Islam and the Alevi Faith: Ehl-i Beyt, Mysticism and the Qur’an

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This text is one of Seyit Derviş Tur Dede’s writings on the Alevi faith. For a general introduction: What is Alevism? Its faith, history and core values

WHO ARE WE?

The usurpation of the caliphate immediately after the death of the Prophet Muhammad was the first spark that created division among Muslims. Later, Muawiya’s (Muaviye) betrayal of Ali and – after he had Ali martyred – his having Imam Hasan, the grandson of Muhammad and child of Ali and Fatima, poisoned, widened the division further. Thirdly, the massacre at Karbala, in which Muawiya’s son Yazid (Yezit), following his father’s testament, had Imam Hüseyin and the entire lineage of the Prophet killed while deprived of water, was such a last drop that made the cup overflow that for 14 centuries this wound opened within Islamic society has not closed – nor is it possible that it will close.

From that day on, the side that maintained that the descendants of the Prophet and his Ehl-i Beyt (Ahl al-Bayt, the family of the Prophet) had been wronged was called the partisans of Ali and “Alis” (Aliler), and later Alevi Muslims. Those who supported the rule of the Umayyad state of that time were called Sunni Muslims. After the Prophet, Muawiya, the chief architect of Sunni Islam, and the Umayyads remained at the head of this religion of Islam for 86 years. They had the boards of the “İcma-i Ümmet” (consensus of the community) – that is, (scholars who defended their own views) – do and write whatever they wished. They altered many interpretations of the verses of the Qur’an according to the order of the state, with expressions of pressure and fear, through wordplay, according to their own wishes. We, the Alevi Islamic community, give no credence to the outward (zahiri) interpretation of the Qur’anic verses by the Umayyads. We translate them with the inner (batini) interpretation of the Ehl-i Beyt.

Over 86 years the Umayyads turned the religion brought by Muhammad upside down and, with fabricated hadiths, presented every one of their betrayals to the world of that time as the “fiqh (jurisprudence) and Sunna” of our Prophet. Against the expression “Ehl-i Beyt” they invented the word “Ehl-i Sünnet” (Ahl al-Sunna). Having thus turned the religion of Islam upside down, they proclaimed to the whole world: this is Islam. Muslims who still follow the Sunni Sharia believe that the Wahhabi Sharia founded by the Umayyads is the Sharia brought by the Prophet. Although no verse of the Qur’an says that you shall perform the ritual prayer (namaz) five times a day, the Sunnis still pray five times a day.

The Prophet Muhammad passed away in the year 632 CE. The legal schools (mezhep) were invented in the years 755–756, in the time of the Abbasids. After 124 years had passed, by inventing the legal schools with a divide-and-rule system and by playing politics, they committed the greatest betrayal of Islam. That is why the Alevi Islamic community did not accept sectarianism then and does not accept it today. For just as the Alevis did not accept the injustices committed with the first caliphate, they also gave no credence to all the fabricated “icma and kıyas” (consensus and analogy) made after it. In a word, the Alevis have not accepted to this day, and will not accept, what the Ehl-i Beyt and the Twelve Imams of their lineage did not accept and what is not in the Qur’an.

Those who at that time did not leave the side of the children and grandchildren of Muhammad and Ali, and who accepted and continued the Islamic faith they brought without any addition or supplement, were constantly kept under oppression and massacred by the Umayyads and Abbasids, who held state power. It was our forefathers who gave their lives and their heads in these massacres, but made no concessions in their faith: by hiding the children of Muhammad and Ali among themselves, they ensured with an esoteric system that their lineage, though small in number, has survived to this day. We are the Alevi Islamic community that, together with them, has continued to this day the Islamic faith brought by Muhammad and Ali and carried on by their children:

That is why the chief architects of the Alevi faith are Ali and the Ehl-i Beyt. In their worship, their prayers and their gülbanks (prayer formulas), the Alevis always remember, together with Muhammad, Ali, the Ehl-i Beyt and the Twelve Imams.

Surah ash-Shura, verse 23: My beloved, tell your community: because I have brought you this true religion, I ask no reward of you. I ask only pure love and devotion for my Ehl-i Beyt. God forgives those who walk on the path of Truth and bestows favours upon them.

Surah Al Imran, verse 110: O Ehl-i Beyt of Muhammad! You are an exemplary, good community brought forth for humankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong and believing in God. Had the People of the Book believed, it would have been better for them.

How and in what does the Alevi Islamic community believe?

The Alevi Islamic faith is not a race, a lineage or a nation. It is certainly not a legal school (mezhep). The Alevi faith is the mystical thought and the path of tasavvuf (Islamic mysticism) of Islam. Alevi Islam does not accept sectarianism at all. If you ask why: in the Qur’an there are many verses forbidding legal schools and covering this subject. But I shall give only two of them.

Surah Al Imran, verse 105: “Do not be like those who divided and fell into dissension after clear proofs had come to them. The great punishment is for those who cause division.

Surah al-Baqara, verses 59–60: Truly, those who conceal and deny the proofs and the guidance We have sent down, after We have made them clear to people in the Book – God curses them, and those who curse curse them. Except those who repent and reform,

There is no need for more sources. I believe that two verses are sufficient.

What is Islam?

The meaning of the word Islam! It is to believe in the oneness of God, to have faith and to surrender to God. Unless you profess the oneness of God with your tongue, believe with your heart and surrender to God, you cannot be Islam.

Surah Al Imran, verse 19: “The religion with God is surely Islam. But those who were given the Book fell into dissension among themselves out of greed, after knowledge had come to them. Whoever denies the verses of God, let him know that God is swift in reckoning.”.

Surah Al Imran, verse 3: “We have sent down to you too the true Book, confirming the books before it. Before, We had sent down the Torah and the Gospel as guidance for people.”

Surah al-Baqara, verse 97: “By God’s command Gabriel (Cebrail) has brought down to your heart the true Book, confirming the earlier books and showing people the way.”

Surah an-Nisa, verse 136: O you who believe, be steadfast and constant in believing in God Most High, in the Qur’an He sent to His Messenger Muhammad, and in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms (Zebur) and all the holy commandments He sent down before it.

Surah al-Isra, verse 77: “O Muhammad, it is the same law that We applied to Our prophets whom We sent before you. You will find no change in Our law.”

Surah al-Ahqaf, verse 12: “Before the Qur’an, the book of Moses, the Torah, is a mercy and a guide. This Qur’an is a book sent down in the Arabic language, confirming those before it, to warn those who do wrong and to be glad tidings to those who do good.”

Surah Al Imran, verse 84: “Say: We believe in God and in what has been sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus and the other prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. We are those who surrender to Him.”

It can be seen, then, that God and the Qur’an do not hold the prophets or human beings above one another. In the Alevi Islamic mystical faith, the Alevis have never, ever departed from this true, inner, mystical expression of the Qur’an. They look upon the 72 nations (all the people of the world) without distinction as servants of God, as equal human beings. They have never believed in or given credence to the outward, fabricated interpretation of the Qur’an that the Sunni Umayyads made for the administration of the state. That is why to this day they have not accepted the orthodox Umayyad Sunni Sharia.

In the mystical Alevi Islamic faith we do not seek God on earth or in the sky. We believe that the abode of God is the heart of the believer, and that we see the countenance (cemal) of God in the face of the believer. That is why in our collective worship our Kaaba is the countenance of the believer. “We do not turn our faces to the wall; we turn to the countenance (didar).” In the shape of a half-moon we worship looking into one another’s faces. Verse 115 of Surah al-Baqara: “The East and the West belong to God. Wherever you turn, you have turned to God. God encompasses everything and knows everything.”

 

In Islam, apart from the Sunni Sharia – and different from it – there is the “mystical” tasavvuf faith of the Ehl-i Beyt. These mystical values of worship and belief are the Alevi Islamic faith. In Alevism, which is a mystical faith, the holiest Kaaba is the heart of the perfect human being (insan-ı kâmil). We also believe that the light of God (Hakk) is reflected in the face of the perfect human being. That is why in our collective worship with more than one person we worship face to face (cemal cemale). In tasavvuf, the qibla is the heart of the perfect human being.

