Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - Sections 138 & 142- Maintainability of a complaint not bearing the signature of the complainant

CRIMINAL APPEAL No . 1837 OF 2012

(Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No. 8255 of 2010)

Indra Kumar Patodia & Anr. .... Appellant(s)

Versus

Reliance Industries Ltd. and Ors.. .... Respondent(s)

WITH

CRIMINAL APPEAL No . 1838 OF 2012

(Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No. 9537 of 2010)

Head Note:-

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - Sections 138 & 142- Maintainability of a complaint not bearing the signature of the complainant - the complaint under Section 138 of the Act without signature is maintainable when such complaint is verified by the complainant and the process is issued by the Magistrate after due verification.

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 - Sections 138 & 142-  Computation of limitation period - the crucial date for computing the period of limitation is the date of filing of the complaint or initiating criminal proceedings and not the date of taking cognizance by the Magistrate.

J U D G M E N T

P.Sathasivam,J.

1) Leave granted.

2) These appeals are filed against the common final judgment and order dated 17/18.03.2010 passed by the HighCourt of Judicature at Bombay in Criminal Appeal Nos. 287 and 288 of 2009 whereby the Division Bench held that the complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (in short “the Act”) without signature is maintainable when such complaint was subsequently verified by the complainant.

3) Brief facts:

(a) Indra Kumar Patodia and Mahendra Kumar Patodia – the appellants herein are accused in Criminal Complaint being CC No. 1866/SS of 2007 (1866/MISC/1998) filed before the 16th Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Ballard Estate, Bombay, for the offence punishable under Section 138 read with Sections 141 and 142 of the Act. Respondent No.3 herein is a Company duly registered under the Companies Act, 1956, presently under liquidation and official liquidator has beenappointed by the High Court, which has alleged to have issued the cheques to respondent No.1.

(b) Respondent No.1 is the complainant and the manufacturers of Partially Oriented Yarn (POY) and other textile goods. From time to time, Respondent No. 3 used to place orders for the supply of POY to Respondent No. 1 and had issued 57 cheques between 02.12.1997 to 09.03.1998 for the payment of the same.

(c) The aforesaid cheques were deposited by the complainant on 05.04.1998 and were returned by the Bank on 06.04.1998 with the remark “exceeds arrangement”. Pursuant to the same, Respondent No.1 issued a notice dated 16.04.1998 to the appellants and demanded the aforesaid amount for which they replied that they have not received any statement of accounts maintained by the complainant regarding the transactions with the accused. In addition to the same,Respondent No.3, vide letter dated 29.05.1998, made various claims for the rate difference, discounts etc., in respect of the transactions, however, Respondent No.1 filed a complaint on 03.06.1998 being Complaint No. 1866/SS of 2007 (1866/MISC/1998) under Section 138 read with Sections 141 and 142 of the Act. On 30.07.1998, the Metropolitan Magistrate recorded the verification statement and issued summons against the appellants and respondent No.3 herein.

(d) The appellants preferred an application being C.C. No. 1332/9/1999 before the Metropolitan Magistrate, 33rd Court, Ballard Pier, Mumbai for recalling the process issued against them. By order dated 28.08.2003, the Metropolitan Magistrate, dismissed the said application.

(e) Challenging the said order, the appellants and respondent No.3 herein filed an application in the Court of Sessions for Greater Bombay at Bombay bearing CriminalRevision Application No. 749 of 2003. By Order dated 08.10.2004, the Sessions Judge dismissed the said application as not maintainable.

(f) By order dated 26.11.2008, the Metropolitan Magistrate dismissed the complaint and acquitted the accused persons.

(g) Challenging the acquittal of the accused persons, respondent No.1 herein-the complainant, filed appeals being Criminal Appeal Nos. 287 and 288 of 2009 before the learned single Judge of the High Court. The learned single Judge, by order dated 09.07.2009, referred two points for consideration by the larger Bench, viz.,

(1) In the matter of complaint for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act whether the complaint without the signature of the complainant, inspite of verification of complaint, is “non-entia” and whether no prosecution can lie on such complaint?; and

(2) If answer to point No.1 is negative then whether it is a mere irregularityand it can be cured subsequently and whether such subsequent amendment would relate back to the date of filing of the complaint or whether it would hit by the Law of Limitation.

(h) By impugned common judgment dated 17/18.03.2010, the Division Bench of the High Court, disposed of the matter by answering point No.1 in the affirmative holding that the complaint under Section 138 of the Act is maintainable and when such complaint is subsequently verified by the complainant and the process is issued by the Magistrate after verification, it cannot be said that the said complaint is “nonentia” and the prosecution of such complaint is maintainable. Further, it was held that since the answer to point No.1 was in affirmative, it was not necessary to decide point No.2 and directed to place the appeals for deciding the same on merits.

(i) Aggrieved by the said decision, the appellants have filed the above appeals by way of special leave before this Court.

4) Heard Mr. Bhagwati Prasad, learned senior counsel for the appellants and Mr. Uday U. Lalit, learned senior counsel for respondent No.1, Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair, learned counsel for respondent No.2 and Ms. Sangeeta Kumar, learned counsel for respondent No.3.

5) Mr. Bhagwati Prasad, learned senior counsel for the appellants after taking us through the relevant provisions of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short ‘the Code’) and the order of the learned single Judge as well as the reference answered by the Division Bench raised the following contentions:

i) the complaint under Section 141 in respect of dishonour of cheque under Section 138 of the Act without signature of the complainant is not maintainable;

ii) there is no provision in the Act regarding verification. Even otherwise, the verification was signed by the complainant after expiry of the limitation period, hence, the impugned complaint is liable to be rejected; and

iii) inasmuch as the Act is a special Act, it must prevail over procedures provided in the Code. On the other hand, Mr. Lalit, learned senior counsel for the contesting first respondent-the complainant contended that in the light of the language used in Section 2(d) read with various provisions of the Code and Section 142 of the Act, the complaint, as filed and duly verified before the Magistrate and putting signature therein, satisfies all the requirements. He further submitted that the conclusion of the Division Bench upholding the complaint and the issuance of summons for appearance of the accused are valid and prayed for dismissal of the above appeals.

6) We have carefully considered the rival submissions and perused all the relevant materials.

7) From the rival contentions, the only question for consideration before this Court is that whether the complaint without signature of the complainant under Section 138 of the Act is maintainable when such complaint is verified by the complainant and the process is issued by the Magistrate after verification.

8) The word “complaint” has been defined in Section 2(d) of the Code which reads thus:

“2 (d) “complaint” means any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.”

Keeping the above definition in mind, let us see the scheme of the statute and the legislative intent in bringing the Act.

9) The Act was amended by Banking, Public Financial Institutions and Negotiable Instruments Laws (Amendment Act) 1988 wherein new Chapter XVII was incorporated for penalties in case of dishonour of cheques due to insufficiency of funds in the account of the drawer of the cheque. These provisions were incorporated in order to encourage the culture of use of cheques and enhancing the credibility of the instrument. The insertion of the new Chapter and amendments in the Act are aimed at early disposal of cases relating to dishonour of cheques, enhancing punishment for offenders, introducing electronic image of a truncated cheque and a cheque in the electronic form as well as exempting an official nominees director from prosecution under the Act. For our purpose, Section 142 of the Act is relevant which reads thus:

“142. Cognizance of offences.- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)- (a) no court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under section 138 except upon a complaint, in writing, made by the payee or, as the case may be, the holder in due course of the cheque; (b) such complaint is made within one month of the date on which the cause of action arises under clause (c) of the proviso to section 138:

Provided that the cognizance of a complaint may be taken by the Court after the prescribed period, if the complainant satisfies the Court that he had sufficient cause for not making a complaint within such period. (c) no court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under section 138.”

As pointed out, the controversy in our case, concentrates on construction of Section 142(a) of the Act and in particular phrase “a complaint in writing” employed therein. It provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, no Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act except upon a “complaint in writing” made by the payee or as the case may be the holder in duecourse of the cheque. The important question in the instant case is what is meant by ‘complaint in writing’. Whether complaint should be in writing simpliciter or complaint being in writing requires signature below such writing.

