HIU Recognizes Shia Holiday of Eid Ghadir

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Shia Muslims around the globe celebrate Eid Ghadīr on the 18th day of the final month of the Muslim lunar calendar (Dhu-ʾl-ḥijja) to commemorate a core element of Prophet Muḥammad’s divine message. As the home of the first Chair in Shia Studies and Dialogue Among Islamic Schools of Thought, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace has observed this important event on its calendar as of 2020. This year, Eid Ghadīr is on Friday, July 7, 2023.

Having completed the Pilgrimage Mecca (Ḥajj) in early March 632 CE, Prophet Muḥammad and the large crowd of the faithful around him set out to return to their lands of origin throughout the Arabian Peninsula. On the road to Medina, the Prophet made a stop near a pond (ghdīr), allowing the caravanners to disembark and replenish their water supplies before parting ways. The place was known as Ghadīr Khum. The Prophet delivered a brief sermon there. Beginning with the name and remembrance of the one and only God, and expressing praise for Him, the Prophet broke the somber news that it was his final pilgrimage. In what has reached us as the Prophet’s farewell sermon, we find reminders of the tenets of his teachings:

[O people!] You should protect each other’s blood and property as sacred and inviolable. Be kind and loving toward your spouses and family. Neither Arabs should be privileged over the others, nor should non-Arabs be privileged over the Arabs. Neither a white person is superior to a black person, nor is a black person superior to a white person. Privilege only comes through goodness in heart and in actions. Usury is forbidden. … All blood feuds are abolished. … Protect yourselves from injustice. Remember, the day will come for you to stand before your maker and be held accountable for what you have done.

Especially significant for the Shias is that at the Ghadīr Khumm the Prophet also made laudatory statements about his close kinsman and revered companion ʿAli. While many Shia and Sunni sources have reported the record of this, narrating the event on the authority of several companions, many women among them, the interpretation and implications of the Prophet’s words have varied. Sometimes division and even sectarianism have ensued.

As another example of commitment to fostering earnest dialogues in exploring differences and deepening faith, the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace recognizes this important occasion on its calendar.

For next year, June 24-25, 2024, the First International Ghadīr Conference is being planned in which leading scholars in the field will address some aspects of the rich intellectual traditions of Shia Islam.