Hadith of position

Hadith are collections of the reports claiming to quote what the prophet Muhammad said verbatim on any matter.[10] The term comes from the Arabic meaning report, account or narrative. Hadith are second only to the Quran in developing Islamic jurisprudence,[11] and regarded as important tools for understanding the Quran and commentaries (tafsir) on it.

In 9 AH (630 CE), Muhammad received news of an imminent attack by the Byzantine Empire, so he left Medina with a large army on the expedition of Tabuk.[12] He did not want to leave Medina unguarded, as there were concerns regarding the safety of the city, and decided to leave Ali behind as his deputy. Ali asked if he was going to be left behind with the women and children. To this Muhammad replied:

"You are unto as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no prophet after me."[13][14]

The tradition has been reported in various religious texts with minor textual differences.[15][16] Some sources have also recorded that Muhammad added, "It is not permissible for me to go without you being my caliph (successor)," and that, "You are the caliph of every believer after me."[2][17] Historical records indicate that Muhammad used the same analogy between Aaron and Ali on multiple other occasions, e.g., during the battle of Khaybar.[18]

The hadith of position suggests that Ali enjoys the same position in Islam that Aaron has in Judaism, except prophethood. Aside from being a prophet himself, the Quran portrays Aaron as Moses' brother and his divinely-appointed minister and deputy.[19][20][21] In particular, Aaron was left in charge of the Israelites in the absence of Moses, when the latter ascended Mount Sinai.[22] Prophets, including Aaron, are generally considered infallible in Islam, albeit different sects interpret infallibility differently.[23]

The hadith of position conveys that Ali holds the same position in Islam that Aaron has in Judaism, except prophethood. Shia Islam therefore extends Aaron's privileges to Ali, except prophethood.[24] That is, in view of the discussion in the previous section, the hadith of position suggests that

1. Muhammad considered Ali to be his divinely-appointed deputy and the second-in-command among Muslims.[25]
2. Muhammad considered Ali to be his brother.[26] Indeed, when Muslims were being paired together in sworn brotherhood after the migration to Medina, Muhammad chose Ali as his brother and proclaimed, "You are my brother in this world and the hereafter."[27]
3. Muhammad considered Ali to be infallible,[25] thus corroborating the Shia interpretation of both the verse of purification of the Quran and the hadith of the Kisa.[28][29] (The purification verse is about God's will to cleanse Ahl al-Bayt from any wrongdoing. The well-attested hadith of the Kisa specifies Ahl al-Bayt as Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan and Husayn. However, the infallibility of Ahl al-Bayt and its makeup are both disputed by the Sunni.)

Accordingly, Shia Islam considers Ali to be the divinely-appointed successor of Muhammad.[30][31] Of similar importance here is the divine prerogatives bestowed upon Aaron's descendants, including God's proclamation in the Hebrew Bible that, "Behold, I give unto him [Aaron] My covenant of peace. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood."[32] This might be compared to Shia Islam where Imams, from the lineage of Muhammad, inherited his divine wisdom and authority.[33] This divine elevation of prophets' descendants above others is a recurring theme in the Quran.[34]

A criticism of the Shia interpretation is that Aaron died before Moses and could not succeed him.[35] It might, however, be futile to attempt to identify all aspects of Ali and Aaron's lives: Paraphrasing the Shia scholar al-Mufid, the hadith of position endowed Ali with every (Quranic) position that Aaron had held except prophethood, namely, the deputy, the minister, and a brother.[36] In particular, had he survived Moses, Aaron would have certainly succeeded Moses.[37] The "after me" in the hadith might also signify Ali's position after Muhammad's death, according to the Shia scholar Rezwani.[38] Similarly, Ali was Muhammad's cousin and his son-in-law, rather than his blood brother.[39] Nevertheless, Muhammad had twice sworn a pact of brotherhood with Ali.[40][41]

While not stated in the hadith, the Sunni interpretation of the hadith of position is that the comparison to Aaron was made because Aaron was only a temporary leader until Moses returned from Mount Sinai. Similarly, Ali was the temporary leader until Muhammad returned to Medina from the Tabuk expedition.[42] This view is reflected in the works of the Sunni scholars such as Al-Qurtubi and ibn Taymiyyah.[43][44] However, others like Abdul Aziz Dehlavi hold that Ali should be considered an Imam of his own time when he was appointed as the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs.[45] Ibn Hajar al Asqalani holds another view and according to him the caliphate of Ali should have been limited to the life of Muhammad.[46]

• Abu Bakr
• Hadith of the Pond of Khumm
• Hadith of the Two Weighty Things
• Hadith of the Twelve Successors
• Samiri
• Saqifah

• Dhakhad'ir al-'uqba, Pg. 63
• al-Fusul al-muhimmah, Pg. 21
• Kifayat al-Talib of Kaoji Shafi'l, 1356, Pg. 148-154
• Sawa'iq al-muhriqah, Pg. 177

• http://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team
• al-Bahrani. Ghâyat al-marâm wa-hujjat al-hisâm. p. 109. one hundred versions of this hadith have allegedly been recounted from Sunni sources and seventy from Shi'a sources
• "The Hadith of 'Manzila'". shiapen.com. Shia Pen Newsletter. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
• Sultan al-Wa’adhim As-Sayyid Muhammad al-Musawi ash-Shirazi (1996). "Fifth Session, Tuesday night, 27th Rajab 1345 A.H.". Peshawar Nights. Palisades, NY: Pak Books. Retrieved 23 September 2014.