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Verses 7 and 8 of Sura al-Sharh and Ghadir

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Verses 7 and 8 of Sura al-Sharh and Ghadir
Ayah Specifications
Surah NameSura al-Sharh
Ayah Number7 - 8
Juz'30
Ayah Content
Place of RevelationMecca
TopicCommand to the Prophet (s) to appoint Amir al-Muʾminin to wilāya after completing his prophetic mission.

Verses 7 and 8 of Sura al-Sharh are verses revealed during the Ghadir event, commanding the Prophet (s) to appoint Amir al-Muʾminin to wilāya after completing his prophetic mission.

The historical context of the revelation of Verses Seven and Eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ has been described by some researchers as follows: While the Farewell Pilgrimage was imminent, instructions for the continuation of this journey were given in two short verses. These two verses state that after completing the Hajj—when the promulgation of all divine decrees is finalized—it is time to announce the last command, namely wilāya and the appointment of Amir al-Muʾminin (a) to the caliphate. Narrations concerning the exegesis and occasion of revelation of these verses in some instances precisely specify their temporal context as the Farewell Pilgrimage and after the completion of the Hajj.

According to some researchers, the proof for the revelation of Verses Seven and Eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ concerning Ghadir refers to the interpretation of the two phrases فَرَغْتَ and فَانْصَبْ in the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), which is discussed further below. The first point is the recitation of the word فَانْصَبْ: whether it should be read with a kasra on the ṣād or a fatḥa. In Shiʿi narrations, it is explicitly stated to be read with a kasra. If this phrase is read with a fatḥa, it means "to strive" and is an intransitive verb requiring no object; but if it is read with a kasra, it means "to appoint" and is a transitive verb that does not make sense without an object, and sometimes even requires two objects. Based on the transitive reading, the meaning of the verse would be: "When you are free, appoint ʿAlī to imamate." This reading has also been affirmed in narrations.

Furthermore, Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ indicates a fundamental opening in the Prophet's (s) mission. This sura mentions a great responsibility, the fulfillment of which removes a burden from the Prophet (s), bringing an end to a period of hardship and ushering in an era of ease. The key to all these openings is ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), with whose appointment to the position of imamate ultimate and absolute tranquility is achieved.

Verses Related to the Prophet's (s) Actions at Ghadir

The context of the revelation of Verses Seven and Eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ has been explained as follows: Many verses of the Qurʾān were revealed during the Prophet's journey from Medina to Mecca and back, of which twenty-one verses are directly related to the subject of Ghadir and its message. These verses indicate divine support and a direct command from God during the Ghadir ceremony. Some verses refer to the conclusion of the prophethood and the beginning of wilāya, while others prepare people for a great divine test. Furthermore, Ghadir is introduced as a great victory and the despair of enemies, and the importance of promulgating wilāya is emphasized. Ultimately, these verses declare the perfection of religion and the pinnacle of God's blessing through wilāya. These are forty-nine verses, revealed on twenty-one occasions.[1]

Among these verses are Verses Seven and Eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ, which, coinciding with the commencement of Hajj rituals during the Farewell Pilgrimage, announced with their revelation that upon the completion of this last divine obligation, the program of declaring wilāya and appointing ʿAlī (a) would begin:

فَاِذا فَرَغْتَ فَانْصِبْ
وَ اِلی رَبِّکَ فَارْغَبْ
So when you are free, strive and turn to your Lord with zeal.

Historical Context of the Verses' Revelation

The historical context of the revelation of Verses Seven and Eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ has been described by some researchers as follows: While the Farewell Pilgrimage was imminent, and the Prophet (s) was announcing the end of his life, and the signs of the conclusion of the prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets had appeared, instructions for the continuation of this journey were given in two short verses. These two verses state that after completing the Hajj—when the promulgation of all divine decrees is finalized—it is time to announce the last command, namely wilāya and the appointment of Amir al-Muʾminin (a) to the caliphate; these two verses are Verses Seven and Eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ.[2]

Theological Analysis of the Verses

According to some researchers, the proof of the revelation of verses seven and eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ concerning Ghadir refers back to the interpretation of the two phrases فَرَغْتَ and فَانْصَبْ in the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), which will be discussed further.

