When Abu Bakr and Ali returned to Medina...

When Abu Bakr and Ali returned to Medina, the former expressed surprise and dissatisfaction that he had not been made the promulgator of so important a revelation, as it seemed to be connected with his recent mission, but he was pacified by the assurance that all new revelations must be announced by the Prophet himself, or by some one of his immediate family.

(The Life of Mohammed) Sir William Muir Towards the close of the pilgrimage, on the great day of sacrifice, at the place of casting stones near Mina, Ali read aloud to the multitudes who crowded round him in the narrow pass, the heavenly command. Having finished the recitation of this passage, Ali continued: “I have been commanded to declare unto you that no Unbeliever shall enter paradise.

No idolater shall after this year perform the pilgrimage; and no one shall make the circuit of the Holy House naked. Whosoever hath a treaty with the Prophet, it shall be respected till its termination. Four months are permitted to every tribe to return to their territories in security. After that the obligation of the Prophet ceaseth.” The vast concourse of pilgrims listened peaceably till Ali ended.

Then they broke up and departed every man to his home, publishing to all the tribes throughout the peninsula the inexorable ordinance which they had heard from the lips of Ali. (The Life of Mohammed, London, 1877) Muhammad Husayn Haykal ...After he (Ali) finished his recitation of the Quran, he continued in his own words: “O men, no unbeliever will enter Paradise; no polytheist will perform pilgrimage after this year; and no naked person will be allowed to circumambulate the Kaaba.

Whoever has entered into a covenant with the Prophet of God – may God's peace and blessings be upon him – will have his covenant fulfilled as long as its term lasts.” Ali proclaimed these four instructions to the people and then gave everybody four months of general peace and amnesty during which anyone could return safely home. From that time on, no idolater performed the pilgrimage and no naked person made the circuits of the Kaaba. From that day on, the Islamic State was established.

(The Life of Muhammad, Cairo, 1935) Ali ibn Abi Talib “rehearsed the Signs of God” in Mina, representing the Messenger of God. This should be borne in mind by the reader that “rehearsing the Signs of God” is a most important function. It is, in fact, so important that God Himself has assumed it.