He had employed this argument at other times also as mentioned below...

He had employed this argument at other times also as mentioned below: One day Commander of the faithful (a.s.) was delivering a sermon in Kufah. During the speech he turned towards the people and said: I put you under the oath of God, if one who was present in Ghadir must have himself heard the Holy Prophet (a.s.) had [1] Manaqib Khwarizmi p. 217 etc. * bestowed on me the distinction of his successorship, he should stand up and testify this.

But only those people should stand up who had themselves heard this from the Holy Prophet (a.s.) and not those who have heard it from others.* At this moment thirty people stood up and testified that they had heard the tradition of Ghadir. We should remember that at this time twenty five years had passed since the event of Ghadir and some of the of the Holy Prophet (a.s.) were not in Kufah at this time or they had died before this.

It is also possible that some people had refrained from giving testimony due to various reasons, otherwise the number would have been higher. The Late Allamah Amini has recorded numerous sources of this tradition in his flawless book, Al Ghadir . Those who wish may refer to this book.[1] During the Caliphate of Uthman two hundred senior people from the Muhajireen and Ansar were present in the Prophets mosque and were discussing various topics.

The subject of the superiority of Quraysh, their foremost position and migration came up. Thus every tribe of Quraysh began to express their superior personalities. This gathering started from the early morning and was on till the noon. During this many people gave various statements but Commander of the faithful (a.s.) only heard their discussion and did not say anything. On this moment the [1] Al Ghadeer vol. 1 pgs. 153-171 people turned to him and implored him to say something.

Due to this insistence, Ali (a.s.) stood up and spoke about his relationship with the Holy Prophet (a.s.) and his distinctions. He said: You must remember that on the day of Ghadir when Allah told the Holy Prophet (a.s.) that just as he has explained the rules of Prayer, Zakah and rituals of Hajj he should declare my leadership.

And to fulfill this duty the Holy Prophet (a.s.) delivered the following sermon: The Almighty Allah has commanded me to perform a duty and I was fearful that some people will falsify my conveying of divine command. However, the Almighty commanded me. Convey the message and also assured me security from the mischief of the people. Yes! O People!