Abu Al-Abbas Abdullah Ibn Ja’far Hamyari, a great third century scholar, quotes Sindi Ibn Muhammad as saying, Safwan Jammal quotes Imam Sadiq (a.s.) as saying: When this verse was revealed about the guardianship of Ali (a.s.), Prophet of Allah (S) ordered that the ground under the trees over there be cleaned and his followers did so clearing it from the brushwood and preparing a sunshade for him. Thereupon a call was made for congregational prayer and the Holy Prophet (S) said:

أيها الناس! من كنت مولاه فعلي مولاه، الست أولى بكم من انفسكم؟

O’ people! Of whomsoever I am a master, Ali is his master. Am I not closer to you than your own selves?

They said: “Yes.” The Prophet of Allah(S) said:

من كنت مولاه، فهذا علي مولاه. رب! وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه.

Of whomsoever I am a master, Ali is his master. My Lord! Befriend anyone who befriends him and make enmity towards anyone who makes enmity towards him.

At this moment, the Prophet (S) ordered the people to pay allegiance to Hazrat Ali (a.s.), and they obeyed and paid allegiance to him, making no objection...!1
Abu Nadhr Muhammad Ibn Mas'ud Ayashi Samarqandi, a great third century scholar, has also quoted this narration from Imam Sadiq (a.s.) through Safwan.2

Arrival at Juhfah
Ayyashi quoted Hannan Ibn Sadir who quoted his father, Sadir, on the authority of Imam Muhammad Baqir, as saying: When Gabriel (a.s.) descended upon the Prophet (S) at the farewell hajj to tell him to proclaim the issue of the guardianship of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.), this verse was revealed:

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ..

O’ Apostle, Proclaim the Message which has been sent to you from your Lord… Sura Al-Ma'idah: verse 67.

The Prophet (S) waited for three days until he arrived at Juhfa. Until then, he did not raise Ali’s hand, fearing people. However when he arrived on Ghadir Day at Mahi’ah, a place at Juhfa, he called for congregational prayer. After people gathered there he said:
Who are closer to you than your own selves?
The people replied loudly: Allah and His Prophet. The Prophet (S) repeated the question. The people replied: Allah and His Prophet.
The Prophet (S) repeated the question for the third time. The people replied: Allah and His Prophet.
Then the Prophet (S) raised Hazrat Ali’s hand, saying:

من كنت مولاه فهذا علي مولاه، اللهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه، وانصر من نصره وأخذل من خذله، فإنه مني وانا منه. وهو منّي بمنزلة هارون من موسى إلا انه لا نبي بعدي.

Of whomsoever I am a master, Ali is his master. My Lord! Befriend anyone who befriends him and make enmity towards anyone who makes enmity towards him, and help anyone who helps him and leave alone anyone who leaves him alone. Since he is surely from me, and I am from him. And he is to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no Prophet after me.3

How surprising Ali’s misfortunes are!
Ayashi elsewhere quotes Umar Ibn Yazid on the authority of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) as saying:
O Abu Hafs, how surprising Ali’s misfortunes are! He had ten thousand witnesses, but he could not get his right, whereas two witnesses are enough to take your right!
The Prophet of Allah(S) left Medina for Mecca to perform hajj. Five thousand people accompanied him. He returned from Mecca while he was accompanied by five thousand people from Mecca.
When the Prophet(S) arrived at Juhfa, Gabriel descended to tell him to proclaim the guardianship of Ali (a.s.). The verse on the guardianship of Ali (a.s.) was also revealed at Mina, but knowing that the people would react negatively, the Prophet of Allah(S), did not proclaim it. At this moment Gabriel said:

O’ Prophet, Proclaim the Message which has been sent to you from your Lord! And if you do not do that, then you would not have fulfilled and proclaimed His Mission. (Know that) God will protect you from (the mischievous) men. Sura Al-Ma'idah: verse 67.

O’ Prophet, Proclaim the Message which has been sent to you from your Lord! And if you do not do that, then you would not have fulfilled and proclaimed His Mission. (Know that) God will protect you from (the mischievous) men. Sura Al-Ma'idah: verse 67.
Ayashi relates a third narration on Ghadir. He quotes Ziyad Ibn Munzir as saying: “I was in the presence of Imam Baqir (a.s.). As he was narrating traditions for people, a person from Basra named Uthman A’sha –who was quoting narrations from Hasan Basri– came in the presence of Imam saying: “O‟ son of Prophet of Allah, May I be your ransom! Hasan Basri quotes a narration to us according to which this verse5: is revealed concerning one of the companions (of the Prophet), but he has not mentioned the name of that companion. (That is to say: are you afraid of people? Do not be worried; God will protect you against their evils.)
Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) said: “What has happened to Hasan Basri? May Allah not pay his debt! (May Allah not accept his prayer!). Be aware, if he wanted, he would have mentioned the name of that companion.” Gabriel descended upon Prophet of Allah (S) and said;
“Allah, the Exalted orders you to show the people, their guardian just as you showed them their prayers, zakat, fasting and hajj. The Prophet of Allah replied: “My Lord! My people have not yet got rid of ignorance.”
At this moment Allah revealed this verse:
O’ Prophet, Proclaim the Message which has been sent to you from your Lord! And if you do not do that, then you would not have fulfilled and proclaimed His Mission. (Know that) God will protect you from (the mischievous) men. Sura Al-Ma'idah: verse 67.
The Prophet of Allah(S) stood up, took Ali’s hand and raised it saying:
Of whomsoever I am a master, Ali is his master…6