The content of worship in tasavvuf, in terms of faith, is “the approach of the created to the Creator by way of the heart”. It is the way of attaining, within the Sırat-ı Müstakim (the straight path), the unity of “Vahdet-i Vücut” (the Unity of Being). In the Alevi mystical faith, the idea that one goes to God with love stands in the foreground. The human being is obliged to struggle against his greed, his ego (nefs) and his evil thoughts, which harm people. He holds the principle of not considering fitting for others what he does not consider fitting for himself. Be master of your hand, your tongue, your loins, your food, your work and your spouse. Remaining faithful to the word you have given before God and to the vow (ikrar) you have made is a precondition. In Alevi terminology there is an important saying: “Die, but do not give a vow; die, but do not go back on your vow. [It costs] the one who gives it his property, the one who goes back his life.” The mystical Alevi belief system is a belief system that serves to create transparent human beings and a pure society. It is the essence of the faith we call the religion of Islam. This path was begun by Ali together with Muhammad.

Since the Alevi faith is the mystical thought and the tasavvuf path of the religion of Islam: this path is travelled with love. It is a path of the heart. It is the path of believing and having faith without doubt. To be able to travel this path, one must take the hand of a pir (el almak). The pir to whom you surrender must be one of the erenler who know this path and this erkân (rites) well and who bear the qualities of a pir. It is that pir who, at the Four Gates and Forty Stations (Dört Kapı Kırk Makam), in order, stage by stage, educating and maturing a person, guides him towards the essence (öz). The aim is to become a “perfect human being” (insan-ı kâmil). It is to reach the realm of unity. It is to become one with God (Hak’la Hak olmak). In the language of tasavvuf this is called “Vahdet-i Vücut”, the realm of unity. “The notion of God in Alevism is the greatest love for the universe.”

In the mystical Alevi faith, one does not take God and confine Him between four walls. Of course the Alevis too believe without doubt in the station (makam) of Abraham and respect it. The Kaaba is in Mecca, and the tomb and station of Muhammad are in Medina. When the Anatolian Alevis stand to pray alone, they of course turn towards Mecca and Medina because of the affection and love they feel for Muhammad and the Ehl-i Beyt. But when we come to the real heart of the matter:

Verse 115 of Surah al-Baqara of the Holy Qur’an says: “The East and the West belong to God. Wherever you turn, you have turned to God. God encompasses everything and knows everything.” Surah an-Nur, verse 35: “God is the light of the earth and of the heavens.”

 

Worship is performed in two ways: one is the worship of remembrance (zikir), the other the worship of prostration (secde):

Prostration in worship: In its literal meaning it means to fall to the ground before God and surrender with one’s whole being. After the repentance (tövbe), the plea for forgiveness (bağışlama) and the prayers said at the moment of worship, one goes down into prostration. This prostration is the psychological reflection of the state of the soul in physical behaviour. A person’s lowering his head in prostration of his own will is his reckoning with his own self. It is his measuring of himself, his judging of himself. It is his self-criticism without the testimony or complaint of anyone else. In this sense prostration is a mirror of reckoning. The believer will see himself in the mirror and settle accounts with himself face to face.

In the Qur’an there are over a hundred verses commanding worship. All of them say: remember God at almost every time of the day, that is, do not let the name of God leave your tongue, nor His love leave your heart. This is the worship of remembrance.

Surah Qaf, verse 21: Every soul will come into the Presence with a proof (delil), a guide (rehber) and a witness.

Surah al-Isra, verse 71: One day We shall call all people together with their leaders (their rehbers). Those who on that day are given their book in their right hand – they are the ones who attain salvation.

While the Qur’an calls us to discover the secrets of the outer world, it also reminds us that we possess reason and always keeps the way of reason in front. While we try psychologically to penetrate certain secrets, it invites us to untie, by way of the heart, the knot between the I and the you as well.

Beyond these outward rules there is another special realm that the soul wishes to touch and at which it arrives. This infinite longing gushes forth from the depths of the soul. At the moment when the soul sees that all the values existing in the universe are the mirror of the attributes of God (Hakk), the soul has attained its final goal. The way to it surely passes through believing and having faith and through praying with devotion. Vecd (ecstasy) and huşu (devotion) are the transformation of an inner emotional state into trance. There is no mould, no garment and no description of a form for it. It cannot be told; it is beyond telling. Only the one who lives it knows it.

As for “you shall pray five times a day”, it is nowhere in the Qur’an. According to the verses I have now given, the command “Prostrate before your Lord by night” clearly shows that night worship is holier. That is why the Alevis hold their worship and their cems at night. By day they attend to their work to earn the livelihood of their children. For the Alevis, lawful (helal) earning is the holiest worship. Now let us see what the Qur’an says about night worship.

Surah al-Insan, verse 26: Prostrate before Him in the night, and glorify Him long through the night.

Surah al-Muzzammil, verses 1–4: O you wrapped in your cloak, Muhammad! Rise for a while, a little before or a little after the middle of the night, and recite the Qur’an slowly. (Worship.)

Surah al-Muzzammil, verse 5: Truly, We shall reveal to you a word that is heavy to bear.

Surah al-Muzzammil, verse 6: Surely rising by night is more effective. Then reciting the Qur’an is more suitable.

Surah al-Muzzammil, verse 7: For by day you have work that occupies you for a long time.

Surah al-Muzzammil, verse 20: O Muhammad! Surely your Lord knows that you and a group of those with you rise in the middle of the night and worship.

Surah al-Muddaththir, verses 1–5: O you wrapped in your cloak, Muhammad! Arise and warn, and glorify your Lord. Keep your garments clean. Continue to shun evil things.

For everything that exists in the universe is the reflection of all the secrets of that one Whole and the mirror of its countenance – and that is the very Power that we call God.

This great love of God is a spiritual force in proportion to the capacity of each person’s heart, mind and understanding. To attain it?

The person who nourishes the garden called the soul (can) with the water of gnosis (marifet), mixes the root of repentance with the leaf of seeking forgiveness (istiğfar), pounds them thoroughly with the pestle of tevhid in the mortar of the heart, kneads them with tears in the pot of patience, cooks them on the fire of love and eats them with the spoon of contentment – such a person is called a perfect human being, a friend of the Ehl-i Beyt, an Alevi.

In the Alevi Islamic mystical faith there is the concept of reincarnation, “Tenasüh – Devir” (transmigration – cycle). The human soul enters and leaves the form of every kind of living being, including plants, again and again – either until the Day of Judgement, or until the perfect human being reaches the final point of the state of turab (humility, tevazu). In Alevi Islamic tasavvuf we believe that once the soul has settled in the perfect human being, it does not enter any body other than that of a perfect human being.

Surah al-Ma’ida, verse 48: “O Muhammad! We have sent down the Qur’an to you with the truth, confirming the books that came before it and as a witness over them. Judge between them by what God has sent down.” Since the truth has come to you, do not follow their desires! For each of you We have appointed a path and a method. Had God willed, He would have made you a single community. But [He did not], in order to test you in what He has given you. So race one another in doing good; your return is to God Most High.”

Surah al-Baqara, verse 91: “When they are told: Believe in what God has sent down, they say: We believe in what was sent down [to us], and they deny the Qur’an that has come. Yet the Qur’an is a true book confirming the Torah in their hands.”

Surah an-Nisa, verse 162: To those among them who are advanced in knowledge, and to the believers who believe in the Book sent down to you and in the Book sent down before you, who worship, who give zakat and who believe in God and the Last Day – to them We shall surely give a great reward.”

Surah an-Nisa, verse 163: “Just as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him, just as We revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, his descendants, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon, so We have surely revealed to you too, O Muhammad. And to David We gave the Psalms.”

Surah Al Imran, verses 113–114: “The People of the Book are not all alike. Among them are those who prostrate by night, reciting the verses of God and worshipping. They believe in God and the Last Day, forbid evil and hasten to good. They are among the righteous.”

Surah al-Baqara, verse 285: “The Prophet and the people believe in what has been sent down from their Lord. All of them believe and have faith in God, His angels, His books and His prophets. We make no distinction between any of the prophets; we obey them all. We ask our Lord’s forgiveness; the return is to You alone.”

The Qur’an says the following openly!

The name of the community of “heavenly” religions that convey a message to humanity through holy books, believe in one God, recognise the oneness of God and were brought by the prophets is Islam:

The Prophet Muhammad commands in a hadith: “I did not come to abolish the religions that came before me. I came to complete them,” he said.

Surah an-Nisa, verse 126: “God Himself encompasses the whole universe. Whatever is in the heavens and on the earth belongs to God.”

Surah Qaf, verse 16: Truly, We created the human being. We know what his self whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.”

Surah al-Baqara, verse 115: The East and the West belong to God alone; whichever way you turn, you have turned to God.”

Surah adh-Dhariyat, verse 56: “I created the jinn and humankind only so that they might worship and serve Me.”