10) The object and scope of Sections 138 and 142 of the Act has been considered by this Court inPankajbhai Nagjibhai Patel vs. State of Gujarat and Another, (2001) 2 SCC 595. In that case, Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, after convicting an accused for an offence under Section 138 of the Act sentenced him to imprisonment for six months along with a fine of Rs.83,000/- The conviction and sentence were confirmed by the Sessions Judge in appeal and the revision filed by the convicted person was dismissed by the High Court. When the SLP was moved, the counsel confined his contention to the question whether a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class could have imposed sentence of fine beyond Rs. 5,000/-in view of the limitation contained in Section 29(2) of the Code. Learned counsel for the respondent contended the decision of this Court in K. Bhaskaran vs. Sankaran Vaidhyan Balan, (1999) 7 SCC 510 to the effect that power of Judicial Magistrate of First Class is limited in the matter of imposing a sentence of fine of Rs. 5,000/- is not correct in view of the non obstante clause contained in Section 142 of the Act. After hearing both the parties, this Court held that Section 138 of the Act provides punishment as imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or fine which may extend to twice the amount of cheque or with both. Section 29(2) of the Code contains limitation for a Magistrate of First Class in the matter of imposing fine as a sentence or as part of sentence. After quoting Section 29(2) of the Code as well as Section 142 of the Act, this Court has concluded thus:

“6. It is clear that the aforesaid non obstante expression is intended to operate only in respect of three aspects, andnothing more. The first is this: Under the Code a Magistrate can take cognizance of an offence either upon receiving a complaint, or upon a police report, or upon receiving information from any person, or upon his own knowledge except in the cases differently indicated in Chapter XIV of the Code. But Section 142 of the NI Act says that insofar as the offence under Section 138 is concerned no court shall take cognizance except upon a complaint made by the payee or the holder in due course of the cheque.

7. The second is this: Under the Code a complaint could be made at any time subject to the provisions of Chapter XXXVI. But so far as the offence under Section 138 of the NI Act is concerned such complaint shall be made within one month of the cause of action. The third is this:

Under Article 511 of the First Schedule of the Code, if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for less than 3 years or with fine only under any enactment (other than the Indian Penal Code) such offence can be tried by any Magistrate. Normally Section 138 of the NI Act which is punishable with a maximum sentence of imprisonment for one year would have fallen within the scope of the said Article. But Section 142 of the NI Act says that for the offence under Section 138, no court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the First Class shall try the said offence.

8. Thus, the non obstante limb provided in Section 142 of the NI Act is not intended to expand the powers of a Magistrate of the First Class beyond what is fixed in Chapter III of the Code. Section 29, which falls within Chapter III of the Code, contains a limit for a Magistrate of the First Class in the matter of imposing a sentence as noticed above i.e. if the sentence is imprisonment it shall not exceed 3 years and if the sentence is fine (even if it is part of the sentence) it shall not exceed Rs 5000.”

11) It is also relevant to refer a decision of this Court in M.M.T.C. Ltd. and Another vs. Medchl Chemicals and Pharma (P) Ltd. and Another, (2002) 1 SCC 234. The question in that decision was whether a complaint filed in the name and on behalf of the company by its employee without necessary authorization is maintainable. After analyzing the relevant provisions and language used in Sections 138 and 142(a) of the Act, this Court held that such complaint is maintainable and held that want of authorization can be rectified even at a subsequent stage. This Court further clarified that the only eligibility criteria prescribed by Section 142 is that the complaint must be by the payee or the holder in due course. This Court held that this criteria is satisfied as the complaint is in the name and on behalf of the appellant- Company. It was further held that even presuming, that initially there was no authority, still the company can, at anystage, rectify the defect. It was further held that at a subsequent stage the company can send a person who is competent to represent the company and concluded that the complaint could thus not have been quashed on this ground.

12) It is clear that the non obstante clause has to be given restricted meaning and when the section containing the said clause does not refer to any particular provisions which intends to over ride but refers to the provisions of the statute generally, it is not permissible to hold that it excludes the whole Act and stands all alone by itself. In other words, there requires to be a determination as to which provisions answers the description and which does not. While interpreting the non obstante clause, the Court is required to find out the extent to which the legislature intended to do so and the context in which the non obstante clause is used. We have already referred to the definition of complaint as stated inSection 2(d) of the Code which provides that the same needs to be in oral or in writing. Thenon obstante clause, when it refers to the Code only excludes the oral part in such definition.

13) According to us, the non obstante clause in Section 142(a) is restricted to exclude two things only from the Code i.e. (a) exclusion of oral complaints and (b) exclusion of cognizance on complaint by anybody other than the payee or the holder in due course. Section 190 of the Code provides that a Magistrate can take cognizance on a complaint which constitutes such an offence irrespective of who had made such complaint or on a police report or upon receiving information from any person other then a police officer or upon his own knowledge. Non obstante clause, when it refers to the core, restricts the power of the Magistrate to take cognizance only on a complaint by a payee or the holder in due course and excludes the rest of Section 190 of the Code. In other words, none of the other provisions of the Code are excluded by the said non obstante clause, hence, the Magistrate is therefore required to follow the procedure under Section 200 of the Code once he has taken the complaint of the payee/holder in due course and record statement of the complainant and such other witnesses as present at the said date. Here, the Code specifically provides that the same is required to be signed by the complainant as well as the witnesses making the statement. Section 200 of the Code reads thus:

“200. Examination of complainant.- A Magistrate taking cognizance of an offence on complaint shall examine upon oath the complainant and the witnesses present, if any, and the substance of such examination shall be reduced to writing and shall be signed by the complainant and the witnesses, and also by the Magistrate:

Provided that, when the complaint is made in writing, the Magistrate need not examine the complainant and the witnesses- (a) if a public servant acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duties or a Court has made the complaint; or(b) if the Magistrate makes over the case for inquiry or trial to another Magistrate under section 192:

Provided further that if the Magistrate makes over the case to another Magistrate under section 192 after examining the complainant and the witnesses, the latter Magistrate need not re-examine them.”

Mere presentation of the complaint is only the first step and no action can be taken unless the process of verification is complete and, thereafter, the Magistrate has to consider the statement on oath, that is, the verification statement under Section 200 and the statement of any witness, and the Magistrate has to decide whether there is sufficient ground to proceed. It is also relevant to note Section 203 of the Code which reads as follows:

“203. Dismissal of complaint.- If, after considering the statements on oath (if any) of the complainant and of the witnesses and the result of the inquiry or investigation (if any) under section 202, the Magistrate is of opinion that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding, he shall dismiss the complaint, and in every such case he shall briefly record his reasons for so doing.”

It is also clear that a person could be called upon to answer a charge of false complaint/perjury only on such verification statement and not mere on the presentation of the complaint as the same is not on oath and, therefore, need to obtain the signature of the person. Apart from the above section, the legislative intent becomes clear that “writing” does not presuppose that the same has to be signed. Various sections in the Code when contrasted with Section 2(d) clarify that the legislature was clearly of the intent that a written complaint need not be signed. For example, Sections 61, 70, 154, 164 and 281 are reproduced below:

“61. Form of summons. Every summons issued by a court under this Code shall be in writing, in duplicate, signed by the presiding officer of such court or by such other officer as the High Court may, from time to time, by rule direct, and shall bear the seal of the court. 

70. Form of warrant of arrest and duration. (1) Every warrant of arrest issued by a court under this Code shall be in writing, signed by the presiding officer of such court and shall bear the sea] of the court. 

(2) Every such warrant shall remain in force until it is cancelled by the Court which issued it, or until it is executed. 

154. Information in cognizable cases. (1) Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf. ….. 

164. Recording of confessions and statements. 

Xxx xxxx 

(4) Any such confession shall be recorded in the manner provided in section 281 for recording the examination of an accused person and shall be signed by the person making the confession; and the Magistrate shall make a memorandum at the foot of such record to the following effect- 

281. Record of examination of accused. (1) Whenever the accused is examined by a Metropolitan Magistrate, the Magistrate shall make a memorandum of the substance of the examination of the accused in the language of the court and such memorandum shall be signed by the Magistrate and shall form part of the record…..”

