Hadith al-Manzilah: What the Prophet Meant by Comparing Ali to Aaron
Among the most powerful and widely transmitted proofs for the special rank of Amīr al-Mu’minīn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is Hadith al-Manzelah (the Hadith of the “Position/Rank”). What makes this report uniquely significant is that it is not limited to Shīʿī literature; rather, it is recorded in the most authoritative Sunnī collections as well—meaning the argument can be built on a shared foundation before moving to a distinctly Shīʿī conclusion.
1) The Text of the Hadith in Sunnī Sources
The core wording is famous:
“Are you not pleased that you are to me like Aaron was to Mūsā—except that there is no prophet after me?”
This appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in the context of the expedition of Tabūk, when the Prophet left ʿAlī in Madīnah as his deputy and ʿAlī worried that hypocrites would mock his staying behind. The Prophet responded with the Manzelah statement. Sunnah.com
It is also narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim explicitly with the same meaning: “You are in the same position with relation to me as Aaron (Harun) was in relation to Moses, but … there is no prophet after me.” Sunnah.com
And it is further supported through other Sunnī routes in collections like Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (Tirmidhī 3730). Sunnah.com
So, before any interpretation begins, one point is already established: the Prophet himself publicly placed ʿAlī in the position of Aaron to Mūsā , with only one explicit exception—prophethood.
2) The Qur’ān Defines Aaron’s “Position” to Mūsā
The key to Hadith al-Manzelah is that the Prophet did not choose a random comparison. The Qur’ān itself describes what Aaron was to Mūsā, and those Qur’ānic roles become the lens through which the hadith is understood.
A) Aaron as Minister and Strengthener (Wazīr)
Mūsā prays:
- “Appoint for me a minister from my family—Aaron my brother. Increase through him my strength, and let him share my task…” Quran.com
Here, Aaron is not merely a friend or companion; he is the divinely granted helper and partner in mission.
B) Aaron as Deputy / Successor among the People
When Mūsā leaves for the appointed meeting, the Qur’ān records his instruction:
- “Moses commanded his brother Aaron: Take my place among my people, do what is right, and do not follow the way of the corruptors.” Quran.com
This is succession (khilāfah/istikhlāf) in clear language: Aaron stands in for Mūsā over the community.
C) Aaron as Guardian of Unity
When the people fall into the trial of the calf, Aaron later explains why he did not violently split the community:
- “I feared that you would say, ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel…’” Quran.com
So Aaron’s role includes protecting the ummah from division, even under extreme provocation.
D) Aaron’s Rank is God-Given Mercy
Allah says about Mūsā:
- “We appointed for him—out of Our grace—his brother, Aaron, as a prophet.” Quran.com
Even though prophethood is excluded in the Manzelah comparison (“no prophet after me”), the verse still highlights that Aaron’s appointment beside Mūsā is not accidental—it is divine favor and divine arrangement.
3) What the Prophet Proved for ʿAlī by This Analogy
Now return to the hadith wording:
- “You are to me like Aaron was to Mūsā—except there is no prophet after me.” Sunnah.com+1
A basic rule of language applies: when someone makes a broad comparison and then states one exception, it strongly indicates that everything else in the comparison remains affirmed.
So what is affirmed for ʿAlī ?
(1) The rank of closest support and partnership
Just as Aaron strengthened Mūsā and shared his burden, ʿAlī is positioned as the Prophet’s foremost supporter in responsibility—not merely a companion among companions. The Qur’ānic “minister/partner” description of Aaron is precisely the kind of “manzelah” the Prophet invokes. Quran.com+1
(2) Legitimate deputyship over the community
The Tabūk context in Bukhārī is important: the Prophet actually appointed ʿAlī in Madīnah, then sealed that appointment with the Aaron analogy. Sunnah.com
And the Qur’ān tells us that Mūsā told Aaron: “Take my place among my people.” Quran.com
The Shīʿī argument is straightforward: if the Prophet likens ʿAlī to Aaron in manzelah, then ʿAlī’s deputation is not a small administrative appointment—it is a sign of rightful authority.
(3) A unique virtue that even political power could not erase
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim preserves a striking scene: Muʿāwiyah pressures Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ regarding Ali (Abū Turāb), and Saʿd refuses—because he remembers major prophetic statements about Ali, including Manzelah. Sunnah.com+1
This matters: the hadith is not narrated as a trivial moment. It is remembered as one of the defining merits of ʿAlī.
4) Answering the Common Sunnī Restriction: “It Only Means Tabūk”
A frequent Sunnī reading says: “The Prophet only meant Ali was like Aaron during the Tabūk absence, not after death.”
