Hadith of position
The hadith of position (, "Hadith al-Manzilah") is a sahih hadith in Islamic traditions about Ali. Ali was Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, who is considered the first male that accepted Muhammad's invitation to Islam. In the hadith of position, the Islamic prophet Muhammad endowed Ali with the same position in Islam that Aaron had had in Judaism, with the exception of prophethood. As portrayed in the Quran, aside from being a prophet himself, Aaron was Moses' deputy and the second-in-command among the Israelites. The hadith of position suggests that the (Quranic ) positions of Aaron extend to Ali, except prophethood. Therefore, in the Shia view, the hadith of position supports Ali's right to succeed Muhammad. The Sunni, on the other hand, argue that Aaron died before Moses and, hence, did not succeed him. The hadith and its context. Hadith are collections of the reports claiming to quote what the prophet Muhammad said verbatim on any matter. The term comes from the Arabic meaning report, account or narrative. Hadith are second only to the Quran in developing Islamic jurisprudence, and regarded as important tools for understanding the Quran and commentaries ("tafsir") on  it. In 9 AH (630 CE), Muhammad received news of an imminent attack by the Byzantine Empire, so he left Medina with a large army on the expedition of Tabuk. He did not want to leave Medina unguarded, as there were concerns regarding the safety of the city, and decided to leave Ali behind as his deputy. Ali asked if he was going to be left behind with the women and children. To this Muhammad replied: The tradition has been reported in various religious texts with minor textual differences. Some sources have also recorded that Muhammad added, "It is not  permissible for me to go without you being my caliph (successor)," and that, "You are the caliph of every believer after me." Historical records indicate that Muhammad used the same analogy between Aaron and Ali on multiple other occasions, e.g., during the battle of Khaybar. The hadith of position suggests that Ali enjoys the same position in Islam that Aaron has in Judaism, except prophethood. Aside from being a prophet himself, the Quran portrays Aaron as Moses' brother and his divinely-appointed minister and deputy. In particular, Aaron was left in charge of the Israelites in the absence of Moses , when the latter ascended Mount Sinai. Prophets, including Aaron, are generally considered infallible in Islam, albeit different sects interpret infallibility differently. Shia view. The hadith of position conveys that Ali holds the same position in Islam that Aaron has in Judaism, except prophethood. Shia Islam therefore extends Aaron's privileges to Ali, except prophethood. That is, in view of the discussion in the previous section, the hadith of position suggests that Accordingly, Shia Islam considers Ali to be the divinely-appointed successor of Muhammad. Of similar importance here is the divine prerogatives bestowed upon Aaron's descendants, including God's  proclamation in the Hebrew Bible that, "Behold, I give unto him [Aaron] My covenant of peace. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood." This might be compared to Shia Islam where Imams, from the lineage of Muhammad, inherited his divine wisdom and authority. This divine elevation of prophets' descendants above others is a recurring theme in the Quran. A criticism of the Shia interpretation is that Aaron died before Moses and could not succeed him. It might, however, be futile to attempt to identify all aspects of Ali and Aaron 's lives: Paraphrasing the Shia scholar al-Mufid, the hadith of position endowed Ali with every (Quranic) position that Aaron had held except prophethood, namely, the deputy, the minister, and a brother. In particular, had he survived Moses, Aaron would have certainly succeeded Moses. The "after me" in the hadith might also signify Ali's position after Muhammad's death, according to the Shia scholar Rezwani. Similarly, Ali was Muhammad's cousin and his son-in-law, rather than his blood brother. Nevertheless, Muhammad had twice sworn a pact of brotherhood with Ali. Sunni view. While not stated in the  hadith, the Sunni interpretation of the hadith of position is that the comparison to Aaron was made because Aaron was only a temporary leader until Moses returned from Mount Sinai. Similarly, Ali was the temporary leader until Muhammad returned to Medina from the Tabuk expedition. This view is reflected in the works of the Sunni scholars such as Al-Qurtubi and ibn Taymiyyah. However, others like Abdul Aziz Dehlavi hold that Ali should be considered an Imam of his own time when he was appointed as the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs. Ibn Hajar al Asqalani holds another view and  according to him the caliphate of Ali should have been limited to the life of Muhammad.