Reading of Kasra or Fatha in the Phrase "Fa-anṣab"

The first point raised before discussing the occasion of revelation of this verse is the reading of the word "fa-anṣab," whether it should be read with a kasra on the ṣād or a fatḥa. While acknowledging that variations in the reading of the Qur'an regarding vowels and diacritics are an accepted matter, it is noted that Shiʿi narrations explicitly state the reading with a kasra. If this phrase is read with a fatḥa, it means "to strive" or "to exert oneself," and it is an intransitive verb requiring no object. However, if it is read with a kasra, it means "to appoint" or "to install," and it is a transitive verb that makes no sense without an object, and sometimes even requires two objects; for example, فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً: Appoint ʿAlī and فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً اماماً: Appoint ʿAlī as Imam. In all instances where these verses have been interpreted in the narrations of the Imams (a), this phrase has been read with a kasra.

The exigency of the ruling, the subject matter, and the flow of the discourse in the sūra also align better with the kasra reading, because فَانْصِبْ with a fatḥa means: "strive, and exert yourself," and the meaning of the phrase would be: "When you are done with the prophetic duty, strive and exert yourself," which does not convey a profound meaning. But with a kasra, it means "appoint," and the meaning of the phrase would be: "When you are done with the prophetic duty, appoint," which directly refers to the issue of caliphate that the Prophet (s) undertook in the final stage of his prophethood.

This matter has also been addressed in some narrations; for example:

  • It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) from his father Imam al-Baqir (a) that regarding the words of God Almighty, فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ (So when you are done, then toil.), he said: The word فَانْصِبْ is with the kasra on the ṣād, and its meaning is that whenever you are done with establishing the obligatory deeds, appoint ʿAlī, and the Prophet (s) carried out this command.[3] In this narration, he explicitly stated the word بِكَسْرِ الصّادِ: with the kasra on the ṣād, and in the subsequent phrase, he used the word فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً, which if read with a fatḥa would not require an object and would result in an incorrect meaning.
  • In another narration, the word قَرَأَ: read explicitly states Imam al-Sadiq's (a) reading with a kasra, and then clarifies the matter further with the phrase فَانْصِبْ لَهُمْ عَلِياً اماماً: appoint ʿAlī as Imam for them, indicating that the intended reading is with a kasra, which requires an object. The text of the narration is as follows: Indeed, Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad (a) read: "So when you are done, appoint"; then he said: "So when you are done with completing the sharia, appoint ʿAlī (a) as Imam for them."[4]

Sunni Reaction to This Reading

Considering the Imams' (a) reading of the word فَانْصِبْ with a kasra, the strong reaction of some Sunnis and their emphasis on removing the verse from the topic of "walāya" (guardianship) is noteworthy and reveals the root of the issue; for example:

  • al-Zamakhsharī, a Sunni exegete of the fifth and sixth centuries AH, says: Among the innovations is a matter narrated from some Rāfiḍīs who read the word فَانْصِبْ in the verse with a kasra on the ṣād, meaning, appoint ʿAlī as Imam.[5]
  • Qāḍī Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Maʿāfirī al-Ishbīlī al-Mālikī (d. 543 AH), known as Ibn al-ʿArabīTemplate:Note, says: A group of innovators read this verse as فَانْصِبْ with a kasra on the ṣād and its initial hamza, and they said its meaning is: appoint an Imam who will be your successor. And this is invalid both in terms of reading and meaning, because the Prophet (s) did not appoint anyone as his caliph or successor.[6]

Calling the reading of the verse with a kasra an innovation, along with the word "Rāfiḍīs," speaks volumes; because variations in reading, even at the level of diacritics, have never been considered an innovation and have many examples in Sunni narrations. How is it that this matter is deemed innovative concerning the Shiʿa? Ibn al-ʿArabī himself answers this question at the end of his statement; where he says: This is invalid both in terms of reading and meaning, because the Prophet (s) did not appoint anyone as his caliph. So, the innovation of changing a diacritic is because, in his view, the caliphate is not by appointment, but rather people should choose. But the Shiʿa say: Since the caliphate of the Prophet (s) must only be by his appointment, therefore, the original reading was with a kasra, and the innovators, to escape the truth of the caliphate and create the innovation of an elective caliphate, read it with a fatḥa.[7]