Surah Al Imran, verse 105: Do not be like those who divided and fell into dissension after clear proofs had come to them. For those who divide there is a great punishment.”

Surah Sad, verses 71–72: “My Lord had said to the angels: I shall create a human being from clay. When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down in prostration before him.”

Surah al-Fath, verse 8: “O Muhammad, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.”

Surah an-Nur, verse 35: God is the light of the heavens and the earth.

On the equality of women and men in the Qur’an and in the Alevi Islamic mystical faith:

The Alevi Islamic mystical faith is the freedom within the faith of the Ehl-i Beyt that settles in hearts mutually, unites in love, develops constantly, absorbs the new science and technology of the age, protects itself from Sunni dogmas, gathers people equally to its bosom, makes no distinction of colour, language, religion, race or sex, and takes religious, intellectual and scientific thought as its guide. In this faith the place of woman is exalted according to her position. She is mother, sister, the crown upon the head. Woman in the Alevi mystical interpretation: (In the Sharia she is woman. In the Tarikat she is mother. In Marifet she is the world. In Hakikat she is earth and heaven.)

The earth, the creative source in the whole universe! It is the principal source of the creation of all the created values, living and non-living, that surround the entire universe. The principal source of the creation of the human being is likewise woman. In the Alevi Islamic mystical faith, among the descendants of the Ehl-i Beyt – except for prophethood (nübüvvet) and the imamate – woman, within the framework of her own responsibility, has in every sphere of life the same equal right as man, sharing with him shoulder to shoulder all responsibilities and all beauties. If we may share an observation! In the past our grandfathers wore a fez or a hat. Going about bareheaded was not customary. Our grandmothers too covered their heads with a headscarf. Times changed: our fathers took off their hats and began to go about bareheaded. Our mothers too took off the headscarf; they too can go about bareheaded. No one can say: why have you uncovered your head?

Surah an-Nur, verse 30: O Muhammad, tell the believing men to guard their eyes (from what is forbidden) and not to uncover their private parts. That is purer and better for them. God Most High is aware of all that they do.

Surah an-Nur, verse 31: O Muhammad, tell the believing women too to guard their eyes (from what is forbidden). Except for what is visible, let them not display their adornment. Let them not show their intimate parts to anyone but their spouses.

Surah at-Tawba, verse 67: The hypocritical men and the hypocritical women are alike. They enjoin evil and prevent good.

Surah at-Tawba, verse 68: For the hypocritical men and women He has prepared the fire of Hell, in which they will remain.

Surah at-Tawba, verse 71: The believing men and the believing women are protectors (veli) of one another. They enjoin good and hold people back from evil.

Surah an-Nisa, verse 34: The reason why God has made some of His servants superior to others of His servants! Because men spend their wealth on women, men have established their authority over women. The good women who guard their chastity when their husband is absent are those who fulfil God’s commands. The woman who is rebellious and betrays her husband – admonish and counsel her. If they do not heed, do not go to their bed. If they do not desist, then finally beat them. And if even then they do not mend their ways, separate.

Surah al-Baqara, verse 229: Divorce takes place in two ways. The first is to keep [the wife] with you in kindness. The second is to release her in kindness. When you separate, it is not lawful for you to take back the jewellery and property you gave the woman when you married her. Those things belong to the woman.

Surah al-Mujadila, verses 3–4: Those who wish to divorce their wives by way of zihar, saying to them “my mother, my sister”, and then immediately go back on their words – before they have contact with their wives . The man who has committed the offence shall, as a penalty, if his material circumstances are good, buy a slave and set him free, or, asking God’s forgiveness, fast for 60 days without interruption, or feed a poor person for 60 days. After these conditions have been fulfilled, he may marry his former wife again.

Surah al-Baqara, verse 230: If after that he wishes to divorce his wife, and the man says to his wife “you are divorced”, it is not lawful for him to have relations with his wife, even if he regrets it immediately after saying it. The woman goes and marries. If her second husband dies or divorces her, and they trust that they will keep God’s laws, there is no obstacle to the former husband and wife returning to each other.

Unfortunately, although the Qur’an gives the penalty to the man who committed the offence, the Sunni Sharia advocates bring together the woman, who bears no guilt at all, with another man. In this way they trample the honour and dignity of the woman underfoot. By presenting this cruelty of theirs as the command of the Qur’an, they associate partners with God (şirk). For their own filthy desires they still use even this beautiful verse of God as the (Hülle verse – the intermediate marriage).