Helper of Ali (a.s.)
In regards to helping Imam Ali (a.s.), there are many narrations. Sheikh Abu Umar and Muhammad Ibn Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz al-Kashi, a great fourth century Shiite scholar, quotes Gabriel Ibn Ahmad from Musa Ibn Muawiyah Ibn Wahab from Ali Ibn Saeed from Abdullah Ibn Abdullah Waseti from Wasel Ibn Sulaiman from Abdullah Ibn Sunan on the authority of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) as saying:
When Zaid Ibn Suhan fell on the ground in the battle of Jamal, Ali, the commander of the faithful attended to him, saying:
O, Zaid, May Allah have mercy upon you, your expenses were meagre but your assistance was great.
Zaid raised his head and said: “O‟ Amir Al-Mu’minin! May Allah give you a good reward. By God, I have found you as the only knower of Allah and as highly knowledgeable in Quran. Indeed Allah has an eminent place in your heart. By God, I did not fight alongside you out of ignorance, I fought alongside you for I heard Umm Salameh, the Prophet‟s wife, saying: I heard Allah‟s Apostle (S) saying:
Of whomsoever I am a master, this Ali is his master. My Lord! Befriend anyone who befriends him and make enmity towards anyone who makes enmity towards him, and help anyone who helps him and leave alone anyone who leaves him alone.
By Allah, it was because of this that I did not like to leave you alone; for if I left you alone, Allah would leave me alone.7

Ghadir and Some of Prophet’s Sayings
Sheikh Abu Ja‟far Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Babwayh known as Saduq (d.381 AH) uses different chain of transmitters while quoting the Narration of Ghadir. He reports from Ibn Walid from Saffar from Ibn Abi Al-Khattab and Ibn Yazid, who quote Ibn Abi Omair as saying:
He also quotes from his father from Ali from his father from Ibn Abi Umair;
Likewise he quotes from Ibn Masrur from Ibn Amer from his uncle from Ibn Abi Umair;
He also quotes from Ibn Mutawakkel from Sa’d Abadi from Barqi from his father from Ibn Abi Umair;
Abdullah Ibn Sunan quotes from Ma‟ruf Ibn Kharabudh from Abu Tufail Amer Ibn Wathelah from Hadhifat Ibn Asid Ghaffari as saying:
When Prophet of Allah(S) returned from Mecca after performing farewell hajj –we were in his company– he went on till he reached Juhfah, a place where he ordered people to stop. They stopped there and the call for prayer was made. Prophet of Allah (S) prayed a two unit congregational prayer with his followers and then he turned towards them saying:
Allah, the Merciful and All-Knowing has informed me that all of you and I shall die; It seems that I have been invited by Allah, therefore I am accepting his invitation. I am responsible for the divine mission, Allah’s book and His ultimatum that I have left among you. You are also responsible for what you shall say to your Lord?
They said: We shall say that you conveyed divine message; you were benevolent and worked hard. May Allah grant you the best reward for guiding us. Then Prophet of Allah(S) told them:
“Will you not attest that there is none worthy our of worship other than Allah, and that I am his messenger towards you, and that Paradise is true and that Hell is true and the life after death is true?”
They said: “Indeed we attest”.
The Prophet (S) said: “O! My Lord, be a witness to what these people say! Behold, I take you as witnesses I attest that Allah is my master; I am the master of all Muslims, and I am closer to believers than their own selves. Do you now confess to this and accept my testimony?”
They said: “Yes, your testimony is acceptable.”
The Prophet (S) said:
“Behold! Of whomsoever I am a master, this Ali is his master.”
Then Prophet of Allah(S) took Hazrat Ali’s hand and raised it with his own hand to a point that armpits of both of them were visible. Then he said:
“My Lord, Befriend anyone who befriends him and make enmity towards anyone who makes enmity towards him.
Be aware that I am expecting you and tomorrow on the day of judgement you shall come to me in the Howd (a very big pond in the Hereafter); the width of this Howd is equal to the distance between Basra and San’a, and there are several cups made of silver equaling the number of stars in the sky.
Know that today in a very important matter, I am taking Allah as my witness to you, and be aware that in the day of judgement after entering that Howd, I shall ask you: What did you do with the thing that I took Allah as my witness about them to you? And how did you deal with the two precious things after me? Therefore pay heed to the manner in which you treat these two precious things when you shall meet me”.
They said: “O! Allah’s Apostle! What are these two precious things?”
The Prophet (S) said:
“The bigger precious thing is Allah’s book which is like a rope from Allah and I, which has been pulled and placed in your hands. One side of this rope is in Allah’s hand and the other side is in your hands and the knowledge of the past and future to the day of judgment is contained in it. The smaller precious thing which is counted as the alliance of the Quran is Ali Ibn Abi Talib and his kinfolk, and these two will never separate until they come to me in the Howd.”
Ma’ruf Ibn Kharabudh says: I related this narration to Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.). He said: Abu Tufail has spoken the truth. We have seen this narration in Hazrat Ali’s book and we are acquainted with it8