Explicit Statement on the Revelation of the Verse Concerning Ghadir

Narrations concerning the exegesis and occasion of revelation of verses seven and eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ sometimes precisely specify its temporal context as Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ and after the completion of the Ḥajj, and sometimes, by citing the phrase مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلاهُ فَعَلِىٌّ مَوْلاهُ, refer to its realization at Ghadir following the explanation of the verse. The following three narrations illustrate this point:

  • Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: God's saying: 'So when you are free, appoint,' was revealed when the Prophet (s) was on his Ḥajj journey: 'When you are free' from your Ḥajj, 'appoint' ʿAlī as a banner and a sign for the people.[8]
  • Regarding the meaning of the verse 'So when you are free, appoint,' he said: When you are free from the Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ, appoint Amīr al-Muʾminīn and turn with desire towards your Lord.[9]
  • Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: God said: 'So when you are free, appoint, and turn with desire towards your Lord,' meaning: When you are free, appoint your sign and declare your successor, and openly state his virtue. It was then that the Prophet (s) said three times: 'Whoever I am his master, ʿAlī is his master. O God, love whoever loves him, and be an enemy to whoever is his enemy.'[10]

Connection of the Entire Sūrah with Ghadir

Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ indicates a fundamental opening in the Prophet's (s) mission, and God informs of the opening of his breast and the tranquility of his heart. This sūrah mentions a great responsibility, the fulfillment of which removes a burden from the Prophet's (s) shoulders, leaving behind a period of hardship and ushering in a time of ease. The key to all these openings is ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), with whom ultimate and absolute tranquility is achieved by appointing him to the position of imamate.

This succession of the stages of Islam and its ultimate connection with Ghadir is depicted in the words of Imam al-Baqir (a) and Imam al-Sadiq (a) as follows: God's saying 'Did We not open your breast for you?' means: Did We not make you understand who your successor is? Did We not make him your helper and the humiliator of your enemy? The very enemy who broke your back. Did We not place the children of the prophets, who are guided, among the progeny of ʿAlī? 'And did We not relieve you of your burden?' to the extent that wherever My (God's) name is mentioned, your name (O Prophet) is also mentioned with Me? Whenever you are free from your worldly affairs, appoint ʿAlī for wilāya so that through him they may be guided from discord.[11]

In the above Ḥadith, the verses of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ demonstrate the coherence of the station of prophethood and wilāya throughout the twenty-three-year mission. Another Ḥadith elaborates on further details of this connection: 'Did We not expand your breast?' He said: 'Through ʿAlī (a), whom We made your successor.' When Mecca was conquered and the Quraysh embraced Islam, God granted an opening to the Prophet's (s) breast and inner self. 'And We removed your burden from your back,' he said: 'Through ʿAlī, We removed the war that broke your back, meaning its burden weighed heavily on your back.' 'And We raised high your renown,' he said: 'Whenever My (God's) name is mentioned, your name is also mentioned, and this is what people say: اشْهَدُ انْ لا الهَ الاَّ اللَّه، وَ اشْهَدُ انَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُولُ اللَّه.' Then he says: 'So verily with hardship comes ease,' he said: 'As long as you were in hardship, ease came to you.' 'So when you are free, appoint,' he said: 'When you are free from the Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ, appoint Amīr al-Muʾminīn.' 'And turn with desire towards your Lord.'[12]

Meaning of Being Free and Appointing

The point that clarifies the precise connection of verses seven and eight of Sūrat al-Inshirāḥ with Ghadir is understanding: free from what task, and appointing whom to what position. The Ḥadiths narrated in the exegesis of the verse concerning Ghadir place special emphasis on these two points. Regarding the object of faraghta, three aspects are observed, all of which refer to the same matter, but each views the issue from a specific dimension:

  1. اذا فَرَغْتَ مِنْ حَجِّکَ…,[13] اذا فَرَغْتَ مِنْ حَجَّةِ الْوِداعِ…:[14] In this narration, two temporal dimensions are emphasized, indicating that the appointment of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) at Ghadir took place after the Ḥajj rituals, specifically in the year of the Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ.
  2. اذا فَرَغْتَ مِنْ دُنْیاکَ…:[15] In this case, it refers to the establishment of the station of wilāya at the end of the Prophet's (s) life.
  3. اذا فَرَغْتَ مِنْ نَبُّوَتِکَ…,[16] اذا فَرَغْتَ مِنْ اقامَةِ الْفَرائِضَ…,[17] اذا فَرَغْتَ مِنْ اکْمالِ الشَّریعَةِ…:[18]

In these three instances, the finality of prophethood in the announcement of the decree of wilāya has been emphasized. This point has been presented with three different interpretations: first, prophethood, meaning after the completion of all that was incumbent upon the Prophet (s) as prophethood; second, the establishment of religious duties, meaning that wilāya is the last obligatory matter announced after all others; third, the completion of the sharīʿa, meaning that nothing of God's religion remained incomplete, and only wilāya endured and remained firm, which should be presented as the governing spirit over them and their acceptance after their announcement.

