It had been only a short time before this that the same Bani...

It had been only a short time before this that the same Bani Isra'il had heard Moses say that during his absence Aaron was to be his Caliph and that they should obey him. Nevertheless, 70,000 people followed Samiri. The Prophet Aaron loudly protested this action and forbade them from indulging in such sinful acts, but no one listened to him. The verse of Sura A'raf states that when Moses came back, Aaron said to him: "Son of my mother!

Surely the people reckoned me weak and had well-nigh slain me..." (7:150) Aaron was the ordained successor of Moses The Bani Isra'il themselves heard the clear instruction from Moses, but when Moses went up to the mountain, Samiri seized his opportunity. He fashioned a golden calf and misguided the Bani Isra'il. Similarity between the affairs of ‘Ali and Aaron Similarly, after the death of the Prophet, some people who had heard him say that ‘Ali was his successor, turned against ‘Ali.

Imam Ghazali referred to this fact in the beginning of his fourth treatise in ‘Sirru'l-'Alamin’. He states that some people returned to the state of their former ignorance. In this respect, there is great similarity between the situation of Aaron and that of ‘Ali. Like many of your own great scholars and historians, Abu Muhammad Abdullah Ibn Muslim Ibn Qutayba Bahili Dinawari, the well-known Qazi of Dinawar, in his ‘Al-Imama Wa Siyasa’, Volume I, page 14, narrates in detail the events of Saqifa.

He says that they threatened to burn down ‘Ali's house and they forcibly took him to the mosque and threatened to kill him unless he swore allegiance to them. ‘Ali went to the sacred grave of the Prophet and repeated the same words of the Holy Qur'an which Aaron spoke to Moses: "He (Aaron) said: Son of my mother!

Surely the people reckoned me weak and had well-nigh slain me..." (7:150) Nawab: When the succession of ‘Ali had been established, why did the Prophet use words which only implied that sense? Why didn't he clearly announce that ‘Ali was his successor, so that no objection could have been raised after him? Well-Wisher: I told you that the Prophet expressed the truth in both ways. This is evident from your own books, which have recorded numerous hadith in this regard.

Literary people know that allusion is more impressive than a mere statement, particularly when the allusion is so deep-rooted that it contains in it a world of meaning. Nawab: You say that there are many clear hadith recorded by your ulama’ concerning the succession of ‘Ali.