Surah at-Tawba, verse 72: God has promised the believing men and the believing women a peaceful life (Paradise), in which they will remain forever.

Surah al-Ahzab, verse 35: The upright Muslim men and women. The believing men and women. The submissive, reverent men and women. The truthful men and women, the patient men and women, the men and women devoted from the heart, the men and women who give alms, the men and women who fast. The men and women who guard their chastity. The men and women who remember God much. For all of them God has prepared “forgiveness” and a peaceful life.

 

It is evident, then, that when we examine all the holy books, God Most High has not held any prophet above another. He has not distinguished people – the black from the white, the white from the yellow. He has clearly expressed the equality of women and men in many of His verses. The Alevi Islamic mystical faith has never departed from this path, from this direction. That is precisely why the system of belief and worship of the Alevi Islamic community is completely different from that of the Sunni Sharia advocates.

The Complete Sermons Delivered by the Prophet Muhammad during the Farewell Pilgrimage

During the Farewell Pilgrimage (Veda Haccı) the Prophet Muhammad delivered three important sermons. The first sermon, at Mina, is about Muslims being brothers and sisters to one another. The second, at Arafat, on the camel, is about women. The third sermon, on the way from Mecca to Medina, at the halting place called Ghadir Khumm (Gadir Hum), is about the Qur’an and his Ehl-i Beyt.

Some adherents of the Sunni Sharia who are partisans of the Umayyads do not write this third sermon of the Prophet in their books. The proof of this is in the history of Islam written by Prof. Dr. Neşet Çağatay [1]

 

The Sermon of the Prophet Muhammad at Mina

 

“O people! Listen to me well. Perhaps after this year I shall not be able to meet you here again. All the customs of the Jahiliyya (the pre-Islamic age of ignorance) before Islam I put beneath my feet and trample. All the blood feuds of the Jahiliyya are abolished. They are lies and fabrications. The first blood feud I abolish is that of Rabia, son of Haris, grandson of Abdulmuttalib. I have renounced it. You too renounce all blood feuds. The custom of usury of the Jahiliyya is abolished. The first usury I abolish is that of my uncle Abbas. Your capital remains yours. Neither do wrong, nor suffer wrong. O people! Whoever has been entrusted with something, let him return it. God does not forgive the denier.

O people! You have certain rights over your women. They must respect these rights of yours. They too have rights over you. Treat them well. You took them in the name of God, giving your word to God. By God’s command they have become lawful to you. If they rebel against you without right, provide for their livelihood until they marry another, and separate from them giving them all their belongings. Everyone is responsible for his own offence.

Who is whose heir? The Qur’an has determined it with verses. There is no need for me to make a testament. The child belongs to the one in whose bed it was born. It is forbidden to you to come together with any but the women you took with the covenant of God. That is fornication, that is adultery.

Adultery is a great offence in the sight of God. For women too, coming together with any but the men to whom they were married by the covenant and command of God is likewise forbidden. That is fornication, that is adultery, that is an offence. Those who obey the commands of God are on the right path.

O people! It is not permissible for a woman to give anything of the property of her house to another without her husband’s permission. Nor is it permissible for the husband to give anything of the property of his house to another without his wife’s consent. Woman and man are equal – as God has commanded.”

Surah an-Nur, verse 71: “The believing men and the believing women are protectors of one another. Whoever enjoins good and holds back from evil – upon them God will have mercy.”

The Sermon of the Prophet Muhammad at Arafat

“O people! Arabs and non-Arabs have no superiority over one another. Neither has the white any superiority over the black, nor the black over the white. Superiority lies only in the fear of God, in observing His commands. For all human beings were created from earth; they are the sons of Father Adam. Muslims are brothers and sisters to one another. As Surah al-Anfal commands: ‘The property of one’s brother is not lawful to anyone unless he gives it of his own will.’ Do not wrong yourselves. Feed your slaves with what you eat and clothe them with what you wear. If they commit a fault you cannot forgive, part from them (set them free). They too are servants of God like you; do not treat them badly, do not wrong them.”

