The Prophet Muhammad and His Heir Ali: Their Historical, Metahistorical and Cosmological Roles in Ismaili Shi'ism
Book Chapter in "The Presence of the Prophet in Early Modern and Contemporary Islam"
“The Prophet Muḥammad is a central figure in the Ismāʿīlī movement, as in all Islamic currents. Nevertheless, it is exceedingly rare for any Ismāʿīlī text to focus on the ‘historical’ details of his mission. One exception to this rule is the first volume of ʿUyūn al-akhbār wa funūn al-āthār by Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn (d. 872/1468), which is entirely devoted to the Prophet’s life from conception to death. This sīrat al-nabī, which cites many Sunnī sources (again, a rare approach in Ismāʿīlī literature), depicts the founder of Islam as a historical figure whose biography, overflowing with legends and full of hagiographical embellishments, follows the example of the best Sunnī historians.
Nevertheless, Idrīs is still presenting a Shīʿī version of this biography, as is evident in the very title of the volume: ‘Presentation of the life of the chosen Prophet, of his heir (waṣī) ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, killer of infidels (qātil al-kuffār), and of the lives of his family, the pure ones’. As early as the introduction, the author mentions the waṣiyya, the ‘sacred legacy’, entrusted by the Prophet to ʿAlī and transmitted down the uninterrupted lineage of the Imams. It is true that the second volume of the ʿUyūn al-akhbār is entirely devoted to ʿAlī, but even while reading the first it is clear that in the decisive moments of the prophet’s life (revelations, battles, ambassadorial missions, organisation of the community), he never operated alone, but always in tandem with his ‘friend’ (walī), confidant and advisor ʿAlī. Their close interaction is emphasised in many ḥadīths, including those that report words spoken by the prophet to ʿAlī; for example, ‘You are to me what Aaron was to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me’, or, ‘ʿAlī is part of me and I am part of him, he will be the friend of every man and woman who believes after me.’ Thus the entire sīra builds up to the apotheosis of the two men’s relationship when, at Ghadīr Khumm while returning from the farewell pilgrimage, Muḥammad is said to have officially designated ʿAlī as his heir, declaring ‘Whoever is my friend is ʿAlī’s friend’ (man kuntu mawlāhu fa-Alī mawlāhu). For this reason, shortly before his death, the Prophet put into place the most important religious obligation (farīḍa), which would become the cornerstone of all the ‘pillars of Islam’, the walāya: loyalty to ʿAlī and the Imāms among his descendants. For, as Muḥammad said, “ʿAlī is the rope (ḥabl), one end of which is in God’s hands and the other in the hands of the believers”.” (Daniel De Smet)
Author: Dr. Daniel De Smet
Link to Full Chapter: Their Historical, Metahistorical and Cosmological Roles in Ismāʿīlī Shīʿism