On the Appointment of Imam Ali

In answering the question of whether Imam ʿAlī was appointed via implicit or explicit text, Imam ʿAbdullah b. Hamza (d. 614 AH) quotes Shaykh Muhyiddīn al-Qurashī (d. 621 AH) who states:

“We say: It is an implicit text (referring to the narration of Ghadīr Khumm)—which is why a dispute occurred. However, when it comes to the event itself, there is no disagreement about its occurrence.

We do not assert that the text is explicit and that the Companions necessarily understood what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny) intended by it and deliberately opposed his will. Rather, these claims are associated with those who argue that the Prophet appointed ʿAlī through explicit text—the meaning of which was purportedly known to all the Companions, and these are the Imāmiyya.

They were followed in their deviation from the truth by the Bāṭiniyya (referring mainly to the Ismāʿīliyya). This led them to denounce the Companions of the Prophet, accusing them of refusing what they had known for sure was true and rejecting what they had known was imperative by virtue of what the Prophet said. They therefore declared them as disbelievers, having renounced Islam. Some of them are even of the view that senior Companions were hypocrites.

However, for the prominent Zaydī scholars and those who have followed them, this text (about Imam ʿAlī) is open for interpretation, and requires an examination of the evidence. Some of the Companions failed to do so due to the events that took place which occupied them. However, amongst them were also those who had right judgment and good insight, and were therefore able to attain the truth.”

Reference

📕 — Ash-Shāfī, Imam al-Mansūr Billah ʿAbdullah b. Hamza (d. 614 AH), pp. 293–295.