سورة المائدة

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَاذْکُرُواْ نِعمَةَ اللهِ علَیْکُمْ وَ مِیثَاقَهُ الَّذِی وَاثَقَکُم بِهِ [And remember the favor of Allah on you and His covenant with which He bound you firmly]; when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took the covenant of wilayah (guardianship) from them, they said: "We have heard and we have obeyed." Then they broke His covenant.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Atiyyah al-Sa'di said: I asked Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman about how the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) appointed Ali (peace be upon him) to wilayah (guardianship) on the day of Ghadir Khumm — how did it happen? He said: "Allah the Exalted revealed this verse upon His Prophet — I say: perhaps he means the verse was revealed in Madinah — النَّبِیُّ أَوْلی بِالْمُؤْمِنِینَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ أَزْواجُهُ أُمَّهاتُهُمْ وَ أُولُوا الْأَرْحامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلی بِبَعْضٍ فِی کِتابِ اللهِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ وَ الْمُهاجِرِینَ [The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than they have on themselves, and his wives are their (believers') mothers; and blood relatives are more entitled to one another according to the Book of Allah than the (other) believers and the emigrants]. (Al-Ahzab/6). So they said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), what is this wilayah by virtue of which you have more right over us than we have over ourselves?" He (peace be upon him and his family) said: "It is hearing and pure obedience, whether you like it or dislike it." We said: "We have heard and we have obeyed." Then Allah the Exalted revealed the verse: وَ اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَیْکُمْ وَ مِیثاقَهُ الَّذِی واثَقَکُمْ بِهِ إِذْ قُلْتُمْ سَمِعْنا وَ أَطَعْنا [And remember the favor of Allah on you and His covenant with which He bound you firmly, when you said: We have heard and we obey]. Then we set out with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) for Makkah to perform the rites of the Farewell Pilgrimage, when Jibra'il descended and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), your Lord sends you His salaam and says: 'Appoint Ali (peace be upon him) as commander over the people!'" Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) wept until his blessed beard was wet, and said: "O Jibra'il, my people are not far removed from the age of Jahiliyyah, and I have struck their heads to make them accept the religion of Islam until they submitted to me. So if I place another in authority over them, what will happen?" Then Jibra'il ascended to the heavens.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The "covenant" is what Allah declared during the Farewell Pilgrimage, namely: the prohibition of every intoxicant, the manner of wudu according to what Allah stated in His Book, and the appointment of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) as Imam for all people.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O Mu'awiya, I call you to Allah, and to His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), and to His Book, and to the wise guardian of His command from the family of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). The one before whom you have acknowledged to Allah that you would fulfil the covenant you make with Allah, for you yourself said, 'We have heard and we have obeyed.' So do not be like those who, after knowledge came to them, differed and became divided (Al Imran/19). And do not be like that [foolish] woman who unravelled her spun yarn after it had been firmly spun — while you take your [oaths and pledges] as a means of deceit and corruption among yourselves, because one group is more numerous than another [and you count the enemy's numbers as an excuse to break your allegiance to the Prophet] (Nahl/92). We are that group which is the more numerous. So do not be like those who said 'We have heard,' while they do not hear (Anfal/21). We have followed and taken as our example, and among all the people of the world this distinction belongs to us, the family of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), as an obligation upon the worlds.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [On the day of Ghadir] let it be part of your words, when you meet one another, that you say: Praise be to Allah who honoured us through this day and placed us among those who fulfil the covenant and pact He took from us regarding the wilayah of the holders of His command and those who uphold His justice.