He had employed this argument at other times also as mentioned below: 2.

He had employed this argument at other times also as mentioned below: 2. One day Amir al-Mu’mineen (a.s.) was delivering a sermon in Kufa. During the speech he turned towards the people and said: “I put you under the oath of God, if one who was present in Ghadeer must have himself heard the Holy Prophet (S) had bestowed on me the distinction of his successorship, he should stand up testify this.

But only those people should stand up who had themselves heard this from the prophet (s.a.) 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 Ghadeer. We should remember that at this time twenty five years had passed since the event of Ghadeer and some of the of the Holy Prophet (S) were not in Kufa 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 Ghadeer . Those who wish may refer to this book.[^2] 3. During the Caliphate of Uthman two hundred senior people from the Muhajireen and Ansar were present in the Prophet's 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 Amir al-Mu’mineen (a.s.) only heard their discussion and did not say anything. On this moment the people turned to him and implored him tom say something.

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

And to fulfill this duty the Holy Prophet (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! Do you know that Allah is my master and I am the master of the believers?