Literal Meaning of the Word ‘Ba‘di’

There is another hadith that our opponents frequently quote to support their position. The hadith reads:

Hazrat Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas reports that the Holy Prophet(sa) said to Hazrat ‘Ali(ra): ‘You are to me what Harun [Aaron] was to Musa [Moses], except there is no Prophet after me.’ (Sahih al-Muslim Kitabul-Fada’il, Sahih al-Bukhari Kitabul-Fada’il, and Masnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Masnad ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib)

Another version of the hadith says: ‘…except that you are not a Prophet.’ Still another version quoted by Masnad Ahmad bin Hanbal reads: ‘…But do not assume that you have become a Prophet.’

The rest of the hadith is the same.

The background of the hadith is that the Holy Prophet(sa) was leaving for an expedition and appointed Hazrat ‘Ali to act as an Amir [leader] in Madinah during his absence. Hazrat ‘Ali was a great warrior and had accompanied the Holy Prophet(sa) on all prior expeditions. For him to be left behind was very painful. He felt he would be deprived of the privilege of jihad and that people may think the Holy Prophet(sa) was displeased with him. So Hazrat ‘Ali submitted to the Holy Prophet(sa) ‘O Prophet(sa), am I going to be left behind as an Amir over women and children?’ It was a subtle way of evoking the Holy Prophet’s(sa) love for him. There-upon, the Holy Prophet(sa) answered: ‘O ‘Ali, why do you express this grief? This event has given you the same position in relation to me, as Harun [Aaron] held in relation to Musa [Moses] in his absence. You are to me what Aaron was to Moses. The difference is that you are not a Prophet.’ This hadith has been reported in different ways in Sahih al-Bukhari. The meaning is essentially the same.

Now, the present day ulema insist that in this hadith the word ba‘di does not mean anything other than the assertion that there is no Prophet after the Holy Prophet(sa). It has no relevance to the temporary absence of Holy Prophet(sa) from Madinah.

Hazrat Shah Waliyyullah Muhaddith Dehlavi, universally acknowledged as the Mujaddid (reformer) of the twelfth-century, very well known to Muslims of the sub-continent and who is cited as a great thinker in the so-called White Paper, writes:

It must be clearly understood that the object of this hadith is to highlight the appointment of Hazrat ‘Ali (Allah be pleased with him) to act in the place of the Holy Prophet(sa) when he was to be absent from Madinah during his expedition to Tabuk. Also, it highlights Hazrat Ali’s resemblance to Hazrat Harun(as) when Hazrat Musa(as) had journeyed to the Mount. It is to be noted that the word ba‘di here means ‘ghairi’ “beside me”. It does not mean “after me” in time. As we read in the Holy Qur’an:1 In this verse ba‘dillah means other than Allah. (Qurratul-‘Ainain fi Tafdilish-Shaikhain, by Waliyyullah Dehlavi, p. 206)

It may be noted that Shah Waliyyullah has here based his argument entirely on the Holy Qur’an. He demonstrates clearly that ba‘di is also used in the sense of ‘other than’ because in terms of time no one can be referred to be ‘after Him’ so the meaning has to be ‘other than Him.’

Shah Waliyyullah further says:

Here the word ba‘di has not been used in the sense of ‘after me’ as Hazrat Harun(as) did not outlive Hazrat Musa(as), while Hazrat ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) lived after the Holy Prophet(sa). To make this exception of ba‘di to mean ‘after me’ was, therefore, not appropriate. (Ibid.)

What a fine argument! Such arguments can only be put forth by righteous people who are enlightened with divine wisdom. They carry out a deep scrutiny and thorough investigation of the hadith with singular love and devotion. These devout lovers of the Holy Prophet(sa) made genuine efforts to find the real motive and meaning of his sayings. It was, in fact, the result of this devoted pursuit that Hazrat Shah Waliyyullah succeeded in adducing the arguments he put forth above. Since Hazrat Harun did not live after Hazrat Musa, the term ba‘di in relation to him could in no way be taken as ‘afterwards in time.’ Therefore, the same would apply to Hazrat ‘Ali, even though he lived after the Holy Prophet(sa).