An Examining the Narrations of the Two Major Islamic Sects Concerning the First Verses of Surah Bara’ah

The first verses of Surah Bara’ah were revealed to express the hatred of God and His Messenger for the polytheists and to clarify their situation in the new-established Islamic society and to inform to purifying the Divine house and the great hajj congress from the veils and ornaments of polytheism. The Prophet of Islam (P) first gave these verses to Abu Bakr along with other instructions to convey to the polytheists on the day of the great hajj; But with divine revelation, the message is taken back from him and the supervision of the pilgrims and the declaration of hatred is bestowed to Imam Ali (A.S). Although both major Islamic sects accept this story itself, there are different perspectives and perceptions in the occurrence itself and its limitation to Surah Bara’ah, as well as the interpretation of “rajulun minni” (a man on behalf of me) and reasons for this occurrence. This article, with a descriptive-analytical method and based on massive narrational documents in interpretive, historical, and narrational books of both sects, seeks to prove that Imam Ali (A.S), who was as the divine revelation testifies the soul and spirit of the Prophet (P) has acquired mission to communicate the first verses of Surah Tawbah. The phrase “rajulun minka” (a man from you) means that if the only familial kinship was the reason for superiority, then Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet (P), should have been the one to be sent on the mission. This shows that “being from the Prophet (P)” in this narration is not a kind of familial and relative kinship but rather, it is a kind of spiritual affinities and positions. The change of the messenger of the verses of Bara’ah by the divine order and the sending down the angel of revelation, on the one hand, declares the superiority of Imam Ali (A.S) over the other companions, and on the other hand, prepares and the minds of the society and provides the ground to accept the guardianship and succession of Imam Al (A.S).