O people! Just as this day, this month and this city are sacred, so your property and your lives are equally sacred. Therefore the blood and property of each of you is forbidden (haram) to the other. In the hereafter you will come before God, and He will ask you one by one about what you have done and will punish or reward you accordingly. Beware, do not strike off one another’s necks like the unbelievers. Do not do to others what you do not consider fitting for yourselves. Everyone who commits an offence is himself responsible for his offence. The son is not responsible for the offence committed by the father, nor the father for the offence committed by the son.

O people! Pay the debts you have taken on. To stand surety for others means: if the person for whom you stand surety cannot keep his word, the one who stands surety is responsible for fulfilling that word. A gift is returned with a gift. Do not seek out one another’s faults; get along well with one another. Be brothers and sisters. Islam has made us strong. Satan has given up hope of your worshipping him in this land of ours. Through the evil things you regard as small, consider unimportant and see no harm in doing, you gladden Satan.

O people! Every kind of ugly custom left over from the Jahiliyya is forbidden.

Let those who are present convey my words to those who are absent. Perhaps among those who are absent there are some who will remember my words better than those who are present here.”

Right there the third verse of Surah al-Ma’ida is revealed, and with this verse he ends the sermon.

Surah al-Ma’ida, verse 3: “O people! Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, what has been slaughtered in the name of other than God, what has been strangled before its life departed, what has been killed by a blow, what has been torn by a beast of prey, what has been shot with divining arrows, and what has been slaughtered for stones, statues and idols. Whoever is in hunger and need may eat of it without exceeding the limit.

Today the deniers have given up hope of turning you away from your religion. Do not fear them; fear God. Today I have perfected your religion for you. “I have chosen Islam as religion for you.” I leave you two trusts (emanet). One is the Holy Qur’an, the other is my Ehl-i Beyt. As long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray. I have fulfilled the responsibility laid upon me. God is forgiving and merciful.”

O people! I have conveyed to you every word commanded by God. I am responsible for my duty, and I have fulfilled my responsibility. Tomorrow they will ask you about me – what will you say? Will you bear witness: You fulfilled the mission of God’s messenger, you conveyed His commands to us, you fulfilled your duty, you gave us counsel and testament? The people reply with one voice: “Yes, O Messenger of God, you have conveyed it. We bear witness.” Thereupon the Prophet Muhammad, saying “Be witness, O Lord! Be witness, O Lord! Be witness, O Lord!” offers his thanks and praise to God.

On the fifth day of the festival (Wednesday) the Prophet Muhammad returns from Mina to Mecca and performs the farewell circumambulation (veda tavafı) again. From that day on the other pilgrims begin to return to their homelands. During this pilgrimage the Prophet had stayed in Mecca for exactly 10 days. Depending on time and place, wherever he went he performed prayers of two rak’ahs each (he worshipped). When we research the histories of Islam extensively, the Prophet Muhammad did not perform the five daily prayers even during the pilgrimage. The five daily prayers were invented in the time of the Umayyads.

 

The Sermon of the Prophet Muhammad at Ghadir Khumm

 

After circumambulating the Kaaba and completing his pilgrimage, the Prophet Muhammad leaves Mecca on 15 March 632 to return to Medina. When they have travelled one day’s journey on the road to Medina, he halts at the place called Juhfa (Cuhfe), at the water source in the valley called Ghadir Khumm. At this halting place verse 67 of Surah al-Ma’ida is revealed and gives the following command. Surah al-Ma’ida, verse 67: “O Prophet! Convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not do so, you will not have delivered His message. God protects you from the people. Truly, God gives no opportunity to the unbelievers.”

The Prophet Muhammad orders those pilgrims who have gone ahead to come back and those who have fallen behind to catch up and gather. It was already past noon and very hot. The Prophet Muhammad performs a prayer of two rak’ahs together with all the people (they perform worship with two prostrations). The Prophet Muhammad orders that a raised place be made from camel saddles. The Companions immediately make the raised place as desired. After the prayer the Prophet Muhammad ascends the high pulpit (minber), calls Ali to his side as well, and delivers the following sermon to the people.

The noble Messenger (Resul-i Ekrem): “O people! I too am a human being like you; I have been summoned by God, my days too are numbered, the days on which I shall depart from this world have drawn near. Praise and glory belong to God alone. In Him we believe, in Him we take refuge. There is none but Him who shows the way. God, who knows and makes known all things, has commanded me with the verse that has just come to make known to you what I am responsible for. The end of whoever goes outside God’s commands is punishment. I bear witness that there is none to be worshipped but Him. Do you bear witness to the oneness of God and that Muhammad is His servant and Prophet?” The tens of thousands of Companions present there reply, crying out, “We bear witness, O Messenger of God.”

“O believers! I leave you two trusts that will guide you on the right path of God. Both of them are certainly inseparable from each other, and they will come to me together until the Day of Resurrection. The first of them is the Qur’an, the second is my Ehl-i Beyt. This I asked of my Lord. If you hold fast to the rope of God, which is His word, and do not leave the footsteps of the Ehl-i Beyt, you will not lose your way after me (you will not go astray).”

After saying these things, the Prophet Muhammad takes the hand of Ali, who is beside him, raises it up and continues the sermon thus.

“O people! You know that I have over my whole community a right of disposal and velayet greater than they have over themselves. O people (nas)! Know that God is my master (mevla). And I am the master of all the believers. Whomever I am master of, Ali too is his master. Whoever loves God loves me. Whoever loves me loves Ali. Whoever is the enemy of God is also my enemy. Whoever is my enemy is also the enemy of Ali.”

After completing these words, the Prophet Muhammad opens his hands and makes the following prayer: “O Lord! Love whoever loves Ali. Be the enemy of whoever is the enemy of Ali. Help whoever helps Ali. Despise whoever despises and insults Ali. Ali’s flesh is in my flesh. Ali’s blood is in my blood. Ali is in me, I am in Ali. Truth is always with Ali. For he, together with me, represents my Ehl-i Beyt. O Lord! Protect him from all evil.” As he prays thus, all the Companions together join in this prayer, saying “amen”.

The Messenger of God ends his sermon with these words: “O people! Let those who are present convey my words to those who are absent. Perhaps among those absent there are some who will remember my words better than those who are present here.”

After this sermon of the Messenger, the Companions line up to congratulate Ali and to pledge allegiance (biat) to him. Umar ibn al-Khattab (Ömer ibni Hattab), who later became caliph, pledges allegiance before everyone else, saying: “O Ali, son of Abu Talib, how fortunate you are that you have become the master of all of us, women and men. I congratulate you.” The other Companions too congratulate Ali on his imamate in turn and make their pledges of allegiance. One of the Companions, Hassan ibn Thabit (Hasan bin Sabit), even composed a poem about the imamate of Ali.

When these matters have been completed at Ghadir Khumm and they are about to set out for Medina, the Messenger of God recites the third verse of Surah al-Ma’ida again and asks for their consent: “Today I have perfected your religion and completed My favour upon you. I have brought you Islam as religion. Are you content and pleased?” The Companions reply all together: “We are content, O Messenger of God.”

The Messenger of God, saying “Be witness, O Lord! Be witness, O Lord! Be witness, O Lord!”, offers his praise and glory to God Almighty. Convinced in his heart that he has done his duty, he tells the people in peace that they may now go. After that they set out again towards Medina. The event known as the “Farewell Pilgrimage” comes to an end here.

 

O you who are without a share [of grace].

You shut your window tight and draw the curtains, and yet you hope for light from the moonlight. Outside the full moon shines brightly – what use is it? Unless you give it way, it cannot come in through your door. If in the night of this world you wish to be illuminated by the light of faith, open the window of your heart to God (Hakk) and to the truth, and lift that veil from your eyes. Try to see the truth with the eye of your heart.

 

 

Sources:

Verses of the Holy Qur’an.

From the hadith books: “SAHİHİ MÜSLÜM” (Sahih Muslim).

Hz. Muhammed’in Hayatı ve Kurduğu Dinin Esasları (The Life of the Prophet Muhammad and the Foundations of the Religion He Established). İstanbul Maarif Matbaası

Abdulbaki Gölpınarlı, Sosyal Açıdan İslam Tarihi (A History of Islam from a Social Perspective), pages 153–158, Der Yayınları.

Ahmet Emini’s eleven-volume work “EL-GADİR”.

Abdulbaki Gölpınarlı, Tarih boyunca İslam mezhepler ve Şiilik tarihi (The Islamic Legal Schools and the History of Shiism through the Ages). p. 40

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Translated from the Turkish original by Seyit Derviş Tur.