Verse of Tabligh
The Verse of Tabligh (Arabic: آیه تبلیغ) based on verse 67 of Surah Al-Ma'ida, the Prophet (s) was obliged to deliver a message to the people that if he failed to convey it, he would not have fulfilled his mission of prophethood. Imam Khomeini has paid attention to the Verse of Tabligh in his works and, considering the occasion of revelation of the verse, addressed the completion of the mission, its position, instance, and the relation of this verse to Imamate and succession.
Importance and Position of the Verse of Tabligh
The Verse of Tabligh is verse 67 of Surah Al-Ma'ida, according to which the Prophet (s) was obliged to deliver a message to the people that if he failed to convey it, he would not have fulfilled his mission of prophethood.[1]
The Verse of Tabligh is among the verses in whose interpretation and hermeneutics the occasion of revelation plays a pivotal role. The majority of Islamic exegetes consider the occasion of revelation of the Verse of Tabligh to be related to the Event of Ghadir Khumm and the proclamation of the succession and Imamate of Imam Ali (a) by the Prophet (s). This meaning of the verse is both consistent with the internal textual indications of the verse, including the special emphasis on "conveying" (tabligh) and the dependency of completing the prophetic mission on conveying the Imamate, and is compatible with external indications such as reliable narrations. Nevertheless, some Sunni exegetes have denied the relation of the verse to the Event of Ghadir. Islamic exegetes have dealt with the comparative study of the occasion of revelation of the Verse of Tabligh and have examined and analyzed its position, instance, and its relation to Imamate and succession.[2]
Imam Khomeini has also paid attention to the Verse of Tabligh in his works and, considering the occasion of revelation of the verse, addressed the completion of the mission, its position, instance, and the relation of this verse to Imamate and succession.[3]
The Verse of Tabligh and the Proof of Imamate
Among the verses that Shi'i theologians rely upon to prove the Imamate and Wilaya of Imam Ali (a) is the verse: "O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And God will protect you from the people. Indeed, God does not guide the disbelieving people."[4] It is narrated that when this verse was revealed regarding the status and virtue of Imam Ali (a), the Prophet (s) took the hand of Imam Ali (a) and said: "Whomsoever I am his master, Ali is his master." The Verse of Tabligh speaks of the necessity of conveying a message and a divine mission that the Prophet (s) has been commanded to do by virtue of his prophethood. This message and mission is expressed as "that which has been revealed to you" (ma unzila ilayk). Shi'i exegetes, mainly based on external evidence, consider the expression "that which has been revealed to you" to refer to a specific and important mission which has a key aspect in contrast to the principle of the mission, and not conveying it means not conveying the principle of the mission and the destruction of the signs of religion. However, Sunni exegetes usually look at the generality of this expression "that which has been revealed to you" and formulate the meaning of the verse such that if the Prophet (s) fails in conveying any of the divine messages, it is as if he has not fulfilled the principle and entirety of his mission. Yet, this view is weak; because the expression "anzala" in the past tense is apparent in that the mentioned message has already been revealed and must be conveyed, not that it includes the generality of the divine message in the past and future, in addition to the fact that in the conditional sentence of the verse, the non-conveyance of the mission is linked to the non-conveyance of "that which has been revealed to you", and if the intended meaning of "that which has been revealed to you" could apply to any of the teachings of revelation without specification, no important and useful meaning can be conceived for the consequence of the condition. Therefore, the mentioned verse so emphasizes the importance of conveying this mission that it introduces its abandonment as equivalent to abandoning the principle of conveying the mission, as if this mission is an important pillar of the pillars of the principle of the mission and the divine religion, which enjoyed a specific sensitivity in the continuation of religious guidance.[5]
Imam Khomeini also considers the Verse of Tabligh to be among the textual proofs for proving the Imamate. By interpreting the verse "O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message," he addresses the importance and necessity of appointing a successor and its being synonymous with the completion of the mission, and believes that just as Islam has made laws, it has also established an executive power; the "wali al-amr" is also in charge of the executive power of the laws. If the Holy Prophet (s) does not appoint a successor, "then you have not conveyed His message," he has not completed his mission; therefore, the necessity of implementing the rulings and the necessity of the executive power and its importance in fulfilling the mission and establishing a just system that is the source of human happiness have caused the appointment of a successor to be synonymous with the completion of the mission. According to Imam Khomeini, Imamate in the Verse of Tabligh is the subject of the command of proclamation, and the promise that "God will protect you from the people" is a proof that the Prophet wants to convey an important matter such as Imamate.
In the belief of Imam Khomeini, the Verse of Tabligh, by the admission of the Sunnis and reliable narrations, was revealed on the day of Ghadir Khumm concerning the proclamation of the Imamate of Ali b. Abi Talib. And between the revelation of this verse and the demise of the Prophet (s) there was no more than a gap of two months and ten days, and the Prophet had until then proclaimed all the rulings, so it becomes clear that this verse is about the Imamate of his successor, Imam Ali (a).[6]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 6, pp. 46-48; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, pp. 5-6.
- ↑ Rashīd Riḍā, Tafsīr al-manār, vol. 1, p. 116; ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, vol. 1, p. 288; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 231; Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, p. 504; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p. 298; Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 289; Naysābūrī, Asbāb al-nuzūl al-Qurʾān, p. 204; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 6, pp. 45-46; Luṭfī, Barrasī-yi taṭbīqī-yi shaʾn-i nuzūl-i āya-yi tablīgh, p. 55.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Wilāyat-i faqīh, p. 15; Kashf-i asrār, pp. 130-131; Anwār al-hidāya, vol. 1, pp. 246-247.
- ↑ Qur'an 5:67.
- ↑ Lāhījī, Gawhar-i murād, p. 533; Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 12, p. 401; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 6, pp. 33-47; Barrasī-yi taṭbīqī-yi āyāt-i wilāyat, pp. 122-130.
- ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Wilāyat-i faqīh, p. 15; Kashf-i asrār, pp. 130-131; Anwār al-hidāya, vol. 1, pp. 246-247; Manāhij al-wuṣūl, vol. 2, pp. 26-27; Jawāhir al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 316.
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