A perusal of the above shows that the legislature has made it clear that wherever it required a written document to be signed, it should be mentioned specifically in the section itself, which is missing both from Section 2(d) as well as Section 142.

14) The General Clauses Act, 1897 too draws a distinction between writing and signature and defines them separately. Section 3(56) defines signature and Section 3(65) defines writing which reads thus:

“In this Act, and in all Central Acts and Regulations made after the commencement of this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,- 56. "Sign" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall, with reference to a person who is unableto write his name, include, "mark", with its grammatical variation and cognate expressions, 65. Expressions referring to "writing" shall be construed as including references to printing, lithography, photography and other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form,”

Writing as defined by General Clauses Act requires that the same is representation or reproduction of “words” in a visible form and does not require signature. “Signature” within the meaning of “writing” would be adding words to the section which the legislature did not contemplate.

15) In the case on hand, the complaint was presented in person on June 3, 1998 and on the direction by the Magistrate, the complaint was verified on July 30, 1998 and duly signed by the authorized officer of the Company-the complainant. As rightly pointed out by the Division Bench, no prejudice has been caused to the accused for non-signing the complaint. The statement made on oath and signed by the complainant safeguards the interest of the accused. In view ofthe same, we hold that the requirements of Section 142(a) of the Act is that the complaint must necessarily be in writing and the complaint can be presented by the payee or holder in due course of the cheque and it need not be signed by the complainant. In other words, if the legislature intended that the complaint under the Act, apart from being in writing, is also required to be signed by the complainant, the legislature would have used different language and inserted the same at the appropriate place. In our opinion, the correct interpretation would be that the complaint under Section 142(a) of the Act requires to be in writing as at the time of taking cognizance, the Magistrate will examine the complainant on oath and the verification statement will be signed by the complainant.

16) It is the contention of Mr. Bhagwati Prasad, learned senior counsel for the appellant that the limitation periodexpired on the date of verification and the complaint cannot be entertained. In view of the above discussion, we are unable to accept the said contention.

17) In Japani Sahoo vs. Chandra Sekhar Mohanty, (2007) 7 SCC 394, in para 48, this Court held that “so far as the complainant is concerned, as soon as he files a complaint in a competent court of law, he has done everything which is required to be done by him at that stage. Thereafter, it is for the Magistrate to consider the matter to apply his mind and to take an appropriate decision of taking cognizance, issuing process or any other action which the law contemplates”. This Court further held that “the complainant has no control over those proceedings”. Taking note of Sections 468 and 473 of the Code, in para 52, this Court held that “for the purpose of computing the period of limitation, the relevant date must be considered as the date of filing of the complaint or initiatingcriminal proceedings and not the date of taking cognizance by a Magistrate or issuance of process by a Court”.

18) In the light of the scheme of the Act and various provisions of the Code, we fully endorse the above view and hold that the crucial date for computing the period of limitation is the date of filing of the complaint or initiating criminal proceedings and not the date of taking cognizance by the Magistrate. In the case on hand, as pointed out earlier, the complaint was filed on June 3, 1998 which is well within the time and on the direction of the Magistrate, verification was recorded by solemn affirmation by authorized representatives of the complainant and after recording the statement and securing his signature, the learned Magistrate passed an order issuing summons against the accused under Sections 138/142 of the Act.

19) In the light of the above discussion, taking note of various provisions of the Act and the Code which we have adverted above, we hold that the complaint under Section 138 of the Act without signature is maintainable when such complaint is verified by the complainant and the process is issued by the Magistrate after due verification. The prosecution of such complaint is maintainable and we agree with the conclusion arrived at by the Division Bench of the High Court. Consequently, both the appeals fail and are dismissed.

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Source:- SupremeLaw.in

Haider Ajaz

(Advocate)

Letter to Maharashtra CM on arrest of the young girl for her facebook status.

To,
The Chief Minister
Maharashtra

Dear Chief Minister,
I am forwarding an email I have received stating that a woman in Maharashtra has been arrested for protesting on Facebook against the shut down in Mumbai on the occasion of the death of Mr. Bal Thackeray. It is alleged that she has been arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

To my mind it is absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurts religious sentiments. Under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right . We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act since under sections 341 and 342 it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime.

Hence if the facts reported are correct, I request you to immediately order the suspension, arrest, chargesheeting and criminal prosecution of the police personnel (however high they may be) who ordered as well as implemented the arrest of that woman, failing which I will deem it that you as Chief Minister are unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged by the Constitution to which you have taken oath, and then the legal consequences will follow

Regards
Justice Katju
(Chairman, Press Council of India, and former Judge, Supreme Court of India)

--

Haider Ajaz

Advocate

Complete Ghadir Khutba

Complete Ghadir Khutba   -  43 Refrences

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

INTRODUCTION

This is the first English book published by the newly-born Darul Islam Center, Inc., and we hope and pray that it will herald many, many more. It is the Center's gift to the Muslim Ummah in general and to the Muslims of the greater Washington, D.C., areain particular presented to them on the anniversary of Eid al-Ghadir , 1419A.H./1999 A.D.

We owe special thanks to Muhammed Baqir al-Ansari whose Arabic book Altogether in Ghadlr (published by Ansariyan Publications, Qum, Islamic Republic of Iran) is this book's main reference.May the Almighty accept our efforts to serve His religion, andmay He guide our steps to what He loves and prefers, Allahomma Ameen.

Darul Islam Center, Inc. Thul-Hijjah 1419/March 1999

PROPHET MUHAMMED  NAMES HIS SUCCESSOR(10 A.H./632 A.D.)

Non-Muslims who like to attack Islam accuse the Prophet of Islam of having neglected to name his successor, not knowing that he actually did exactly so in accordance with the Divine order which he had received on Thul-Hijja 17, 10 A.H./March 18, 632 A.D., announcing the name of his successor the very next day, and here are the details:

In 10 A.H./632 A.D., immediately following Hijjatul-Wada' (the Farewell Pilgrimage, the last pilgrimage performed by Prophet Mohammed), a divine order was revealed to the Prophet to convey the remaining Islamic tenets: the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and the Imamate of the Twelve Infallible Imams. The Prophet called upon the faithful to accompany him on his last pilgrimage; he knew that it would be his last and that he would soon have to leave this temporary abode for the eternal one. More than one hundred and twenty thousand Muslims responded to his call.

The Prophet and his company put on the ihram garbs at the appropriate time at Masjid al-Shajara, a short distance from Mecca, his birthplace, which he entered on Thul-Hijja 5, 10 A.H./March 6, 632 A.D. The Prophet's call reached Yemen where' Ali ibn Abu Talib  was acting as his representative. Twelve thousand Yemenite pilgrims came out headed by' Ali in response to the Prophet's call to accompany him on his historic Pilgrimage, bringing the total number of those early pilgrims to more than one hundred and thirty-two thousand.

The Islamic pilgrimage starts in the month of Thul-Hijja (month of the pilgrimage), the last Islamic lunar calendar month, and continues for at least ten days. First, each pilgrim dons a special garb called ihram; males' ihram consists of two white sheets or towels covering the upper and lower parts of the body, whereas females wear a full white cotton outfit, simple and modest. This ihram reminds the pilgrim of his/her death and of the equality of all before God. All pilgrims perform the same rituals; none receives any favourable treatment or distinction on account of his status, power, or wealth. The pilgrimage starts by the tawaf the circling of the Ka'ba seven times. The Ka'bais identified in Islamic literature as an earthly counterpart to the Almighty's Throne (' Arsh) in heaven where the angels circle it in adoration. Likewise, in imitation of those angels, Muslim pilgrims circle the Ka'ba in adoration of their Lord. The tawaf is followed by the sa'i: the pilgrims run back and forth seven times between the -Safa and the Marwa in commemoration of Hagar (Hajar), mother of Ishmael, frantically searching for water for her newborn son Ishmael. After that, the pilgrims drink of the well of Zamzam which had appeared miraculously for Hagar and Ishmael, wash with it or use it to make ablution for prayers at the Ka'ba but never to use it in the toilet; Zamzam is too sacred for such an application. Then the pilgrims leave Mecca for Muzdalifa, 'Arafa, and finally Mina to perform certain rites which fall outside the scope of this book which is intended to be a historical account of the Prophet of Islam, not one of fiqh. The author is a writer, a researcher, someone who, according to a friend of mine, "insists on finding out who the foundling's father is!" But he is not a faqih. Now let us go back to our original story after having cast a glimpse at the rite of the pilgrimage in Islam.

It was at' Arafa that the divine command was received by Prophet Muhammad to appoint 'Ali as "Ameerul-Mo'mineen," the Commander of the Faithful, title of the bearer of the highest temporal and religious powers in the Islamic State, one reserved solely for caliphs, those who are supposed to be the most knowledgeable of all people of secular  and religious problems and of how to solve them. Muhammad was also ordered to convey to' Ali the knowledge which the Almighty had bestowed upon him so that it would not be lost once he is dead. In Mina, the Prophet delivered two sermons in preparation of the great announcement to come. In the first, he referred to' Ali's caliphate and reminded the audience of one particular hadith which he had conveyed to them on various occasions and which is identified in books of hadith as " hadith al-thaqa- lain," tradition of the two weighty things (the first being the Holy Quran and the second being the Prophet's Progeny, the" Ahl al-Bayt" mentioned in verse 33 of Chapter 33 [al-Ahzab] of the Holy Qur'an). He delivered his second sermon at Masjid al-Khaif, also located in Mina in the Meccan valley. In it, the Prophet reminded his audience of' Ali's Imamate, emphasizing the necessity of disseminating the contents of his sermon, announcing that those present were duty-bound to convey it to those who were absent. In both of these sermons, the Prophet publicly vested upon' Ali both powers referred to above.

As soon as the rituals of the pilgrimage were completed, and to be exact on Thul-Hijja 17, 10 A.H./March 18, 632 A.D., the divine order came to the Prophet embedded in verse 67 of Chapter 5 (a1-Ma'ida) quoted in the text of the Prophet's sermon to follow. The Prophet immediately ordered Bilal ibn Rabah, his caller to prayers and one of his faithful sahaba, to convey the following order to the faithful: "Tomorrow, nobody should lag behind but should go to Ghadir Khumm."

The word "ghadir" means "swamp," an area where rain water gathers to form a shallow lake. Ghadir Khumm is located near the crossroads of trade and pilgrimage caravans coming from Medina, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Nejd on their way to Mecca. The presence of water and a few old trees there served as a resting place for trade caravans for centuries. A mosque, called Masjid al-Ghadir, was later built on the same spot where the great gathering took place to commemorate that momentous event, an event which has unfortunately been forgotten by the vast majority of the Muslims who, by thus forgetting, forgot the most important part of their creed, one without which their faith is not complete at all according to the Prophet's sermon to follow and according to the text of the Holy Qur'an...

The announcement conveyed by Bilal was transmitted by one person to another till it reached as far as Mecca proper, and people were wondering about what it could be. They had expected the Prophet to linger a little bit longer at Mecca where the pilgrims could meet him and ask him whatever questions they had about this new institution called "hajj" and about other religious matters.

In the morning of the next day, Thul-1:1ijja 18, 10 A.H./March 19, 632A.D., the Prophet and his 120,000 companions went to Ghadir Khumm, and so did' Ali with his 12,000 Yemenite pilgrims who had to change their route to the north instead of to the south where they would be home-bound. The Prophet also issued an order to four of his closest sahaba, namely Selman-al-Farisi, Abu Tharr al-Ghifari, Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi and' Ammar ibn yasir, with whom the reader is already familiar, to clear the area where the old trees stood, to uproot the thorn bushes, collect the rocks and stones, and to clean the place and sprinkle it with water. Then these men took a piece of cloth which they tied between two of those trees, thus providing some shade. The Prophet told those sahaba that a ceremony that would last for three continuous days would be held in that area. Then the same men piled the rocks on top of each other and made a makeshift pulpit over them of camel litters as high as the Prophet's own length. They put another piece of cloth on the pulpit which was installed in the middle of the crowd, giving the Prophet an overview of the whole gathering. A man was selected to repeat loudly what the Prophet was saying so that those who stood the furthermost would not miss a word.

The athan for the noon prayers was recited, and the congregational (jama 'a) prayers were led by the Prophet. After that, the Prophet ascended the pulpit and signaled to' Ali ibn Abu Talib to stand on his right. ' Ali did so, standing one pulpit step below the Prophet. Before saying anything, the Prophet looked right and left to make sure that people were prepared to listen to every word of his. The sun was so hot that people had to pull some of their outer mantles over their heads and under their feet in order to be able to somehow tolerate the heat. Finally the Prophet delivered his historic sermon which he intended, as the reader will see, to be not only for the assembled crowd but for all those who were not present at that gathering and for all their offspring, one generation after another, till the Day of Judgment.

Here is the text of the Prophet's sermon. We hope it will bring the reader guidance in the life of this world and happiness and success in the life to come through the intercession of Muhammad, the one loved most by Allah, peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon him, his progeny, and true companions who obeyed him during his lifetime and after his demise and who did not forget or pretend to forget his following khutba:

Linguistically, the meaning of" Arneerul- Mo'mineen " is: the one who bestows knowledge on the believers, the one who "meers" (pours knowledge upon) them.

PROPHET'S HISTORIC GHADlR SERMON

There is a humble translation of the Prophet's historic Ghadir Khumm sermon. The reader can review the original Arabic text included in this book.

All Praise is due to Allah Who is Exalted in His Unity, Near in His Uniqueness, Sublime in His Authority, Magnanimous in His Dominance. He knows everything; He subdues all creation through His might and evidence. He is Praised always and forever, Glorified and has no end. He begins and He repeats, and to Him every matter is referred.

Allah is the Creator of everything; He dominates with His power the earth and the heavens. Holy, He is, and Praised, the Lord of the angels and of the spirits. His favours overwhelm whatever He creates, and He is the Mighty over whatever He initiates. He observes all eyes while no eye can observe Him. He is Generous, Clement, Patient. His mercy encompasses everything, and so is His giving. He never rushes His revenge, nor does He hasten the retribution they deserve. He comprehends what the breast conceals and what the conscience hides. No inner I thought can be concealed from Him, nor does He confuse one with another. He encompasses everything, dominates everything, and subdues everything. Nothing is like Him. He initiates the creation from nothing; He is everlasting, living, sustaining in the truth; there is no god but He, the Omnipotent, the Wise One.

He is greater than can be conceived by visions, while He conceives all visions, the Eternal, the Knowing. None can describe Him by seeing Him, nor can anyone find out how He is, be it by his intellect or by a spoken word except through what leads to Him, the Sublime, the Mighty that He is.

I testify that He is Allah, the One Who has filled time with His Holiness, the One Whose Light overwhelms eternity, Who effects His will without consulting anyone; there is no partner with Him in His decisions, nor is He assisted in running His affairs. He shaped what He made without following a preexisting model, and He created whatever He created without receiving help from anyone, nor did doing so exhaust Him nor frustrated His designs. He created, and so it was, and He initiated, and it became visible. So He is Allah, the One and Only God, the One Who does whatever He does extremely well. He is the Just One Who never oppresses, the most Holy to Whom all affairs are referred.

I further testify that He is Allah before Whom everything is humbled, to Whose Greatness everything is humiliated, and to Whose Dignity everything submits. He is the King of every domain and the One Who places planets in their orbits. He controls the movements of the sun and of the moon, each circles till a certain time. He makes the night follow the day and the day follow the night, seeking it incessantly. He splits the spine of every stubborn tyrant and annihilates every mighty devil.

Never has there been any opponent opposing Him nor a peer assisting Him. He is Independent; He never begets nor is He begotten, and none can ever be His equal. He is One God, the Glorified Lord. His will is done; His word is the law. He knows, so He takes account. He causes death and gives life. He makes some poor and others rich. He causes some to smile and others to cry .He brings some nearer to Him while distancing others from Him. He withholds and He gives. The domain belongs to Him and so is all the Praise. In His hand is all goodness, and He can do anything at all.

He lets the night cover the day and the day cover the night; there is no god but He, the Sublime, the oft-Forgiving One. He responds to the supplication; He gives generously; He computes the breath; He is the Lord of the jinns and of mankind, the One Whom nothing confuses, nor is He annoyed by those who cry for His help, nor is He fed-up by those who persist. He safeguards the righteous against sinning, and He enables the winners to win. He is the Master of the faithful, the Lord of the Worlds Who deserves the appreciation of all those whom He created and is praised no matter what.

I praise Him and always thank Him for the ease He brings me and for the constriction, in hardship and in prosperity, and I believe in Him, in His angels, in His Books and messengers. I listen to His Command and I obey, and I initiate the doing of whatever pleases Him, and I submit to His decree hoping to acquire obedience to Him and fear of His penalty, for He is Allah against Whose designs nobody should feel secure, nor should anyone ever fear His "oppression."

I testify, even against my own soul, that I am His servant, and I bear witness that he is my Lord. I convey what He reveals to me, being cautious lest I should not do it, so a catastrophe from Him would befall upon me, one which none can keep away, no matter how great his design may be and how sincere his friendship. There is no god but He, for He has informed me that if I do not convey what He has just revealed to me in honor of' Ali in truth, I will not have conveyed His Message at all, and He, the Praised and the Exalted One, has guaranteed for me to protect me from the (evil) people, and He is Allah, the One Who suffices, the Sublime. He has just revealed to me the following (verse):

In The Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

O Messenger! Convey what has (just) been revealed to you (with regard to 'Ali), and if you do not do so, you will not have conveyed His Message at all, and Allah shall Protect you from (evil) people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.(Qur'an, 5:67)

O people! I have not committed any shortcoming in conveying what Allah Almighty revealed to me, and I am now going to explain to you the reason behind the revelation of this verse: Three times did Gabriel command me on behalf of the Peace, my Lord, Who is the source of all peace, to thus make a stand in order to inform everyone, black and white, that: ' Ali ibn Abu Talib is my Brother, Wasi, and successor over my nation and the Imam after me, the one whose status to me is like that of Aaron to Moses except there will be no prophet after me, and he is your master next only to Allah and to His Messenger, and Allah has already revealed to me the same in one of the fixed verses1 of His Book saying, "Your Master is Allah and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay zakat even as they bow down" (Qur'an, 5:55), and, Ali ibn Abu Talib the one who keeps up prayers, who pays zakat even as he bows down, seeking to please Allah, the Sublime, the Almighty, on each and every occasion.

I asked Gabriel to plead to the Peace to excuse me from having to convey such a message to you, O 1 Fixed verses are those which are never abrogated; the injunction(s) they contain remain valid forever.

people, due to my knowledge that the pious are few1 while the hypocrites are many, and due to those who will blame me, and due to the trickery of those who ridicule Islam and whom Allah described in His Book as saying with their tongues contrarily to what their hearts conceal, thinking lightly of it, while it is with Allah magnanimous, and due to the abundance of their harm to me, so much so that they called me "ears" and claimed that I am so because of being so much in his (' Ali's) company, always welcoming him, loving him and being so much pleased with him till Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime One, revealed in this regard the verse saying: " And there are some of them who harm the (feelings of the) Prophet and say: He is an ear (uthun; i.e. he always listens to' Ali).

1 The pious are always few in any age or time, creed or faith or clime,in any place, in every space. As many as 72 verses in the Holy Qur'an condemnthe majority, praising the minority, underscoring what mankind knew, that thepious are always few. Indeed, the Prophet's statement is quite weighty, wise,terse, and not hasty. Nowadays, only a few pious ones remember this historic sermon and try their best to keep its memory alive. Yes; it is true, the pious are always few ...

Say: One who listens (to' Ali) is good for you; He believes in Allah and testifies to the conviction of the believers and a mercy for those of you who believe; and those who (thus ) harm the Messenger of Allah shall have a painful punishment" (Qur'an, 9:61). Had I wished to name those who have called me so, I would have called them by their names, and I would have pointed them out. I would have singled them out and called them by what they really are, but I, by Allah, am fully aware of their affairs. Yet despite all of that, Allah insisted that I should convey what He has just revealed to me in honor of' Ali. Then the Prophet recited the following verse:)

O Messenger! Convey what has (just) been revealed to you (with regard to 'Ali), and if you do not do so, you will not have conveyed His Message at all, and Allah shall protect you from (evil) people. (Qur'an, 5:67)

O people! Comprehend (the implications of) what I have just said, and again do comprehend it, and be (further) informed that Allah has installed him (' Ali) as your Master and Imam, obligating the Muhajirun and the Ansar and those who follow them in goodness to obey him, and so must everyone who lives in the desert or in the city, who is a non-Arab or an Arab, who is a free man or a slave, who is young or old, white or black, and so should everyone who believes in His Unity. His decree shall be carried out. His (' Ali's) word is binding; his command is obligating; cursed is whoever opposes him, blessed with mercy is whoever follows him and believes in him, for Allah has already forgiven him and forgiven whoever listens to him and obeys him.

O people! This is the last stand I make in such a situation; so, listen and obey, and submit to the Command of Allah, your Lord, for Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime One, is your Master and Lord, then next to Him is His Messenger and Prophet who is now addressing you, then after me 'Ali  is your Master and Imam according to the Command of Allah, your Lord, then the lmams from among my progeny, his offspring, till the Day you meet Allah and His Messenger.

Nothing is permissible except what is deemed so by Allah, His Messenger, and they (the Imams), and nothing is prohibitive except what is deemed so by Allah and His Messenger and they (the Imams). Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime One, has made me acquainted with what is permissible and what is prohibitive, and I have conveyed to you what my Lord has taught me of His Book, of what it decrees as permissible or as prohibitive.

O people! Prefer him (' Ali) over all others! There is no knowledge except that Allah has divulged it to me, and all the knowledge I have learned I have divulged to Imam al-Muttaqin (leader of the righteous), and there is no knowledge (that I know) except that I divulged it to' Ali, and he is al-Imam al-Mubin (the evident Imam) whom Allah mentions in Surat ya-Sin: "... and everything We have computed is in (the knowledge of) an evident Imam" (Qur'an, 36:12).

O people! Do not abandon him, nor should you flee away from him, nor should you be too arrogant to accept his authority, for he is the one who guides to righteousness and who acts according to it. He defeats falsehood and prohibits others from acting according to it, accepting no blame from anyone while seeking to please Allah. He is the first to believe in Allah and in His Messenger; none preceded him as such. And he is the one who offered his life as a sacrifice for the Messenger of Allah and who was in the company of the Messenger of Allah while no other man was. He is the first of all people to offer prayers and the first to worship Allah with me. I ordered him, on behalf of Allah, to sleep in my bed, and he did, offering his life as a sacrifice for my sake.

O people! Prefer him (over all others), for Allah has preferred him, and accept him, for Allah has appointed him (as your leader).

O people! He is an Imam appointed by Allah, and Allah shall never accept the repentance of anyone who denies his authority, nor shall He forgive him; this is a must decree from Allah never to do so to anyone who opposes him, and that He shall torment him with a most painful torment for all time to come, for eternity; so, beware lest you should oppose him and thus enter the fire the fuel of which is the people and the stones prepared for the unbelievers.

O people! By Allah! All past prophets and messengers conveyed the glad tiding of my advent, and I, by Allah, am the seal of the prophets and of the messengers and the argument against all beings in the heavens and on earth. Anyone who doubts this commits apostasy similar to that of the early jahiliyya, and anyone who doubts anything of what I have just said doubts everything which has been revealed to me, and anyone who doubts any of the Imams doubts all of them, and anyone who doubts us shall be lodged in the fire.

O people! Allah, the most Exalted and the Almighty, has bestowed this virtue upon me out of His kindness towards' Ali  and as a boon to' Ali  and there is no god but He; to Him all praise belongs in all times, for eternity, and in all circumstances.

O people! Prefer' Ali  (over all others), for he is the very best of all people after me, be they males or females, so long as Allah sends down His sustenance, so long as there are beings. Cursed and again cursed, condemned and again condemned, is anyone who does not accept this statement of mine and who does not agree to it. Gabriel himself has informed me of the same on behalf of Allah Almighty Who he said (in Gabriel's words): " Anyone who antagonizes' Ali and refuses to accept his wilayat shall incur My curse upon him and My wrath." "... and let every soul consider what it has sent forth for the morrow, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah" (Qur'an, 59:18), "And do not make your oaths a means of deceit between you lest a foot should slip after its stability" (Qur'an, 16:94), " Allah is fully aware of all what you do" (Qur'an, 58: 13).

