When leaving for Tabuk, the Prophet (s) appointed Imam Ali (as) as his deputy in Madinah to protect against any uprising led by the Munafiqeen. Explaining it's significance, he said to Imam Ali "You are to me as Harun was to Musa, except that there is no prophet after me."
There were at least 7 occasions that Prophet Muhammad made such a statement during his life.
One such occasion was narrated by Umar ibn Al-Khattab, when he emphasized how precious such a statement was by saying "If I had [a quality like that mentioned about me or my family], it would be dearer to me than anything."
What ranks did Prophet Harun have compared to Prophet Musa?
- Minister
- Helper
- Brother
- Backer/Strengthener
- Partner
The lecture includes objections Sunni scholars have raised to believing that this status continued after the Prophet's death, and Shia rebuttals to those objections.
Lecture notes available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=724
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Video recording of this lecture + Q&A available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wgpyhlgVQ&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT