“And when his Lord tried Abraham with words and he fulfilled them, He said, ‘I am about to make of thee an IMĀM to mankind’; he said, ‘Of my offspring also?’ ‘My covenant,’ said God, ‘embraceth not evil doers.’ ”
According to the Shīʿahs, this passage shows that the Imāmate, or K͟halifate, is a divine institution, and the possessor thereof must be of the seed of Abraham. This the Sunnīs would also admit, as they hold that the true K͟halīfah can only be one of the Quraish tribe [[KHALIFAH]], but from the expression, “my covenant embraceth not evil doers,” the Shīʿah doctors establish the supernatural character of the K͟halifate, and hold that the divinely appointed leader must himself be without spot or blemish or capacity to sin. The primeval creation of ʿAlī is therefore a dogma of the Shīʿah faith.
The author of the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb (Merrick’s ed., p. 4), says: “The Prophet declared that the Most High had created him, and ʿAlī and Fāt̤imah, and Ḥasan and Ḥusain, before the creation of Adam, and when as yet there was neither heaven, nor earth, nor darkness, nor light, nor sun, nor moon, nor paradise, nor hell.” [[HAQIQATU ʾL-MUHAMMADIYAH].]
The Shīʿah traditions also give very lengthy accounts of the nomination of ʿAlī by the Prophet to be his successor. The following is the account given in the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb (p. 334):—
“When the ceremonies of the pilgrimage were completed, the Prophet, attended by ʿAlī, and the Muslims, left Makkah for al-Madīnah. On reaching G͟hadīrk͟hum, the Prophet halted, although that place had never been known as a stopping-place for caravans because it had neither water nor pasturage. The reason for stopping at this place being a direct message from the Almighty. The Prophet had received divine messages on the subject before, but He had not before expressly appointed the time of ʿAlī’s inauguration.”
* * *
“As the day was very hot, the Prophet ordered them to take shelter under some thorn trees. Having ordered all the camel-saddles to be piled up for a pulpit, he commanded a herald to summon the people around him. Most of them had bound their cloaks on their feet as a protection from the excessive heat. When all the people were assembled, the Prophet ascended the pulpit made of camel-saddles, and, calling to him the Commander of the Faithful (ʿAlī), placed him on his right hand. Muḥammad then gave praise to God, and foretold his own death, saying that he had been called to the gate of God. He then said, ‘I leave among you the Book of God, to which, while you adhere, you will never go astray. I leave with you the members of my family who cannot be separated from the Book of God until both they and the Book join me at the fountain of al-Kaus̤ar.’ [[KAUSAR].] He then, with a loud voice, said, ‘Am I not dearer to you than your own lives?’ And all the people said, ‘Yes.’ He then took the hands of ʿAlī and raised them up so high, that the white of his arm-pits appeared, and said, ‘Whosoever from his heart receives me as his master, then let him receive ʿAlī. O Lord, befriend ʿAlī. Be the enemy of all his enemies. Help all who help him, and forsake all who forsake him.’”
The writer also says:—
“Certain authorities, both Shīʿah and Sunnī, declare that when the Prophet died, the hypocritical Muhājirs and Anṣārs, such as Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿAbdu ʾr-Rahmān ibnu ʾl-ʿAuf, instead of visiting the family of the Prophet to comfort them at the time of his death, assembled at the abode of the Banū Saudah, and plotted to seize the K͟halīfate. Most of them did not perform the prayers at the Prophet’s burial, although ʿAlī sent to call them for the purpose. This plan was to make Abū Bakr K͟halīfah, and for this they had plotted in the Prophet’s lifetime. The hypocritical Anṣārs, however, wished to make Saʿd ibnu ʾl-Abādah K͟halīfah, but they were over-ruled by the Muhājirs. A certain man brought the information that Abū Bakr was constituted K͟halīfah, when ʿAlī was in the act of filling in the earth of the Prophet’s grave, and said that the hypocrites had feared that if they waited till the funeral ceremony was over, they would not succeed in their design of depriving ʿAlī of his rights. ʿAlī laid his spade on the ground and recited the first verses of the XXIXth Sūrah of the Qurʾān: ‘A. L. M. Do men reckon that they will be left alone who say, “We believe,” and not be tried? We did try those who were before them, and God will surely know those who are truthful, and he will surely know those who are liars.’ ”
The Shīʿahs believe that at this time God made special revelations to Fāt̤imah, the Prophet’s daughter, and ʿAlī’s wife. These revelations are said to have been possessed by the last of the Imāms, al-Mahdī, and to be still in his possession. [[MAHDI].]