Shīʿī scholars respond with several points:
- The Prophet chose an analogy whose Qur’ānic content is far bigger than a short trip. Aaron is minister, partner, deputy, and guardian of unity—not merely a temporary caretaker. Quran.com+2Quran.com+2
- The clause “except there is no prophet after me” becomes oddly unnecessary if the meaning were only “watch Madīnah for a few days.” The Prophet explicitly blocks the only possible misunderstanding: someone might think the Aaron analogy implies prophethood—so he excludes that. That indicates the comparison is broad and weighty, not trivial. Sunnah.com+1
- Even in Shīʿī hadith scholarship, this hadith is treated as a proof-text for leadership. For example, Shaykh al-Ṣadūq records a discussion centered on the meaning of Manzelah and how people can ignore it when ranking others above Ali . Thaqalayn
5) The Shīʿī Conclusion: Manzelah Points to Imāmah
From a Twelver Shīʿī perspective, the logic is not “one hadith alone proves everything,” but rather:
- Manzelah establishes a principle: the Prophet assigned Ali the Aaron-position to him, minus prophethood. Sunnah.com+1
- The Qur’ān defines that position as divinely aided partnership, deputyship over the people, and guardianship of the community’s unity. Quran.com+2Quran.com+2
- Therefore, ʿAlī is not merely a respected companion; he is the designated authority closest to the Prophet ﷺ, the natural and rightful leader after him—especially when combined with the wider Ahl al-Bayt evidence tradition.
In other words: if the Prophet himself told the ummah, “ʿAlī is to me as Aaron was to Mūsā,” then the ummah is being directed to recognize ʿAlī as the Prophet’s true successor in authority—not as a prophet, but as an Imām and Khalīfah by divine guidance.
1) The Qur’an defines Aaron’s “unity-first” choice
When Banī Isrā’īl fell into the trial of the calf, Harun explains to Musa why he didn’t start a civil conflict:
“I feared that you would say, ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel…’” (Q 20:94) Quran.com
So Harun’s leadership ethic is: prevent a fracture of the community, even while opposing deviation, especially when open confrontation would cause a wider collapse.
And the Qur’an also establishes Harun as Musa’s appointed deputy over the people:
“Take my place among my people…” (Q 7:142) Quran.com
Those two verses together give the full picture: deputyship + unity-guardianship.
2) Hadith al-Manzilah imports those Harun-roles onto Ali
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, the Prophet tells Ali:
“You will be to me like Aaron to Moses… but there will be no prophet after me.” Sunnah.com
And this is also narrated in other Sunni collections like Tirmidhī. Sunnah.com
So: if the Prophet gives ʿAlī the “Harun-position,” then it includes Harun’s Qur’anic pattern of protecting the ummah from splitting, with prophethood explicitly excluded.
3) The Shia point: Ali guarded unity after the Prophet’s death — while still being wronged
A) ʿAlī’s patience is explicitly described in Nahj al-Balāghah
In the famous Sermon al-Shaqshaqiyyah, Imam ʿAlī describes that he chose patience over immediate confrontation, using the well-known imagery:
- “I adopted patience although there was pricking in the eye and suffocation in the throat…” Al-Islam.org
This is a Shia source (with wide recognition even among many Sunnis as a major classical text), and it’s exactly the Harun-style decision: endure personal injustice to prevent the greater disaster of the community cracking at its foundation.
B) Even Sunni sources show he prioritized reconciliation rather than civil rupture
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, the report about Sayyidah Fāṭimah (عليها السلام) mentions that after her death, Imam ʿAlī sought reconciliation and gave bayʿah, after a period in which he had not given it. Sunnah.com
A Shia reading does not take this as “he accepted the legitimacy of what happened.” Rather, it reads it as: he acted like Harun — protecting Islam’s fragile unity and avoiding an internal war right after the Prophet’s death, when the ummah was surrounded by external threats and internal hypocrisy.
This is exactly the same logic Harun gives Musa: I feared division.
4) Why this strengthens the Shia conclusion (not weakens it)
Some people assume: “If ʿAlī guarded unity, then he must have agreed.”
But the Harun analogy destroys that assumption:
- Harun did not approve of the calf-worship.
- Yet Harun still avoided a split that would have shattered the community entirely. Quran.com
Likewise, the Shia claim is:
- ʿAlī did not surrender the truth of Imāmah and divine designation,
- but he restrained escalation when the ummah had too few sincere supporters and Islam itself was at risk of fracture.
That is not “political compromise”; that is prophetic leadership ethics—the same ethics the Qur’an records from Harun.
5) Bonus Sunni reinforcement: even under Umayyads, Manzilah was treated as a decisive virtue
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, when Muʿāwiyah presses Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ about criticizing ʿAlī , Saʿd refuses and cites the Prophet’s merits of ʿAlī — including the Manzilah tradition — as reasons he won’t participate in that campaign. Sunnah.com
This shows Manzilah wasn’t a “small Tabuk-only compliment.” It was remembered as a major defining proof of rank—strong enough to stop a political demand for public insult.