Regarding the object of فَانْصَبْ, it should be noted that the verb نَصَبَ (to appoint) requires two objects: one being the appointed person and the other the position to which they are appointed. The first object appears in six Hadiths with the name of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) as عَلِيّاً, in one instance as "Amīr al-Muʾminīn," and in another as عَلَمَكَ (your sign). The second object appears in one instance as وَصِيّاً (successor), in one instance as اماماً (Imam), in two instances as عَلَماً (sign), and in two other Hadiths with a preposition and the word لِلْوِلايَة (for wilāya). The collective phrases are as follows:

  • فَانْصِبْ اميرَالْمُؤْمِنينَ: So appoint Amīr al-Muʾminīn.[19]
  • فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً: So appoint ʿAlī.[20]
  • فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً اماماً: So appoint ʿAlī as an Imam.[21]
  • فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً لِلْوِلايَةِ: So appoint ʿAlī for wilāya.[22]
  • فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً وَصِيّاً: So appoint ʿAlī as a successor.[23]
  • فَانْصِبْ عَلِيّاً عَلَماً لِلنّاسِ: So appoint ʿAlī as a sign for the people.[24]
  • فَانْصِبْ عَلَمَكَ وَ اعْلِنْ وَصِيَّكَ: So establish your sign and declare your successor.[25]

Each of these phrases also recalls a significant and profound dimension of the absolute wilāya of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a). Imamate signifies the leadership and guidance of the people, waṣāya (successorship) refers to the successorship of the Prophet (s), and being an ʿalam (sign) denotes the exclusivity and sole sign of guidance of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a).[26]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Ghadir in the Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 25.
  2. ↑ Ghadir in the Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 41.
  3. ↑ Sharḥ al-Akhbār, vol. one, p. 245, no. 270.
  4. ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. two, p. 226.
  5. ↑ al-Kashshāf, vol. four, p. 722.
  6. ↑ Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. four, p. 413.
  7. ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. one, p. 44.
  8. ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. thirty-six, p. one hundred thirty-five, no. ninety-one; ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm, vol. two/fifteen, p. one hundred fifty-one, no. two hundred twenty-seven; Taʾwīl al-Āyāt al-Ẓāhirah, p. seven hundred eighty-six.
  9. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. two, p. four hundred twenty-eight; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. thirty-six, pp. one hundred thirty-three–one hundred thirty-four.
  10. ↑ Al-Kāfī, vol. one, p. two hundred ninety-four; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. thirty-eight, p. one hundred forty-two, no. one hundred five; ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm, vol. two/fifteen, p. one hundred fifty, no. two hundred twenty-six.
  11. ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. three, p. twenty-three.
  12. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. two, pp. four hundred twenty-eight–four hundred twenty-nine; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. thirty-six, pp. one hundred thirty-three–one hundred thirty-four.
  13. ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. thirty-six, p. one hundred thirty-five, no. ninety-one.
  14. ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. thirty-six, p. one hundred thirty-four.
  15. ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. three, p. twenty-three.
  16. ↑ Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, pp. five hundred seventy-three–five hundred seventy-four.
  17. ↑ Sharḥ al-Akhbār, vol. one, p. two hundred forty-five, no. two hundred seventy.
  18. ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. three, p. twenty-three.
  19. ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 36, p. 134.
  20. ↑ Sharḥ al-Akhbār, vol. 1, p. 245, ḥ. 270.
  21. ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, p. 23.
  22. ↑ Shawāhid al-Tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 451, ḥ. 1116; Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, p. 23.
  23. ↑ Taʾwīl al-Āyāt al-Ẓāhira, p. 785; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 36, p. 135, ḥ. 91.
  24. ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 36, p. 135, ḥ. 91.
  25. ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 38, p. 142, ḥ. 105.
  26. ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 49.

References

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