Chapter Two – Analyzing the meaning of Hadith Manzila

Analyzing the relationship between Musa (as) and Harun (as) from the Quran

We read in Sahih Bukhari the Hadith as follows, the Prophet (s) saying to Ali (as):

‘Your position to me is like the position of Harun to Musa, except that there will be no prophet after me.’

So what was the relationship between Musa (as) and Harun (as) and Muhammad (s) and Ali (as). There must some similarity, it must carry some importance after all the Prophet (s) recounted this simile on many occasions.

It must have something to do with future of Islam (said many times) that is why the Prophet (s) said: ‘Your position to me is like the position of Harun to Musa, except that there will be no prophet after me’ – thus alluding to a relationship that continued beyond his (s) lifetime.

The Hadith together completely different eras of history, history is a science and must be examined. When the Prophet (s) indicates this relationship we must ascertain these relationships to compare (similarities) and contrast (differences) during that time.

Not everything was similar between Harun (as) and Ali (as).

1. Harun (as) older than Musa (as), Ali (as) was younger than the Prophet (s)
2. Harun died before Musa (as) whilst Ali (as) outlived the Prophet (s).

These are trivial differences; contrast doesn’t mean anything if we can evidence that there was time when he appointed Harun (as) as his successor at a point when he left his people. To understand the similarities one needs to delve into the Quran. It is interesting that those Nawasib who insist that everything needs to go back with Quranic corroboration as proof, fail to do so when it comes to Hadith Manzila, rather they choose to use false Qiyas to interpret the Hadith in a manner that protects their doctrine of man made Caliphate and lowers the rank of Maula Ali (as).

This Sahih Muttawatir narration can be located in a plethora of Sunni works including all of the Saha Sittah. What was the Prophet (s) alluding to by referring to his relation to Ali (as) to be like that of Harun (as) and Musa (as)? To understand this we need to first examine the relationship between the prophet Harun (as) and the great prophet Musa (as). If we can understand this relationship we can surely understand the relationship Ali (as) had to Muhammad (s), and we will have found the answer to our question concerning the meaning of Hadith Manzila. The Qur’an clarifies this relationship, as it does on so many issues. Let us examine the relationship between Musa (as) and Harun (as) from the Quran.

First relationship – Harun (as) was the brother of Musa (as)

“And granted we unto him out of our mercy his brother Harun” (The Qur’an 19:53)

Exactly the same relationship existed between the Prophet (s) and Ali (as). Just like the wording of Hadith Manzila, the Prophet (s) due to his perfection complied with this order and proclaimed Ali (as), (who was his first cousin and son-in-law) to be his brother in terms of closeness. This was as Allah (swt) commanded the Prophet (s) to make the relationship between him and Ali (as) as near to that of Harun (as) and Musa (as) as he could, except that Ali (as) would be exempted from the rank of Prophethood.

Second relationship– Harun (as) was the Vizier of Musa (as)

The Quran states that Harun (as) was the vizier of Musa (as), and it compels us to accept that this relationship also therefore applies also to Ali (as) and Muhammad(s). Harun (as) was made the vizier to his brother Musa (as); the Word of Allah states that at the beginning of his mission Musa (as) prayed to Allah to give him a vizier, to ease his burden:

“Musa said: O Allah! Assign me a Vizier from my family, (that is) my brother Harun. Add to my strength through him, and make him share my task: that we may celebrate thy praise without stint… (Allah) said: “We granted your requests, O Musa” (20:29-36)

Commenting on this verse al Mawardi writes

“Musa does not restrict himself to speaking of wazirate alone rather refers also to a consolidation of his strength and an association with him in his affair” .
al Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah, by Abu’l Hasan al Mawardi, English translation by Dr Asadullah Yate, p 40

The relationship is clarified yet again in the Quran:

“And indeed We gave Musa the Book and We did appoint with him Harun as an Apostle and his Vizier” (25:35).

Do we really need to pass any further comment? Hadhrat Musa (as) was given the Book by Allah (swt) as was Hadhrat Mohammed (s). Harun (as) was appointed as a Prophet and as Musa (as)’s Vizier. Hadith Manzila points to the same relationship between the Prophet (s) and Ali (as).

