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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Imamate and Leadership The Proclamation of 'ali's Leadership By the Prophet ( 25 ) Lesson Three After the death of the Most Noble Messenger peace and blessings be upon him and his family and the departure of that great leader from the midst of society the interests of Islam and the ummah made it imperative that a distinguished and worthy leader a being overflowing with knowledge and piety should assume the governance of the newly emergent Islamic movement which needed continued instruction.

This was necessary in order to guarantee the continuity of Islam to safeguard it from deviation to prevent the ummah from falling back into its former reprehensible social and moral habits and to reinforce as much as possible the Islamic socio-political order.

To leave the question of leadership to a community that had only recently escaped the fetters of Jahiliyyah and from whose spirit and soul the traces of Jahili beliefs had not yet disappeared would not have sufficed to secure the lofty aims of the Prophet or to protect the religion from the danger of negative forces.

The only path was then for a worthy personality erudite in all matters concerning the message equipped with intelligence and extensive religious knowledge possessed of a luminous faith and exempt from error lust like the founder of Islam should gather the reins of affairs in his hands in order to pursue with care and subtlety the task of training and educating men and solve the problems and questions concerning the shari'ah that might arise during the period of ( 26 ) his governance.

Historical evidence shows that the Messenger of God on his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage fulfilled this need on the eighteenth day of Dhu 'l-Hijjah by designating his legatee and successor in accordance with divine command thus showing the people the path to be followed for the ummah to gain felicity.

In the tenth year of the Hijrah which was also the last year in the life of the Beloved Prophet peace and blessings be upon him and his family he decided to participate in the great Islamic gathering that was to be held in Makkah.

Once it became known that the Prophet was setting out for the Ka'bah throngs of Muslims from near and far set out in the direction of Madinah in order to have the honor of travelling with him to learn the pilgrimage rites from him and to perform that great ritual of Islam directly in his presence.