After studying the chains of Hadith Al-Ghadir, we can finally come to a conclusion in regards to the correct wording of the hadith. Below, we will be collecting the most authentic traditions first, as per our study, before examining the wordings. The correct wording is key to understanding the context after all.

The Most Authentic Traditions

1- The hadith of Buraida in Fadha’il Al-Sahaba by Ahmad (989) and Khasa’is Ali by Al-Nasa’ee (81-82): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Buraida, “Am I not more of a priority for the believers than themselves?” He said, “Yes, O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Then whoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla.”

2- The hadith of Zaid bin Aqram:

a) The narration of Zaid bin Arqam was narrated by Abi Al-Dhuha in Sunan Ibn Abi Asim (1371) in which he said that he heard Zaid say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whomsoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla.”

b) The hadith of Zaid bin Arqam was narrated by Abi Al-Tufail, in Musnad Ahmad #19302, in which he narrated that he heard Ali say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) say, “Am I not more of a priority for the believers than themselves?” They said, “Yes, O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Then whoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla, O’ Allah, befriend who befriends him and be a foe to his foes.” Abu Al-Tufail then left and had some doubts. He then asked Zaid bin Arqam about this hadith. Zaid said, “I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him say this.”

3- The narration of Abi Sareeha (or Zaid bin Arqam) in Sunan Al-Tirmithi (3713) in which he said that he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say, “Whoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla.

4- The hadith of Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas in which he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say, “Whomsoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla.”

5- The hadith of Ali bin Abi Talib:

a) Abdul Rahman bin Abi Layla, in Musnad Al-Bazzar (632), narrated that Ali said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Am I not more of a priority for the believers than themselves?” They said, “Yes, O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Then whoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla, O’ Allah, befriend who befriends him and be a foe to his foes.”

b) The hadith of Sa’eed bin Wahb, in Musnad Ahmad (23107), in which Ali said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whomsoever I am his mawla, then Ali is his mawla.”

6- The hadith of Imran bin Husain in Sunan Al-Tirmithi (3712) in which he narrated that four Companions came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and complained about Ali. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, “What do you want with Ali?! What do you want with Ali?! Ali is from me and I am from him, and he is the walee of all the believers after me.”

Analysis

The narrations above are authentically attributed to six companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and they are all generally in agreement. However, there are some minor differences in the text that deserve to be examined.

“Whomever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla”

These words are authentically attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) as per the narrations of Buraida, Zaid, Sa’ad, and Ali. The narration is also possibly authentically attributed to Abi Sareeha. However, the hadith of Imran bin Husain provides a different wording in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “He (Ali) is the walee of all the believers after me.” This wording conflicts with the wording of the other four Companions. Furthermore, the chain of Imran bin Hussain is only hasan and not saheeh, which makes it the weakest hadith in the above list. Therefore, it is natural to reject this wording and stick with the wording of the majority of the traditions, especially since they are all more reliable. Also, let us not forget that the addition of “after me” was rejected by the grandson of Ali bin Abi Talib.

“Am I not more of a priority for the believers than themselves?”

This wording can be found in the narration of Buraida, Zaid, and Ali, and therefore, it is an acceptable addition to the report.

“Ali is from me and I am from him”

The narration of Imran bin Hussain solely includes this addition. This addition is authentic in a separate narration. See Saheeh Al-Bukhari (2699). However, none of the authentic reports include it as part of hadith Al-Ghadir.

“O’ Allah, befriend who befriends him and be a foe to his foes”

This addition can be found in one of the variations that has been authentically attributed to Zaid bin Arqam and one of the reports that has been authentically attributed to Ali. However, this is not sufficient to accept this addition due to other factors.

In the narration of Zaid, Maymoon Abu Abdullah, the student of Zaid, states in Musnad Ahmad (19328) that he didn’t hear this addition from Zaid. Rather, he heard it from other narrators who attributed it to Zaid. Atiyyah, in Musnad Ahmad (19279), also quotes Zaid bin Arqam expressing that he did not hear the addition. Even though both Maymoon and Atiyyah are not strong in hadith, their narrations are complimentary evidences that Zaid never narrated this addition. This is supported by other narrations from Zaid without this addition, and the narrations of the other Sahaba that did not narrate this addition.

As for the hadith of Ali, we find variations with and others without this addition. In an interesting narration in Musnad Ahmad (1311), Nu’aym bin Hakeem, who narrates Hadith Al-Ghadir from two narrators, did not mention the addition. He then states, “Then, people added, ‘O’ Allah befriend who befriends him and become a foe to his foes.’” This statement from Nu’aym is supported by the variations from Ali that do not contain the addition.

Al-Thahabi comments in his conclusion to his book Turuq Hadith Man Kuntu Mawlaah,

“As for him (the Prophet) saying, ‘O’ Allah befriend who befriends him’ and so on, some of it comes in a good chain and does not contain any liars; maybe this was said by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and it is possibly an addition from a narrator that was added to the narration.”

Al-Thahabi is pretty spot on with his conclusion. It is hard to say if the addition is correct due to the amount of disagreement over the addition and the external evidences that it wasn’t narrated by Zaid or Ali. The safest option would be to assume that the narration is an addition that was incorrectly attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the correct wording of the narration is “Am I not more of a priority for the believers than themselves?” They (the people) said, “Yes, O’ Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Then whoever I am his mawla then Ali is his mawla.”

All other additions are false.

The addition of, “O’ Allah, befriend who befriends him and be a foe to his foes” is questionable at best.