Grand Ayatollah Shirazi remarks on meaning of Mawla in Ghadir sermon of Holy Prophet

The daily scholarly meeting of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadegh al-Hosseini al-Shirazi was held on Friday the 14th of Dhul Hajjah. In this session, like the previous meetings, the Marja answered the questions of the attendees about various jurisprudential issues.

In relation to the Sermon of Ghadir, Grand Ayatollah Shirazi said: Since apparent expressions are Hujjat, even if the Holy Prophet did not use the word “Haza (this)” in his sermon, because his Holiness was holding the hand of Amir ul-Momineen and raised it, it is a clear proof indicating he was referring to Amir ul-Momineen.

Referring to the fact that the Sermon of Ghadir was narrated in two ways, His Eminence said: The first narration of the Sermon of Ghadir has been recorded in detail, and the second narration is an abbreviated form. Since there is no evidence that the Messenger of God recited two sermons, it should be construed that the second narration is a summary of the original sermon in which the word “Haza (this)” is left out.

The Marja further emphasized: When a word has multiple meanings, with various applications, then its apparent and immediate meaning is the one intended, and that meaning is Hujjat (proof). Again, even if the word Wali and Wilayah have several meanings, their apparent and immediate application for the context is the criterion for understanding, that is, the context of the Sermon makes it clear and obvious that the meaning of the words Wali and Wilayah point to the continuation of the Wilayah (guardianship) of the Messenger of God, and is used in the sense of commandership.