They will never part from each other till they join me at the Pool.

They will never part from each other till they join me at the Pool." Then he added: "Allah, the Dear and Mighty, is my Master, and I am the master of every believer". Then he raised the hand of Ali and said: To whomsoever I am a master, this Ali is his master. 0 Lord! Befriend …..". The author quotes this lengthy hadith, in its entirety. In his "Talkhis", al- Thahabi quotes it without commenting on it.

Hakim Tirmazi, too, quotes it as narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam, in his Al-Mustadtak, admitting its authenticity. In spite of his intolerance Al- Thahabi admits the same in his Talkhis, to which you may refer. Ahmed ibn Hanbal has quoted the same hadith as narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam thus: "We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah, (peace he upon him and his progeny), when he camped in a valley called Wadi Khum. He ordered everyone to gather for prayers in midday heat.

He then delivered a sermon to us under the shade of a robe over a rush tree to protect him from the heat of the sun. He said: Do you know- or do you believe and accept- that I have more authority over the believers than themselves? They answered: "Yes, indeed, you do". He said: "Whosoever accepts me as his mowla, Ali is his mowla. 0 Lord!

Befriend whosoever befriends' Ali and he the enemy of whomsoever opposes Ali." Nisaei quoted Zayd ibn Arqam saying that when the Prophet returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage and having reached Ghadir Khum he ordered the ground under a few huge trees to be swept clean. He announced: "It looks like I have been invited [to my Lords presence] and I have accepted the invitation. I leave with Y°'!

Two Valuable Things; one of them is bigger than the other: the Book of Allah and my Progeny, my Household. See how you care both of them, for they shall never part from each other till they join me at the Pool." Then he added: "Allah is my Master and I am the Master (mowla) of every 6 Refer to page 21 of AI-Khasa'is al- 'Alawiyya, where the Prophet is quoted saying: "To whomsoever I have been the wali, this (Ali) is his wali.

believer." Taking Ali's hand, he added saying, "To whomsoever I have been a Master, this Ali is his Master; 0 Lord! Befriend those who befriend him, and be enemy of all those who are enemy to him". Abu- Tufail says: "1 asked Zayd: 'Have you heard these words of the Messenger of Allah, yourself?"7 He answered that all those who were there under the huge trees saw the Prophet with their own eyes and heard him with their own ears.