O people! He (' Ali) is janb-Allah mentioned in the Book of Allah, the Sublime One: The Almighty, forewarning his (' Ali's) adversaries, says, "Lest a soul should say: O woe unto me for what I fell short of my duty to Allah, and most surely I was of those who laughed to scorn" (Qur'an, 39:56).

O people! Study the Qur'an and comprehend its verses, look into its fixed verses and do not follow what is similar thereof, for by Allah, none shall explain to you what it forbids you from doing, nor clarify its exegesis, other than the one whose hand I am taking and whom I am lifting to me, the one whose arm I am taking and whom I am lifting, so that I may enable you to understand that: Whoever among you takes me as his master, this, Ali  is his master, and he is' Ali ibn Abu Talib, my Brother and wasi, and his appointment as your wali is from Allah, the Sublime, the Exalted One, a commandment which He revealed to me.

O people! ' Ali and the good ones from among my offspring from his loins are the Lesser Weight, while the Qur'an is the Greater One: each one of them informs you of and agrees with the other. They shall never part till they meet me at the Pool (of Kawthar). They are the Trustees of Allah over His creation, the rulers on His earth.

Indeed now I have performed my duty and conveyed the Message. Indeed you have heard what I have said and explained. Indeed Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, has said, and so have Ion behalf of Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, that there is no Ameerul-Mo'mineen (Commander of the Faithful) save this Brother of mine; no authority over a believer is permissible after me except to him.

Then the Prophet patted ' Ali's arm, lifting him up. Since the time when the Messenger of Allah ascended the pulpit, Ameerul-Mo'mineen was one pulpit step below where the Messenger of Allah had seated himself on his pulpit, while' Ali  was on his (Prophet's) right side, one pulpit step lower, now they both appeared to the gathering to be on the same level; the Prophet lifted him up. The Prophet then raised his hands to the heavens in supplication while' Ali's leg was touching the knee of the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet continued his sermon thus:

O people! This is' Ali, my Brother, Wasi, the one who comprehends my knowledge, and my successor over my nation, over everyone who believes in me. He is the one entrusted with explaining the Book of Allah, the most  Exalted One, the Sublime, and the one who invites people to His path. He is the one who does whatever pleases Him, fighting His enemies, befriending His friends who obey Him, prohibiting disobedience to Him. He is the successor of the Messenger of Allah and Ameerul- Mo'mineen, the man assigned by Allah to guide others, killer of the renegades and of those who believe in equals to Allah, those who violate the Commandments of Allah. Allah says, "My Word shall not be changed, nor am I in the least unjust to the servants" (Qur'an, 50.29), and by Your Command, O Lord, do I (submit and) say, O Allah! Befriend whoever befriends him (Ali) and be the enemy of whoever antagonizes him; support whoever supports him and abandon whoever abandons him; curse whoever disavows him, and let Your Wrath descend on whoever usurps his right.

O Lord! You revealed a verse in honor of' Ali, Your wali, in its explanation and to effect Your own appointment of him this very day did You say, "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour on you, and chosen for you Islam as a religion" (Qur'an, 5.3); "And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers" (Qur'an, 3:85).

Lord! I implore You to testify that I have conveyed (Your Message).

O people! Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, has perfected your religion through his (' Ali's) Imamate; so, whoever rejects him as his Imam or rejects those of my offspring from his loins who assume the same status (as lmams) till the Day of Judgment when they shall all be displayed before Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, these are the ones whose (good) deeds shall be nil and void in the life of this world and in the hereafter, and in the fire shall they be lodged forever, " ...their torture shall not be decreased, nor shall they be given a respite" (Qur'an,2:162).

O people! Here is' Ali, the one who has supported me more than anyone else among you, the one who most deserves my gratitude, the one who is closest of all of you to me and the one who is the very dearest to me. Both Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, and I are pleased with him, and no verse of the Holy Qur'an expressing Allah's Pleasure except that he is implied therein, nor has any verse of praise been revealed in the Qur'an except that he is implied therein, nor has the Lord testified to Paradise in the (Qur'anic) Chapter starting with "Has there not come over man a long period of time when he was nothing (not even) mentioned?" (Qur'an, 76:1) nor was this Chapter revealed except in his praise.

O people! He is the one who supports the religion of Allah, who argues on behalf of the Messenger of Allah. He is the pious, the pure, the guide, the one rightly guided. Your Prophet is the best of all prophets, and your wasi is the best of all wasis, and his offspring are the best of wasis .

O people! Each prophet's progeny is from his own loins whereas mine is from the loins of Arneerul-Mo'mineen ' Ali.

O people! Iblis caused Adam to be dismissed from the garden through envy; so, do not envy him lest your deeds should be voided and lest your feet should slip away, for Adam was sent down to earth after having committed only one sin, and he was among the elite of Allah's creation. How, then, will be your case, and you being who you are, and among you are enemies of Allah?

Indeed, none hates' Ali except a wretch, and none accepts ' Ali's wilayat except a pious person. None believes in him except a sincere mu'min, and in honor of, Ali was the Chapter of 'Asr (Ch. 103) revealed, I swear to it by Allah: "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I swear by time that most surely man is in loss" (Qur'an, 103:1-2) except' Ali  who believed and was pleased with the truth and with perseverance.

O people! I have sought Allah to be my Witness and have conveyed my Message to you, and the Messenger is obligated only to clearly convey (his Message).

O people! " Fear Allah as Re ought to be feared, and do not die except as Muslims" (Qur'an, 3:102). O people! " ...Believe in what We have revealed, verifying what you have, before We alter faces then turn them on their backs or curse them as We cursed the violators of the Sabbath" (Qur'an, 4:47). By Allah! Redid not imply anyone in this verse except a certain band of my sahaba whom I know by name and by lineage, and I have been ordered (by my Lord) to pardon them; so, let each person deal with ' Ali  according to what he finds in his heart of love or of hatred.

O people! The noor from Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, flows through me then through ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib  then in the progeny that descends from him till al-Qa'imal-Mehdi, who shall effect the justice of Allah, and who will take back any right belonging to us because Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, made us Hujjat over those who take us lightly, the stubborn ones, those who act contrarily to our word, who are treacherous, who are sinners, who are oppressors, who are usurpers, from the entire world.

O people! I warn you that I am the Messenger of Allah; messengers before me have already passed away; so, should I die or should I be killed, are you going to turn upon your heels? And whoever turns upon his heels shall not harm Allah in the least, and Allah shall reward those who are grateful, those who persevere. 'Ali is surely the one described with perseverance and gratitude, then after him are my offspring from his loins.

O people! Do not think that you are doing me a favour by your accepting Islam. Nay! Do not think that you are doing Allah such a favour lest He should void your deeds, lest His wrath should descend upon you, lest He should try you with a flame of fire and brass; surely your Lord is ever-watchful.

O people! There shall be Imams after me who shall invite people to the fire, and they shall not be helped on the Day of Judgment.

O people! Allah and I are both clear of them.

O people! They and their supporters and followers shall be in the lowest rung of the fire; miserable, indeed, is the resort of the arrogant ones. Indeed, these are the folks of the sahifa; so, let each one of you look into his sahifa!

This reference to the sahifa has been overlooked by most people with the exception of a small band, and we will, Insha-Allah, shed a light on this sahifa later on.

The Prophet continued his historic sermon thus: O people! I am calling for it to be an Imamate and a succession confined to my offspring till the Day of Judgment, and I have conveyed only what I have been commanded (by my Lord) to convey to drive the argument home against everyone present or absent and on everyone who has witnessed or who has not, who is already born or he is yet to be born; therefore, let those present here convey it to those who are absent, and let the father convey it to his son, and so on till the Day of Judgment.

And they shall make the Imamate after me a property, a usurpation; may Allah curse the usurpers who usurp1, and it is then that you, O jinns and mankind, will get the full attention of the One Who shall cause a flame of fire and brass to be hurled upon you, and you shall not achieve any victory!

O people! Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, is not to let you be whatever you want to be except so that He may distinguish the bad ones from among you from the good, and Allah is not to make you acquainted with the unknown.

O people! There shall be no town that falsifies except that Allah shall annihilate it on account of its falsehood before the Day of Judgment, and He shall give al-lmam al-Mehdi (U authority over it, and surely Allah's promise is true.

1 This is surely a Prophetic prediction that' Ali's right to the caliphate would be usurped. The usurpers were the very first to swear the oath of allegiance to Ameerul-Mo'mineen ' Ali and the very first to violate it.

O people! Most of the early generations before you have strayed, and by Allah, He surely annihilated the early generations, and He shall annihilate the later ones. Allah Almighty has said, "Did We not destroy the former generations? Then did We follow them up with later ones. Even thus shall We deal with the guilty. Woe on that Day to the rejecters!" (Qur'an, 77: 16-19).

O people! Allah has ordered me to do and not to do, and I have ordered 'Ali  to do and not to do, so he learned what should be done and what should not; therefore. you should listen to his orders so that you may be safe, and you should obey him so that you may be rightly guided. Do not do what he forbids you from doing so that you may acquire wisdom. Agree with him, and do not let your paths be different from his.

O people! I am al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem (the Straight Path) of Allah whom He commanded you to follow, and it is after me 'Ali then my offspring from his loins, the Imams of Guidance: they guide to the truth and act accordingly.

Then the Prophet recited the entire text of Surat al-Fatiha and commented by saying:  It is in my honor that this (Sura) was revealed, including them (the Imams) specifically; they are the friends of Allah for whom there shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve; truly the Party of Allah are the winners. Indeed, it is their enemies who are the impudent ones, the deviators, the brethren of Satan; they inspire each other with embellished speech out of their haughtiness.

Indeed, their (Imams') friends are the ones whom Allah, the Exalted One, the Great, mentions in His Book saying, "You shall not find a people who believe in Allah and in the latter Day befriending those who act in opposition to Allah and to His Prophet, even though they may be their own fathers or sons or brothers or kinsfolk; these are they into whose hearts He has impressed conviction" (Qur'an, 58:22). Indeed, their (Imams') friends are the mu'mins (believers) whom Allah, the Exalted One, the Sublime, describes as: "Those who believe and do not mix up their faith with iniquity, those are the ones who shall have the security, and they are the rightly guided" (Qur'an, 6:82).

Indeed, their friends are those who believed and never doubted. Indeed, their friends are the ones who shall enter Paradise in peace and security; the angels shall receive them with welcome saying, "Peace be upon you! Enter it and reside in it forever!"

Indeed, their friends shall be rewarded with Paradise where they shall be sustained without having to account for anything.

Indeed, their enemies are the ones who shall be hurled into the fire.

Indeed, their enemies are the ones who shall hear the exhalation of hell as it increases in intensity, and they shall see it sigh.

Indeed, their enemies are the ones thus described by Allah: "Whenever a nation enters, it shall curse its sister..." (Qur'an, 7:38).

Indeed, their enemies are the ones whom Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, describes thus: "Whenever a group is cast into it, its keepers shall ask them: Did any warner not come to you? They shall say: Yea! Indeed, there came to us a warner but we rejected (him) and said: Allah has not revealed anything; you are only in a great error. And they shall say: Had we but listened or pondered, we would not have been among the inmates of the burning fire. So they shall acknowledge their sins, but far will be forgiveness) from the inmates of the burning fire" (Qur'an, 67:8-11).

Indeed, their friends are the ones who fear their Lord in the unseen; forgiveness shall be theirs and a great reward.

O people! What a difference it is between the fire and the great reward! .

O people! Our enemy is the one whom Allah censures and curses, whereas our friend is everyone praised and loved by Allah.

O people! I am the Warner (nathir) and' Ali  is the one who brings glad tidings (bashir).

O people! I am the one who warns (munthir) while 'Ali is the guide (hadi).

O people! I am a Prophet (nabi) and' Ali is the successor (wasi).

O people! I am a Messenger (rasul) and' Ali is the Imam and the Wasi after me, and so are the Imams after him from among his offspring. Indeed, I am their father, and they shall descend from his loins.

Indeed, the seal of the lmams from among us is al-Qa'im al-Mehdi. He, indeed, is the one who shall come out so that the creed may prevail. He, indeed, is the one who shall seek revenge against the oppressor. He, indeed, is the one who conquers the forts and demolishes them. He, indeed, is the one who subdues every tribe from among the people of polytheism and the one to guide it.

He is the one who shall seek redress for all friends of Allah. He is the one who supports the religion of Allah. He ever derives (his knowledge) from a very deep ocean. He shall identify each man of distinction by his distinction and every man of ignorance by his ignorance. He shall be the choicest of Allah's beings and the chosen one. He is the heir of all (branches of) knowledge, the one who encompasses every perception. He conveys on behalf of his Lord, the Exalted and the Sublime, who points out His miracles. He is the wise, the one endowed with wisdom, the one upon whom (Divine) authority is vested.

Glad tidings of him have been conveyed by past generations, yet he is the one who shall remain as a Hujja, and there shall be no Hujja after him nor any right except with him, nor any noor except with him. None, indeed, shall subdue him, nor shall he ever be vanquished. He is the friend of Allah on His earth, the judge over His creatures, the custodian of what is evident and what is hidden of His.

O people! I have explained (everything) for you and enabled you to comprehend it, and this 'Ali shall after me explain everything to you.

At the conclusion of my khutba, I shall call upon you to shake hands with me to swear your allegiance to him and to recognize his authority, then to shake hands with him after you have shaken hands with me.

I had, indeed, sworn allegiance to Allah, and ‘Ali had sworn allegiance to me, and I on  behalf of Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, I require you to swear the oath of allegiance to him: "Surely those who swear (the oath of) allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands; therefore, whoever reneges (from his oath), he reneges only to the injury of his own soul, and whoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will grant him a mighty reward" (Qur'an,48:10).

O people! The pilgrimage (hajj) and the 'umra are among Allah's rituals; "So whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit (to it), there is no blame on him if he goes round them [Safa and Marwa] both" (Qur'an, 2:158).

O people! Perform your pilgrimage to the House, for no members of a family went there except that they became wealthy, and receive glad tidings! None failed to do so except that their lineage was cut-off and were impoverished.

O people! No believer stands at the standing place [at 'Arafa] except that Allah forgives his past sins till then; so, once his pilgrimage is over, he resumes his deeds.

O people! Pilgrims are assisted, and their expenses shall be replenished, and Allah never suffers the rewards of the doers of good to be lost.

O people! Perform your pilgrimage to the House by perfecting your religion and by delving into fiqh, and do not leave the sacred places except after having repented and abandoned (the doing of anything prohibited).

O people! Uphold prayers and pay the zakat as Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, commanded you; so, if time lapses and you were short of doing so or you forgot, ' Ali is your wali and he will explain for you.

He is the one whom Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, appointed for you after me as the custodian of Hiscreation. He is from me and I am from him, and he and those who will succeed him from my progeny shall inform you of anything you ask them about, and they shall clarify whatever you do not know.

Halal and haram things are more than I can count for you now or explain, for a commandment to enjoin what is permissible and a prohibition from what is not permissible are both on the same level, so I was ordered (by my Lord) to take your oath of allegiance and to make a covenant with you to accept what I brought you from Allah, the Exalted One and the Sublime, with regards to' Ali Ameerul-Mo'mineen and to the wasis after him who are from me and from him, a standing Imamate whose seal is al-Mehdi till the Day he meets Allah Who decrees and Who judges.

O people! I never refrained from informing you of everything permissible or prohibitive; so, do remember this and safeguard it and advise each other to do likewise; do not alter it; do not substitute it with something else.

I am now repeating what I have already said: Uphold the prayers and pay the zakat and enjoin righteousness and forbid abomination.

The peak of enjoining righteousness is to resort to my speech and to convey it to whoever did not attend it and to order him on my behalf to accept it and to (likewise) order him not to violate it, for it is an order from Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, and there is no knowledge of enjoining righteousness nor prohibiting abomination except that it is with a ma'soom Imam.