Leader and Master of People
Sheikh Hurre Ameli in his Ithbat Al-Hadat writes: Jabir Ibn Hazem relates a narration concerning a lady named “Khulah Hanafi” whom Amir Al-Mu‟minin Ali (a.s.) had picked up from among the captives of Bani Hanifah.
When Khulah met Imam Ali (a.s.), she asked: “Who are you?” Imam Ali (a.s.), said: “I am Ali Ibn Abi Talib.”
She said: “You are perhaps the one whom the Apostle of Allah chose at Ghadir Khum, on a Friday morning as leader and master of people?”
Imam Ali (a.s.), said: “Yes, I am that very person.”
Khulah said: “We were enraged because of you and on account of this enragement we were attacked. Our men said that they would not pay taxes (zakat) to anyone nor would they surrender to any person except to the one chosen by the Prophet of Allah as their leader and master”9

Ali (a. s) similar to Aaron
Sheikh Hurre Ameli quotes another narration in this regard. He quotes Ana as saying: One day the Prophet of Allah mounted the pulpit. He took Ali’s hand and said:
My Lord, indeed he is to me as Aaron was to Moses, except that there will be no Prophet after me. O’ you people! Am I not much closer to you than your own selves?
They said: Yes, you do. He said:
Of whomsoever I am a master, Ali is his master, and of whomsoever I am a guardian, Ali is his guardian.10

Ghadeer and another Saying
We relate the last narration in this connection from Sheikh Abu Ja’far Tusi. He says: Mufid quotes from Ali Ibn Ahmad Qalansi from Abdullah Ibn Muhammad from Abdul Rahman Ibn Salih from Musa Ibn Imran from Abu Ishac Sabiee from Zaid Ibn Arqam who said: I heard on Ghadir Khum Day Allah‟s Apostle saying:
It is not permissible for me and my progeny to receive charity (sadaqa). May Allah curse anyone who relates himself to a person other than his own father. May Allah curse anyone who accepts the guardianship of anyone other than those charged with authority. The child belongs to the bed owner, an adulterer must be stoned to death, and the inheritors cannot inherit more than what has been stipulated for them. Be aware that you have heard my speech, and you have seen me. Know that anyone who intentionally fabricates a lie against me, in reality has cemented his place in the hellfire.
He went on saying:
Know that I am entering into the Howd (pond) in advance, and on the day of judgement i will be proud of myself because of you outnumbering other nations. Thus do not embarrass me. Know that I shall save a lot of people from the hellfire and some people shall find salvation through me. Allah is my Master and the Master of all the pious men and women. Be informed that of whomsoever I am a master, this Ali is his master.11

Important Points
Now we will mention a few points concerning these narrations.
One
The number of people from Mecca and Medina who were present on the day of Ghadir and heard the speech of Allah‟s Apostle (S) was ten thousand. Now if we add up the people of other parts of Hijaz (Saudi Arabia) such as Yemen etc. to them, we will have a great number of people.
Two
Based on these narrations Prophet of Allah(S) ordered people to pay allegiance to Amir Al-Mu‟minin, Ali (a.s.), and all the people did so. On the basis of some narrations, the Holy Prophet (S) told people:
Greet Ali as the commander of the faithful.12 Although some Sunni historians have ignored this issue, others have paid attention to it.13
Three
Based on some narrations, Hasan Basri was avoiding to name the person about whom the verse of ‘Wilayat’(guardianship) was revealed. It has to be said that prior to him there were people who were also likely to avoid mentioning his name because of jealousy or dissimulation and there were also others who were sympathizing with them.
Four
According to narration of Ghadir, the Prophet of Allah(S) alluding to the issue of pond, said:
Therefore do not embarrass me. Then he said: I shall save some people from the hellfire and some people shall find salvation through me.
Now, let us ask who these people are? Bukhari, Muslim and other compilers of narration sources have quoted Prophet of Allah as saying that they were the ones who committed heresy and got back to pre-Islamic era.14 It is worth saying that the relation between Ghadir and the Howd is not something hidden to intelligent readers
Five
If you compare the narration of Ghadir with the narration of ‘Thaqalain’ – which has been mentioned in Sahih of Muslim and other books– and the narration of ‘Manzilat’ –which has been mentioned in Sahihs of Bukhari and Muslim and other books– it becomes clear that the narration of Ghadir is a strong narration as far as its chain of transmission and its text are concerned.