Third relationship– Harun (as) was the Khalifa of Musa (as) during his lifetime

The Qur’an states that Harun (as) was the khalifa of Musa (as), and compels us to acknowledge that this relationship therefore must also apply to Ali (as) and Muhammad(s). For, when Musa (as) was called away by his Lord to Mount Sinai he said to Harun (as) as he departed:

In verse 7:142 Allah swt mentions the words of Nabi Musa [as] to Harun [as] before he went up into the Mountain:

The word ukhulfni is the root origin of the Arabic word Khalifa (Caliph), by whose use Allah, who is above all error, is directly implying that Harun (as) would now take Musa (as)’ s role among the people as their khalifa, the position that Musa (as) had now been passed to his brother Harun (as). If you look at the available English translations they confirm this, although they don’t use the words caliph. A successor is a person who takes the place of another when that person leaves, whether temporarily or forever. This makes it clear that Nabi Harun [as] held the position of Caliph during the life of Musa [as]. Now let us turn to the hadith. Sometimes in translation of the beautiful marvelous Arabic of the Qur’an, whose depth one can spend a whole lifetime studying, the true meaning of a word of Allah is lost. By study of the pure classical Quranic Arabic used here we shall show the position the Qur’an gives Harun (as) to Musa (as) and thereby the position Muhammad(s) gave Ali (as) in this hadith, for this verse clarifies the relationship of Harun (as) to Musa (as). In English the one Arabic word ukhulfni chosen by Allah in 7:142 has been translated in English transliteration in manner that indicate succession.

[Mohsin Khan]: And Mûsa (Moses) said to his brother Harun (Aaron): Replace me among my people.

[Shakir]: and Musa said to his brother Haroun: Take my place among my people.

[Pickthal]: and Moses said unto his brother, Aaron: Take my place among the people.

it is clear from this verse that in Musa (as)’s absence Harun (as), who had till then been his vizier, became the acting khalifa.

This is not surprising, only logical, since if a Premier departs for a substantial period of time without the benefits of modern-day communication his second in command, his vizier, would remain to take up the mantle of leadership. And indeed, Muhammad(s) was to follow Musa (as)’s example in years to come when he would appoint his own vizier, Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) as the khalifa to succeed him.

Therefore it should come as no surprise that Muhammad(s) said the following concerning Ali ibn Abu Talib (as):

“Your position to me is like the position of Harun to Musa, except that there shall be no Prophet after me”.

Applying the above cited relationships to Hadith Manzila

Ibn al Hashimi states:

Shia says
“The words “except there will be no prophet after me” indicates that Ali was being appointed for a task similar to Prophethood. Otherwise, there would have been no need to mention Prophethood at all. ” One of the fundamental beliefs of Islam is that Prophet Muhammad was the final seal of the Prophets. Therefore, whenever Prophet Muhammad would liken anyone to a Prophet, he would make sure to clarify that this is only a comparison and does not mean there will be any Prophet after him.

Reply

Whilst Shi’a are in no doubt that the station of Prophethood ended with Muhammad (s) we would like to know why this Nasibi doesn’t seek to explain the Hadith in its entirety? The Prophet (s) is making it clear that other than Prophethood all other ranks that existed between Musa (as) and Harun (as) existed between him and Ali (as). Whilst we accept the second portion precluded Prophethood for Ali (as), all other relationships that Harun (as) had with Musa (as) existed, why doesn’t Ibn al Hashimi offer any comments about the opening words? If you look at the complete Hadith ‘Your position to me is like the position of Harun to Musa, except that there will be no prophet after me’ we can see that the sole rank the Ali (as) did not share with Harun (as) was that of Prophethood, The words of Rasulullah (s) ‘except there will be no Prophet after me’ proves that other than the station of Prophethood all the other ranks / duties that were associated with the Prophethood of Harun (as) had to also be possessed and filled by Maula Ali (as). Note that Muhammad(s) puts only one exemption clause in the nature of this relationship and that is that unlike Harun, Ali (as) will not be a prophet, hence the words, ‘…except that there will be no prophet after me.’ Given that the Qur’an states in black and white that Harun (as)’s relationship to Musa (as) is that of brother, vizier and khalifa it must be the same with Ali (as) for the only difference will be that Ali (as) is not a prophet.

One can understand this by analyzing this table: