With the success of Islam, now multiple people started popping up and claiming to be Prophets.

They included:
- Musaylimah al-Kazzab: a Yemeni who had accepted Islam in the year 10AH. He claimed to have been sent revelation giving him dominion ofer half the earth while (as per him) Prophet Muhammad was supposed to rule the other half. Tribal fanaticism in his area granted him a following, with supporters saying "A liar from [us] is more beloved to us than a truthful man from the [the Prophet's tribe]." He was killed during the Riddah wars during Abu Bakr's reign, continuing to be a threat to Muslims until then.
- Al Aswad ibn Ka'b Al-'Ansi: A magician used to captivating and manipulating people. After Imam Ali had left Yemen for hajj he took advantage of the power vacuum to promte himself as a leader and even claimed prophetic authority to the new converts. Some of the prophet's companions, seeing the threat he posed, organized a plan to eliminate him. He was killed on the eve of the Prophet's death.
- Tulayha ibn Kuled bin Nufal al Asdi: A tribal leader from Banu Asad who saw a chance to claim prophethood. His declaration appealed to those who didn't want to be under the authority of someone from Quraysh. He lived past the Prophet's death and his movement became very strong, lasting til the reign of Umar.

Lessons from the rise of false prophets:
- **Jealousy blinds**: Musaylima nd Tulayha rose because of tribal jealousy instead of a genuine belief in their message. This can happen at individual or community levels, when we fell tribal about our masjid/community, and can cloud our judgement and make us violate basic Islamic teachings
- **Chasrima can be deceptive**: Al-Aswad used his skills as a magician to captivate and manipulate people. Charismatic individuals can amass large followings and wield influence that threatens established social structures. We must evaluate leaders based on their character.
- **Fight deception with clarity**: The Prophet rejected Musaylima's proposition (to rule half the earth) and labeled him "the liar", making his stance clear to the community. Unambiguous responses like this are crucial when dealing with false claims or deceptive individuals who can mislead others
- **Beware opportunists during crises**: Power hungery people take advantage of a community's moment of vulnerability. They exploted this to assert themselves, hoping to get the uncertain followers. In times of crisis, be aware of opportunists emerging.

Lecture notes available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=788.

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After Prophet Muhammad declared Ali ibn Abi Talib's successorship, the angel Gabriel descended with an extension of the verse Quran 5:3, adding "today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed my blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion", showing that there's a version of Islam that's perfected and a version that's incomplete.

After the kutba, the people were commanded to pledge allegiance to Imam Ali, and the prophet instructed them to greet him with the title Commander of the Faithful.

The Prophet instructed Ali to sit in a tent across from his own tent and ordered the Muslims to enter in groups to congratulate him and refer to him with the new title. This process took three days, and included the Muajirun, Ansar, outling Arab tribes, and the prophet's wives.

By requiring the Muslim community to personally greet Ali with the new title, the Prophet legitimized Imam Ali's position and left no room for doubt in the mind of anyone present.

Many sources say the companions of the prophet came to Imam Ali and congratulated him on the leadership. The first to address him was Umar ibn Al-Khattab, saying "O Ali, you have become my master and the master of every momin and momina"

After the three days had passed in Ghadir, a man from the tribe of Banu Makhzum (a staunch enemy of the prophet) arrived and said "O Muhammad, I wish to ask you about three matters..." and he asked if the shahadah, if the laws of islam, and if Ali's successorship was from the prophet or from Allah. When the prophet replied that they were all from Allah, the man became very angry and said "Oh Allah, if Muhammad is truthful then blast me with fire" and within minutes he was struck by lightning.

Lecture notes available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=777.

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Prophet Muhammad was worried about people rebelling against him if he announced Imam Ali as his successor, so he delayed following the message to formalize his succesorship as long as he was allowed to.

The wisdom of this showed by how during the hajj. Some companions of the Prophet had suspected the Prophet would announce Imam Ali as his successor at hajj and whenever the prophet would give a sermon that veered towards this topic, they would become agitative and make noise in order to derail the announcement.

After the hajj, the Muslims started travelling back towars their home towns, with the Yemenis going south, and the Meccans remaining behind in Mecca, while the prophet and others went north to Medina. At this time Gabriel once again conveyed Allah's command to the Prophet to announce his successor and this time also promised His protection. Perphaps after the groups had split the munafiqeen were in too small a number to cause any trouble, and Prophet Muhammad announced Imam Ali as his successor.

Lecture notes available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=766.

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Video recording of this lecture + Q&A available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2uO-I_ZiWo&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT.