The Farewell Pilgrimage
In the tenth year after the Hijrah the Prophet (s) performed his only Hajj, with tens of thousands of Muslims from every part of Arabia. On the return journey, at the pool of Khumm near al-Juhfa where the roads to the different regions parted, the Verse of Proclamation was revealed, commanding him to deliver what had been sent down to him and warning that otherwise his mission was not fulfilled. He halted the caravan in the noon heat, called back those who had gone ahead, and had a pulpit made of camel-saddles.
The declaration
After a sermon reminding the people of his approaching death and of the two weighty things he was leaving them, the Qur'an and his household, the Prophet raised the hand of Ali (a) and said: whoever I am the master (mawla) of, this Ali is his master; O God, befriend whoever befriends him and be the enemy of whoever is his enemy. The Verse of Perfection — "today I have perfected your religion for you" — was then revealed, and the companions, Umar among them, congratulated Ali as their master. The hadith is transmitted by well over a hundred companions and is accepted by Sunni scholars, who differ from the Shia only over what "mawla" meant.
The feast
Shia hadith calls the day the greatest Eid of God and the Eid of the Ahl al-Bayt (a). It is kept with the ghusl, fasting, the special prayer and ziyarah of the Imam, the pact of brotherhood between believers, gifts and the feeding of guests; the descendants of the Prophet (s) are given presents, and in Iran and Iraq it is a public holiday. Al-Allama al-Amini's eleven-volume al-Ghadir gathers the sources.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
