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{{Short description|Hadith that compares Ali and Aaron}}
{{Muhammad}}
{{Ali}}
{{hadith}}
The '''hadith of the position''' ({{langx|ar|حديث المنزلة|translit=hadith al-manzila}}) is a widely-reported saying ([[hadith]]), attributed to the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]], that equates the standing of his cousin and son-in-law [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]] to him with the standing of [[Aaron in Islam|Aaron]] to [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], with the exception that Ali is not a prophet. In [[Shia Islam]], this hadith is invoked to prove Ali's usurped right to succeed Muhammad. In [[Sunni Islam]], the hadith of the position primarily supports the belief in the finality of Muhammad in the chain of prophets.
== Hadith of the position ==
The [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] historian [[Ibn Hisham]] ({{Died in|833}}) ascribes to the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]],
{{Blockquote|text=Are you not content, [[Ali]], to stand to me as [[Aaron]] stood to [[Moses]], except that there will be no prophet after me?{{sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=69}}}}
A slightly different wording of this [[hadith]] appears in {{Transl|ar|[[Sahih Muslim]]}}, a canonical Sunni collection of traditions''.''{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=69}} It is also found in similar canonical Sunni compilations {{Transl|ar|[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]}}, {{Transl|ar|[[Sahih at-Tirmidhi]]}},{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=69}} and {{Transl|ar|[[Sunan Ibn Maja]]}}.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=|pp=13, 325n7}} {{Transl|ar|[[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal|Musnad Ibn Hanbal]]}}, another Sunni collection of hadiths, includes ten similar variants of this hadith.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=|pp=13, 325n7}} Elsewhere in Sunni literature, this tradition is also reported by [[Ibn Hisham]] ({{Died in|833}}) in his biographical {{Transl|ar|[[Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah|al-Sira al-nabawiyya]]}} and by [[Ibn Sa'd]] ({{Died in|845}}) in his collective biography, {{Transl|ar|al-Tabaqat al-kabir}}.{{Sfn|Lalani|2000|pp=73, 148n58}} This tradition also exists with similar wordings in [[Shia Islam|Shia]] sources, such as {{Transl|ar|[[Kitab al-Kafi]]}}, a large anthology of hadiths compiled by the Shia traditionist [[Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni|al-Kulayni]] ({{Died in|941}}),{{Sfn|Poonawala|1982}} and the theological {{Transl|ar|[[Da'a'im al-Islam|Da'a'im]]}} by the Shia jurist [[al-Qadi al-Nu'man]] ({{Died in|974}}).{{Sfn|Lalani|2000|pp=73, 148n57}}
== Context ==
The hadith of the position is associated with multiple occasions, including the two pacts of brotherhood between Muhammad and Ali, one before and one shortly after their migration to [[Medina]].{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=68}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|pp=12{{ndash}}13}} Muhammad likely made this biblical analogy also at the [[Ghadir Khumm]], shortly before his death in 632 [[Common Era|CE]].{{Sfn|Donaldson|1933|p=4}}{{Sfn|Poonawala|1982}}{{Sfn|Lalani|2000|p=148n57}}
Most frequently, however, the hadith of the position is linked to the [[Expedition of Tabuk]] in 630{{Ndash}}631 against the [[Byzantine Empire]].{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=68}} He is said to have left Ali in charge at Medina before leaving on his longest expedition.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=13}} After he left, rumors surfaced that Ali was left behind because he was a burden to Muhammad, according to Ibn Hisham. Upon hearing this, his account continues, Ali left Medina and caught up with Muhammad, possibly in al-Jurf.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=71}} He reassured him, "Are you not content, Ali, to stand to me as Aaron stood to Moses, except that there will be no prophet after me?"{{sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=69}} The prominent Shia theologian [[Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid|al-Mufid]] ({{Died in|1022}}) includes a more detailed response in his {{Transl|ar|[[Kitab al-Irshad]]}},{{Blockquote|text="Go back to your position, brother," the prophet said to him [i.e., Ali]. "Medina will only be properly looked after by myself and by you. You are my deputy ({{transl|ar|khalifa}}) among my family ({{transl|ar|ahl al-bayt}}) and in the place of my emigration and my people. Are you not content, Ali, that you have the same rank with regard to me as Aaron had with regard to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me?{{sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=76}}}}
Most accounts of the expedition hold that Ali governed Medina in the absence of Muhammad,{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=70}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=13}} including those found in the {{Transl|ar|Sahih}}s by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and al-Tirmidhi''.'' Alternatively, some Sunni authors place others in charge of Medina. In particular, [[Ibrahim al-Halabi|al-Halabi]] ({{Died in|1635}}) names three candidates, while [[Ibn Kathir]] ({{Died in|1373}}) and Mughulta'i ({{Died in|1361}}) name two. Ibn Kathir also includes a report that Ali was left only in charge of Muhammad's family and not Medina, although he also acknowledges the opposite views in the {{Transl|ar|Sahih}}s.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=70}}
Related to this biblical analogy, Muhammad is said to have named his two grandsons, that is, the two sons of Ali, after the two sons of Aaron. More specifically, he reputedly named [[Hasan ibn Ali|Hasan]] and [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]] after Shabbar and Shabbir.{{Sfn|Abbas|2021|p=57}} This connection is apparently well-known today in [[South Asia]],{{Sfn|Hyder|2008|p=79}} and in [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Urdu]] literatures.{{Sfn|Abbas|2021|p=57}}
== Status of Aaron ==
[[File:Aaron in Dura Europos synagogue.jpg|thumb|Aaron in priestly garments, a temple painting in the [[Dura-Europos synagogue]]]]
The [[Quran]] and rabbinic literature are replete with references to the special status of Aaron and his progeny.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=76}} In verses 20:29{{Ndash}}32 of the Quran, Moses asks God to include his brother Aaron in his prophetic mission.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=72}} His prayer is answered by God, as evidenced by verses 20:36{{Ndash}}42, 25:35,{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=76}} and 28:35.{{sfn|Nasr et al.|2015|p=1767}} Aaron thus becomes the chosen associate of Moses in his prophetic mission and in revelation,{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=76}}{{Sfn|Madelung|1997|pp=11{{ndash}}12}} as described in verses 21:48{{Ndash}}9 and 2:248 of the Quran.{{Sfn|Madelung|1997|pp=11{{ndash}}12}} In [[Hebrew Bible]], Aaron performs miracles and is entrusted with the esoteric knowledge of the scripture.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=76}}
=== Descendants of Aaron ===
Also related here are the divine prerogatives bestowed upon the descendants of Aaron, as represented by this proclamation in the Hebrew Bible, "Behold, I give unto him [i.e., Aaron] My covenant of peace. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood."{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=75}} This divine elevation of the prophets' families above others is also a recurring theme in the Quran, where the families of Muhammad and the past prophets are given a prominent role. In the Quran, God often selects the spiritual and material heirs to the previous prophets from their own kin.{{sfn|Madelung|1997|pp=8{{ndash}}17}}{{sfn|Jafri|1979|pp=14{{ndash}}16}}
=== Golden calf ===
Aaron failed to prevent the [[Israelites]] from returning to idolatry, notes the Islamicist Gurdofarid Miskinzoda.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=82}} She also suggests that Aaron joined the Israelites in worshiping their idol,{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=82}} although this is questioned by the Islamic philosopher [[Seyyed Hossein Nasr|Hossein Nasr]] and his coauthors who note that Aaron rebuked the Israelites and enjoined them to worship God in verse 20:90 of the Quran.{{sfn|Nasr et al.|2015|p=1783}} [[Joseph E. B. Lumbard|Joseph Lumbard]], another expert, writes that verse 20:88 of the Quran identifies [[Samiri (Islamic figure)|Samiri]] as responsible for the idolatry of the Israelites.{{Sfn|Lumbard|2007|pp=114{{ndash}}115}}
=== Shia and Sufi views ===
In Shia and [[Sufism|Sufi]] sources, Moses fulfills the function of prophecy ({{Transl|ar|nubuwwa}}) and Aaron that of sainthood ({{Transliteration|ar|walaya}}), as with Muhammad and Ali, respectively.{{sfn|Nasr et al.|2015|p=1768}} In [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili Shia]], Moses is counted as one of the seven 'speaking' prophets who brought divine laws to their followers, whereas Aaron is one of the seven 'silent' prophets who conveyed the hidden message of divine revelations to a select group of believers.{{Sfn|Campo|2009|p=483}}
== Significance in Shia Islam ==
=== Succession to Muhammad ===
As early as al-Kulayni, Shia authors have invoked the hadith of the position as evidence of the (usurped) right of Ali to succeed Muhammad.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=76}} For instance, al-Mufid writes that this hadith invested in Ali all the privileges of Aaron, except prophethood.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=|pp=76{{ndash}}77}} In particular, Ali was the deputy of Muhammad just as Aaron was the deputy of Moses,{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=77}} which readily implies that Ali was the rightful successor of Muhammad, so the argument goes.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=13}}
Similarly, the contemporary author [[Reza Aslan]] notes the succession of the previous prophets by their kin in the Quran and the analogy between Ali and Aaron in the hadith of the position. On this basis, he then argues that Ali was the natural successor of Muhammad and that his exclusion from the [[Saqifa]] affair after the death of Muhammad in 632 was a deliberate move. The exclusion of Ali, says Aslan, reflected the [[Quraysh (surah)|Quraysh's]] fear of combining prophethood and [[caliphate]] in the [[Banu Hashim]] (Muhammad's clan), lest they would grow too powerful.{{Sfn|Aslan|2011|pp=118{{ndash}}119}} A conversation to this effect between the Hashemite [[Ibn Abbas]] and the second caliph [[Umar]] ({{Reign|634|644}}) is also cited by [[Wilferd Madelung]] ({{Died in|2023}}) and [[Moojan Momen]], two modern Islamicists.{{Sfn|Madelung|1997|p=40}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=19}}
=== Imamate ===
A broader Shia interpretation of the hadith of the position is that its biblical analogy attaches the authority of Ali and his [[Twelve Imams|select descendants]] to the authority of Muhammad, implying that the political and spiritual leadership of the [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Shia imams]] is the natural continuation of Muhammad's prophetic authority.{{Sfn|Stewart|2013|p=169}} Connected with this hadith is also the Shia belief that their imams have inherited the prophet's esoteric knowledge and his functions, excluding only direct revelation.{{Sfn|Mavani|2013|p=240}} In particular, the divinely-inspired Shia imams are believed to be the interpreters par excellence of the inner dimension ({{Transl|ar|batin}}) of the Quran, and these 'two weights' are said to never separate in the prophetic [[Hadith al-Thaqalayn|hadith of the {{Transl|ar|thaqalayn}}]] ({{Lit|two weights}}).{{Sfn|Steigerwald|2006|pp=373{{ndash}}374}}
== Significance in Sunni Islam ==
The Sunni historian [[al-Shahrastani]] ({{Died in|1153}}) writes that the descendants of Muhammad have inherited a special knowledge of the Quran, just as the descendants of Aaron possess a special version of the [[Torah]].''{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=81|pp=}}'' In his commentary of {{Transl|ar|Sahih Muslim}}, the Sunni traditionist [[al-Nawawi]] ({{Died in|1277}}) acknowledges the Shia implications of this hadith.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=|pp=78{{ndash}}79}} So do al-Halabi in his {{Transl|ar|al-Sira}} and the contemporary Siddiqi in his edition of ''{{Transl|ar|Sahih Muslim}}.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=|pp=78{{ndash}}79}}'' Despite its Shia coloring, however, the hadith of the position has remained in Sunni sources, perhaps because it serves as an important piece of evidence for the finality of Muhammad in the chain of prophets.''{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=81|pp=}}''
== Debates ==
[[File:Hadith of Position.jpg|thumb|Hadith of position, engraved on the door of the great mosque of [[Kufa]], present-day [[Iraq]]]]
In response to Shia claims, Sunni scholars argue that the hadith of the position is irrelevant to Muhammad's succession because Aaron died before Moses.{{Sfn|Rubin|1979}}{{Sfn|Lalani|2000|pp=|p=74}} The Shia jurist [[Sharif al-Murtaza|Sharif al-Murtada]] ({{Died in|1044}}) counters that had Aaron survived Moses, the former would have indeed succeeded the latter.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=72}} In this vein, the Shia al-Kulayni claims that Moses' successor [[Joshua]] later designated the progeny of Aaron to succeed him instead of his own or Moses' descendants.{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=71}}
Alternatively, the Sunni scholars [[al-Baqillani]] ({{Died in|1013}}) and [[al-Juwayni]] ({{Died in|1085}}) have limited the scope of the hadith of the position to imply only the temporary deputyship of Ali in Medina, similar to the temporary deputyship of Aaron when Moses went to [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]]. If this was indeed a temporary assignment, the Shia theologian Abu al-Fawaris counters, then Muhammad's exclusion of Ali from prophethood would have been unnecessary.{{Sfn|Lalani|2000|pp=73{{ndash}}74}}
The Sunni scholar Siddiqi rejects the Shia interpretation of the hadith of the position, saying that it refers to the family ties between Muhammad and Ali rather than the caliphate. He argues, "Aaron was the cousin of Moses and so was the case with Ali and the holy prophet."''{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=|pp=78{{ndash}}79}}'' This is rejected by Miskinzoda, who notes that the Quran frequently refers to Aaron as a brother of Moses in verses 7:142, 19:53, and 28:25. In Jewish tradition, [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 6:20 similarly holds that [[Jochebed]] bore [[Amram|Amran]] (Imran) his two sons, namely, Aaron and Moses.''{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=73|pp=}}'' Nevertheless, for Miskinzoda, that Aaron was Moses' brother whereas Ali was Muhammad's cousin is a limitation of the biblical analogy in the hadith of the position. She suggests that perhaps the two pacts of brotherhood ({{Transliteration|ar|mu'akha}}) between Muhammad and Ali partially addressed this limitation by emphasizing the closeness of the two men.''{{Sfn|Miskinzoda|2015|p=82|pp=}}''
==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Succession to Muhammad]]
* [[Ghadir Khumm]]
* [[Saqifah|Saqifa]]
* [[Hadith al-Thaqalayn|Hadith of the thaqalayn]]
* [[Hadith of the Twelve Successors|Hadith of the twelve successors]]
}}
==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|20em}}
== References ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book |title=The Prophet's Heir: The Life of Ali Ibn Abi Talib |author-first=H. |author-last=Abbas |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2021 |isbn=9780300252057 |author-link=Hassan Abbas (scholar)}}
* {{cite book|title=No god But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam|author-first=Reza|author-last= Aslan|publisher=Random House|year= 2011|isbn= 9780812982442|url=https://archive.org/details/nogodbutgodorigi0000asla_n9k1/mode/|author-link=Reza Aslan|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=Moses|publisher=Facts on File|year= 2009|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam|isbn=9780816054541|editor-first=Juan Eduardo|editor-last= Campo|pages=482{{ndash}}484|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0000camp/page/482/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Donaldson |first=Dwight M.  |title=The Shi'ite Religion: A History of Islam in Persia and Iraḳ |publisher=Luzac & Company  |year=1933|url=https://archive.org/details/shiitereligionhi0000dona/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|title=Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory|author-first=Syed Akbar|author-last= Hyder|publisher=Oxford University Press|year= 2008|isbn=9780195373028|url=https://archive.org/details/RelivingKarbalaSyedAkbarHyder/mode/|url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book|last=Jafri|first=S.H.M.|url=https://archive.org/details/OriginsAndEarlyDevelopmentOfShiaIslamBySyedHusainMohammadJafri/mode/2up|title=Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam|publisher=Longman|year=1979|author-link=Husain Mohammad Jafri|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last1=Lalani|first1=Arzina R.|title=Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir|date=2000|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=1850435928 }}
* {{cite book |editor-first=Vincent J. |editor-last=Cornell |publisher=Praeger|year=2007 |isbn=0275987337 |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/voicesofislam0001unse/mode/ |title=Voices of Islam |author-first=Joseph |author-last=Lumbard |chapter=Prophets and Messengers of God |pages=101{{ndash}}122|url-access=registration|author-link=Joseph E.B. Lumbard}}
* {{cite book|title=The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate|author-first=W|author-last=Madelung|year=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn= 9780521646963|url=https://archive.org/details/successiontomuam0000made/mode/2up|author-link=Wilferd Madelung}}
* {{citation |last=Mavani |first=Hamid |title=Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi'ism: From Ali to Post-Khomeini |series=Routledge Studies in Political Islam |isbn=9780415624404|url=https://archive.org/details/religiousauthori0000mava/mode/2up |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Miskinzoda|first=Gurdofarid|year=2015|title=The Significance of the Ḥadīth of the Position of Aaron for the Formulation of the Shī'ī Doctrine of Authority|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=78|issue=1|pages=67{{ndash}}82|doi=10.1017/S0041977X14001402}}
* {{cite book |title=An Introduction to Shi'i Islam |author-first=Moojan |author-last=Momen |year=1985 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300035315|author-link=Moojan Momen}}
* {{cite book |title=The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2015 |isbn=9780061125867 |url=https://archive.org/details/thestudyquran_201909/mode/2up |editor1-first=S.H. |editor1-last=Nasr |editor2-first=C.K. |editor2-last=Dagli |editor3-first=M.M. |editor3-last=Dakake |editor4-first=J.E.B. |editor4-last=Lumbard |editor5-first=M. |editor5-last=Rustom |url-access=registration |ref={{harvid|Nasr et al.|2015}} |editor1-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr |editor3-link=Maria Massi Dakake}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|author-first=I.K.|author-last= Poonawala|title='Alī b. Abī Ṭāleb I. Life|encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Iranica|edition= Online|year= 1982|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ali-b-abi-taleb#pt1|author-link=Ismail Poonawala
}}
* {{cite journal|author-last=Rubin|author-first=Uri|title=Prophets and Progenitors in the Early Shī'a Tradition|journal= Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam|volume= 1|year=1979|pages= 41{{ndash}}65|author-link=Uri Rubin}}
* {{citation |last=Steigerwald |first=Diana |contribution=Twelver Shīʿī ''Taʾwīl'' |editor-last=Rippin |editor-first=Andrew |display-editors=0 |title=The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'ān |series=Blackwell Companions to Religion |date=2006 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=9781405117524 |pages=373–385}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |editor1-first=Gerhard |editor1-last=Bowering |editor2-first=Patricia |editor2-last=Crone |editor3-first=Wadad |editor3-last=Kadi |editor4-first=Mahan |editor4-last=Mirza |editor5-first=Devin J. |editor5-last=Stewart |editor6-first=Muhammad Qasim |editor6-last=Zaman |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780691134840 |url=https://archive.org/details/princetonencyclo0000unse/page/166/mode/2up |pages=167{{ndash}}170 |author-first=Devin J. |author-last=Stewart |title=family |author-link=Devin J. Stewart |url-access=registration}}
{{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadith Of Position}}
[[Category:Ahadith|Position]]
[[Category:Ali]]
[[Category:Shia Islam]]
[[Category:Sunni Islam]]