Salam alaykum my muslim brothers and sisters.
There has been controversy among muslims(both the shiite and sunni) on the best of the two.
Some muslims think the hadith of the pond of khumm supports the shiites while other muslims do not agree to that. Please i need enlightenment on this matter.

Here Is The Text of Ghadir Khumm

This text is Mutawattir (widely reported). More than 40 Sahabah reported the hadith and more 100 Tabi'in also. And 100s of Imams of Ahadith documet it.

1. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani documents:

Isḥāq said: Abū ‘Āmir al-‘Aqadī – Kathīr b. Zayd – Muḥammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Alī – his father - ‘Alī:

"Verily, the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadīr) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Alī, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allāh is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allāh and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allāh and His Messenger are your Awliyā?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allāh and His Messenger are his Mawlā, verily this one (i.e. ‘Alī) is his mawlā. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allāh – one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands – and my Ahl al-Bayt.”

Then, al-Ḥāfiẓ comments: This chain is ṣaḥīḥ.

Source: {al-Maṭālib al-Āliyah bi Zawāid al-Masānīd al-Thamāniyyah (Beirut: Dār al-Ma’rifah; 1414 H) [annotator: Prof. Shaykh Ḥabīb al-Raḥman al-A’ẓamī], vol., 4, p. 65, # 3972}

2. Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī (d. 321 H) documents:

Ibrāhīm b. Marzūq - Abū ‘Āmir al-‘Aqadī – Kathīr b. Zayd – Muḥammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Alī – his father - ‘Alī:

Verily, the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadīr) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Alī, and saying: “O mankind! Do you not testify that Allāh the Almighty is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allāh and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allāh the Almighty and His Messenger are your Mawlā?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allāh and His Messenger are his Mawlā, verily this one – or ‘Alī - is his mawlā. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allāh – one end of which is in your hands – and my Ahl al-Bayt.”

Shaykh al-Arnāūṭ comments: Its chain is Hasan

Source: {Sharḥ Mushkil al-Athār (Muasassat al-Risālah; 1st edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnāūṭ], vol. 5, p. 13, # 1760}

3. Imam Ahmad al-Busiri (d. 840H) also documents:

Narrated ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, may Allāh be pleased with him: The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadīr) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Alī, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allāh is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allāh and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allāh and His Messenger are your Mawlā?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allāh and His Messenger are his Mawlā, verily this one (i.e. ‘Alī) is his mawlā. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allāh – one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands – and my Ahl al-Bayt.”

And al-Būṣīrī has this simple verdict about it: Isḥāq recorded it with a ṣaḥīḥ chain.

Source: Aḥmad b. Abī Bakr b. Ismā’īl al-Būṣīrī, Itiḥāf al-Khiyarah al-Maharah bi Zawāid al-Masānīd al-‘Ashra (Riyadh: Dār al-Waṭan; 1st edition, 1420 H), vol. 7, p. 210, # 6683}


4. ‘Allāmah al-Muttaqī al-Hindī (d. 975 H) too records the ḥadīth:

Narrated Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allāh be pleased with him:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadīr) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Alī, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allāh is your Lord?” They said, “We do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allāh and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allāh and His Messenger are your Mawlā?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allāh and His Messenger are his Mawlā, verily this one (i.e. ‘Alī) is his mawlā. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray while following it: the Book of Allāh – one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands – and my Ahl al-Bayt.”

Then al-Hindī says about it: Narrated by (Isḥāq) Ibn Rāhwayh, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī ‘Āṣim, and by al-Muḥāmalī in his Amalī, and he (al-Muḥāmalī) declared it ṣaḥīḥ.

Source: Alī b. Ḥusām al-Dīn al-Muttaqī al-Hindī, Kanz al-‘Ummāl fī Sunan al-Aqwāl wa Af’āl (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risālah; 1989 H), vol. 13, p. 121, # 36441}.

5. Imam Tirmidhi also documents:

Narrated Abu Sarihah, or Zaid bin Arqam - Shu'bah had doubt:

from the Prophet (s): "For whomever I am his Mawla then 'Ali is his Mawla."


Grade : Sahih (Darussalam)

Sahih Sunan Tirmidhi, Book on virtues
English reference : Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3713
Arabic reference : Book 49, Hadith 4078
http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/49

6. Imam Muslim (d. 261 H):

Zuhayr b. Ḥarb and Shujā’ b. Mukhlid – Ibn ‘Ulayyah: Zuhayr – Ismā’īl b. Ibrāhīm - Abū Ḥayyān - Yazīd b. Ḥayyān:

I went along with Ḥaṣīn b. Sabra and ‘Umar b. Muslim to Zayd b. Arqam. When we sat with him, Ḥaṣīn said to him: “You have earned, O Zayd, a lot of good. You saw the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, and you heard his ḥadīth, and you fought by his side, and you offered Ṣalāt behind him. You have earned, O Zayd, a lot of good. Narrate to us, O Zayd, what you heard from the Messenger of Allāh.”

