Since early times, there has been a long-standing debate between Shi‘a and Sunni scholars regarding the meaning of the word “mawlā” in the statement of the Messenger of God (PBUH) at Ghadir Khumm. To understand this term, various methods have been employed, such as consulting classical lexicons and examining its semantic usage in the Qur’an and Hadith. Another approach, however, is to study the phrases used by the Messenger of God (PBUH) in the Ghadir sermon itself, in order to understand how he applied the term mawlā in context. The central question, therefore, is: what were the actual words of the Messenger of God (PBUH) in the Ghadir sermon, and what meaning of mawlā can be derived from them? By examining early Shi‘a and Sunni sources up to the fifth century and comparing the transmitted versions of the sermon, it becomes evident that the main themes include: references to the Prophet’s approaching death, entrusting the community with two precious legacies, emphasizing the precedence of God and His Messenger over the believers, introducing Imam ʿAlī (AS), and offering prayers for him. These interrelated themes indicate that the sermon primarily concerned the question of succession, and that the Messenger of God (PBUH) used the word mawlā in the sense of wilāyah (authority or leadership).