Ghadir’s Message of Unity
Eid al-Ghadir is one of the most important festivities of Shias and some Sunnis. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the day when Prophet Mohammad (AS), on God’s order, appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam, as his successor and the leader of Muslims.
Eid al-Ghadir has many messages and teachings for Muslims. One of them is that Eid al-Ghadir shows us that religion is comprehensive and has a set of consistent beliefs, rituals and rites rather than a number of isolated rules.
The Quran says, “This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor to you. I have approved Islam to be your religion. (As for) he who does not intend to commit a sin but is constrained by hunger to eat of what is forbidden, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 3)
The word ‘perfected’ in this verse shows that religion is a perfect and complete plan for humanity’s salvation and a system of rules each and every one of which should be obeyed.
The second point is that Ghadir has some kind of culture of coexistence in it which we know today as unity. In the history of Ghadir and in the belief of Shia Muslims, Imam Ali (AS) is introduced as the successor to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) but when the conditions are not provided for this, they do not resort to chaos and disorder and disrupting the order in the Islamic community. It shows that coexistence requires that even if you are right, you can have peaceful coexistence with the group that you believe has ignored your right.
Imam Ali (AS) in his letter to Malik Ashtar emphasizes coexistence with people, saying that people are either your brother in religion or similar to you in creation.
Another point is that Ghadir highlights the position of Wilayat (leadership), which is important to all Muslims. We read in verse 30 of Surah Al-Baqarah, “When your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing on the earth a caliph,’ they replied: ‘Will You put there who corrupts and sheds blood, when we exalt Your praises and sanctify You?’ He said: ‘I know what you do not know.’”
Hence, the world has been created to draw a perfect system of salvation and if there were no intermediary to link man to God, there would not have been such a creation. So the system of Wilayat is one that links people to God and it was introduced on the Day of Ghadir.