0 people! The Qur'an informs you that the Imams after him are his (' Ali's) descendants, and I have already informed you that they are from me and from him, for Allah says in His Book, " And he made it a word to continue in his posterity so that they may return " (Qur'an, 43:28) while I have said: "You shall not stray as long as you uphold both of them (simultaneously)."

O people! (Uphold) piety, (uphold) piety, and be forewarned of the Hour as Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, has said, "0 people! Guard (yourselves) against (punishment from) your Lord; surely the violence of the Hour is a grievous thing" (Qur'an, 22:1).

Remember death, resurrection, the judgment, the scales, and the account before the Lord of the Worlds, and (remember) the rewards and the penalty. So whoever does a good deed shall be rewarded for it, and whoever commits a sin shall have no place in the Gardens.

 O people! You are more numerous than (it is practical) to shake hands with me all at the same time, and Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, commanded me to require you to confirm what authority I have vested upon 'Ali  Ameerul-Mo'mineen and to whoever succeeds him of the Imams from me and from him, since I have just informed you that my offspring are from his loins.

You, therefore, should say in one voice: "We hear, and we obey; we accept and we are bound by what you have conveyed to us from our Lord and yours with regard to our Imam' Ali (V' Ameerul-Mo'mineen, and to the Imams, your sons from his loins. We swear the oath of allegiance to you in this regard with our hearts, with our souls, with our tongues, with our hands. According to it shall we live, and according to it shall we die, and according to it shall we be resurrected. We shall not alter anything or substitute anything with another, nor shall we doubt nor deny nor suspect, nor shall we violate our covenant nor abrogate the pledge. You admonished us on behalf of Allah with regard to' Ali (V' Ameerul-Mo'mineen, and to the Imams whom you mentioned to be from your offspring from among his descendants after him: al-Hasan and al-Husain  and to whoever is appointed (as such) by Allah after them. The covenant and the pledge are taken from us, from our hearts, from our souls, from our tongues, from our conscience, from our hands. Whoever does so by his handshake, it shall be so, or otherwise testified to it by his tongue, and we do not seek any substitute for it, nor shall Allah see our souls deviating there from. We shall convey the same on your behalf to anyone near and far of our offspring and families, and we implore Allah to testify to it, and surely Allah suffices as the Witness and you, too, shall testify for us."

O people! What are you going to say?! Allah knows every sound and the innermost of every soul; "Whoever chooses the right guidance, it is for his own soul that he is rightly guided, and whoever strays, it is only to its detriment that he goes astray" (Qur'an, 17:15).

O people! Swear the oath of allegiance to Allah, and swear it to me, and swear it to' Ali  Ameerul-Mo'mineen, and to al-Hasan and al-Husain  and to the Imams from their offspring in the life of this world and in the hereafter, a word that shall always remain so. Allah shall annihilate anyone guilty of treachery and be merciful upon everyone who remains true to his word: "Whoever reneges (from his oath), he reneges only to the harm of his own soul, and whoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will grant him a mighty reward" (Qur'an, 48:10)

O people! Repeat what I have just told you to, and greet' Ali with the title of authority of "Ameerul-Mo'mineen" and say: "We hear, and we obey, O Lord! Your forgiveness (do we seek), and to You is the eventual course" (Qur'an, 2:285), and you should say: "All praise is due to Allah Who guided us to this, and we would not have found the way had it not been for Allah Who guided us" (Qur'an, 7:43).

O people! The merits of' Ali ibn Abu Talib with Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, the merits which are revealed in the Qur'an, are more numerous than I can recount in one speech; so, whoever informs you of them and defines them for you, you should believe him.

O people! Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and' Ali (U and the Imams to whom I have already referred shall attain a great victory. O people! Those foremost from among you who swear allegiance to him and who pledge to obey him and who greet him with the greeting of being the Commander of the Faithful are the ones who shall win the Gardens of Felicity.

O people! Say what brings you the Pleasure of Allah, for if you and all the people of the earth disbelieve, it will not harm Allah in the least.

O Lord! Forgive the believers through what I have conveyed, and let Your Wrath descend upon those who renege, the apostates, and all Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

CONCLUSION:

Thus did the Prophet of Allah speak on behalf of the Almighty Who sent him as the beacon of guidance not only for the Muslims but for all mankind. But the question that forces itself here is: "What happened after that historic event? Why did the Muslims forget, or pretend to have forgotten, their Prophet's instructions with regards to' Ali and "elected" someone else in his stead? To answer this question requires another book, and indeed many such books have been written. May the Almighty grant all of us guidance, and may He count us among His true servants who recognize the truth when they see it, who abide by His tenets, Who revere His Prophet and follow his instructions in all times, in all climes, Allahomma Ameen.

REFERENCES: KHUTBA OF AL-GHADEER The following constitutes only major references of the components of Khutba of Ghadeer. In these references the reader can deliberate on the various portions of this historic sermon as quoted in bits and pieces in those references. Most of these references are considered reliable by the majority of Muslims (of the Shi'a or Sunni persuation): Jalaal ad-Deen al-Sayyuti, Kitaab Al-Itqaan, Vol. 1, p. 31. al-Majlisi, Bihaar.al-Anwaar, Vol. 21, pp. 360-90, Vol. 37, pp. 111-235, and Vol. 41, p. 228.He Quotes     bookal-Ih'tijaj   by al-Tibrisi (vol.2) Al-Bldaaya wal Nihaaya, Vol. 5, p. 208. Badee' al-Ma'aani, p. 75 Tareekh Baghdad, V01. 1, p. 411 and V01. 8, p. 290. Tareekh Dimashq, Vol. 5, p. 210. Ibn al-Jawziyya, Tadh'kirat al-Khawaas, pp. 18-20. Ibn al-Sa'ud's Tafseer, Vol. 8, p. 292. Al-Tibari, Tafseer al-Qur'an, Vol. 3, p. 428 and Vol. 6, p. 46. al-Fakhr al-Razi, Al-Tafseer al-Kabeer, Vol. 3, p. 636. Al-Tamhid fi USool al-Deen, p. 171. Tayseer al-Wusul, Vol. 1, p. 122. Ghiyaath ad-Din ibn Hammaam, Tareekh Habib al-Siyar, V01. 1, p. 144. al-Maqrizi, Khutat, p. 223. al-Sayyuti, Al-Durr al-Manthur, Vol. 2, pp. 259, 298. Thakhaa'ir al-'Uqba, p. 68. Ruh al-Ma'aani, Vol. 2, p. 348. Mohibb al-Tabal-;, AI.Riyadh al-r:adhirah, Vol. 2, p.169. Al-Siraaj al-Munir, Vol. 4, p. 364. al-Hakim, Al-Seera al-Halabiyya, Vol. 3, p. 302. Shar'h al-Mawaahib, V01. 7, p. 13. Ibn Hajar al-' Asqalaani, Al-Sawaa'iq al-Muhriqa, p. 26. Ibn al-Badriq, Al-'Umda, p. 52. Badr ad-Deen, 'Umdat al-Qari fi Shar'h al-Bukhari, V01. 8, p. 584. al-Ghadeer, V01. 2, p. 57. Sharafud-Deen al-Musawi, AI-Fusul al-Muhimma, pp. 25-27. Fadha 'il al-Sahaaba, p. 272. Faydh al-Ghadeer, V01. 6, p. 218. Kashf al-Ghumma, p. 94. Kifaayat al- Taalib, pp. 17, 28. al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummaal, Vol. 6, p. 397. Imam Ibn Hanbal, Mus'nad, V01. 4, p. 281. Mishkaat al-Masabeeh, p. 272. Mushkil al-aathaar, Vol. 3, p. 196. Mataalib al-Su'ul, p. 16. Muftah al-Najaat, p. 216. al-Shahristaani, AI-Milal wal Nihal, V 01. 1, p. 220. al-Khawarizmi, Manaaqib, pp. 80, 94. Ibn al-Maghaazli, Manaaqib, p. 232. al-Qastalani, Al-Mawaahib, Vol. 2, p. 13. al-Samhudi, Wafaa' al-Wafaa', Vol. 2, p. 173. al-Qanduzi, Yanabi al-Mawadda, p. 120. -- Haider Ajaz Advocate