He replied, “O son of my brother, I swear by Allāh, I have grown old and my time has passed, and I have forgotten some of that which I remembered from the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him. So, whatever ḥadīth I narrate to you, accept (it). And whatever I do not narrate, do not compel me to do that.” He then said:

“One day, the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering place known as (Ghadīr) Khumm situated between Makkah and Madīnah. He praised Allāh and extolled Him, and advised (us), and reminded us (of Allāh and His revelations). Then, he said:

‘Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allāh. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allāh and adhere to it.” So, he exhorted (to hold fast) to the Book of Allāh and encouraged concerning it. Then, he said: “and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allāh, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allāh, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allāh, of my Ahl al-Bayt."
.....

Source: Abū al-Ḥusayn Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī al-Naysābūrī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Beirut: Dār Iḥyā al-Turāth al-‘Arabī) [annotator: Muḥammad Fuād ‘Abd al-Bāqī], vol. 4, p. 1873, # 2408 (36) 42

NB: The wording {[So, he exhorted (to hold fast) to the Book of Allāh and encouraged concerning it. Then, he said:]} were not the Prophet's but the narrator, Yazid b. Hayyan.

Imām Aḥmad (d. 241 H) has recorded this same exact report, and Shaykh al-Arnāūṭ has this comment about it:

Its chain is ṣaḥīḥ upon the standard of Muslim.

Source: Abū ‘Abd Allāh Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal al-Shaybānī, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurṭubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnāūṭ], vol. 4, p. 366, # 19285

7. Allāmah al-Albānī (d. 1420 H) records that the Prophet said at Ghadīr Khumm:

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allāh. In it there is guidance and light. Whoever adheres to it and holds fast to it, he will be upon guidance; and whosoever belittles it, he will go astray. So hold fast to the Book of Allāh the Most High and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allāh, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allāh, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

Commenting on it, the ‘Allāmah states: ...

(Ṣaḥīḥ) … [recorded by ‘Abd b. Ḥamīd] from Zayd b. Arqam.

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmi’ al-Ṣaghīr wa Ziyādātuhu (Al-Maktab al-Islāmī), vol. 1, pp. 286-287, # 1351

Two things are derived from this hadith:

# al-Wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib derived from the Wilayah of Allah and His Prophet

# Hadith Thaqalain (two weighty things in Quran and Prophet's household) left over for mankind.

While in sha Allah we shall explore some of the interpretations of Aimma of both Sunni and Shia on this hadith, What is your own understanding of the hadith?

The title of this thread is broad but its content is specific (on Pond of Khumm). I have responded to the latter expecting it to be interactive along the way. However, here is a thread that treats some of the Main differences between the two schools:
https://www.nairaland.com/2195624/deen-show-whats-difference-between

AlBaqir:
The title of this thread is broad but its content is specific (on Pond of Khumm). I have responded to the latter expecting it to be interactive along the way. However, here is a thread that treats some of the Main differences between the two schools:
https://www.nairaland.com/2195624/deen-show-whats-difference-between

jazakumullahu khairan.
sorry for the late response. the hadith seems ambigious. if we are to follow what the prophet SAW said, does that mean shiite muslims are better than sunnis

mbtosin:

jazakumullahu khairan.
sorry for the late response.

WA iyyakum. No problem brother

mbtosin:


the hadith seems ambigious. if we are to follow what the prophet SAW said, does that mean shiite muslims are better than sunnis

Ambiguous?! Nothing is ambiguous in the statement and command of the Prophet. Again what is your understanding of the command of the Prophet?

# Shia follows the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet as dictated and preserved by the Ahlulbayt (household of the Prophet), and Shia believed Ali is the designated successor of the Prophet as the hadith of Ghadir Khumm states (among many other clear hadith). Shia firmly believed that the command of the Prophet is to follow Quran and his Ahlulbayt after him.

# Sunni on the other hand follow Quran and Sunnah of the prophet as dictated by the companions, and they considered Abubakar as the first elected Caliph. Sunni believed the hadith of Ghadir is just to proclaim Ali as mere friend of every believer not master. Sunni believed Prophet only command us to follow Quran. And as per his Ahlulbayt, he only ask us to respect them.

* So where do you stand? What is your understanding of the hadith? And what is your view of both (Sunni and Shia) interpretation of the hadith?

AlBaqir:


WA iyyakum. No problem brother



Ambiguous?! Nothing is ambiguous in the statement and command of the Prophet. Again what is your understanding of the command of the Prophet?

# Shia follows the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet as dictated and preserved by the Ahlulbayt (household of the Prophet), and Shia believed Ali is the designated successor of the Prophet as the hadith of Ghadir Khumm states (among many other clear hadith). Shia firmly believed that the command of the Prophet is to follow Quran and his Ahlulbayt after him.

# Sunni on the other hand follow Quran and Sunnah of the prophet as dictated by the companions, and they considered Abubakar as the first elected Caliph. Sunni believed the hadith of Ghadir is just to proclaim Ali as mere friend of every believer not master. Sunni believed Prophet only command us to follow Quran. And as per his Ahlulbayt, he only ask us to respect them.

* So where do you stand? What is your understanding of the hadith? And what is your view of both (Sunni and Shia) interpretation of the hadith?

larger population of world muslims are sunnis. what i want to know exactly is the cause while sunni is not practised widely in the world of islam.