 162.
- ↑ عَمَّمَنى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلَّى اللَّه عليه و آله يَوْمَ غَديرِ خُمٍّ بِعَمامَةٍ فَسَدَلَ طَرَفَها عَلى مِنْكَبى وَ قالَ: انَّ اللَّهَ ايَّدَنى يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ وَ حُنَيْنٍ بِمَلائِكَةٍ مُعْتَمّينَ بِهذِهِ الْعَمَّةِ
References
- Biḥār al-Anwār al-Jāmiʿa li-Durar Akhbār al-Aʾimma al-Aṭhār; Muḥammad Bāqir b. Muḥammad Taqī Majlisī, Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm wa al-Maʿārif wa al-Aḥwāl min al-Āyāt wa al-Akhbār wa al-Aqwal; ʿAbd Allāh b. Nūr Allāh Baḥrānī Iṣfahānī, edited by: Muḥammad Bāqir Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī Iṣfahānī, Qom: Muʾassasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a), 1382 SH.
- al-Ghadīr fī al-Kitāb wa al-Sunna wa al-Adab; ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn Amīnī, Qom: Markaz al-Ghadīr li-l-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya, 1416 AH.
- Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-i Mā, 1387 SH.
- Kanz al-ʿUmmāl fī Sunan al-Aqwal wa al-Afʿāl; ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī b. Ḥusām al-Dīn al-Muttaqī al-Hindī, Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Risāla, n.d.