Imam ‛Ali in the Prophetic Traditions
Imam ‛Ali; The Holy Prophet’s Self
Al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah, ‛Uthman ibn ‛Affan’s maternal half-brother, informed the Holy Prophet (s) that the Banu-Wulay‛ah had apostatized Islam. Angrily, the Holy Prophet (s) said,
Let the Banu-Wulay‛ah keep on doing so and I will subjugate them to a man who is like myself; that is ‛Ali, who will kill them and capture their offspring.
While saying so, the Holy Prophet (s) stroke Imam ‛Ali’s shoulder.
‛Amr ibn al-‛As reported the following: When I came back to the Holy Prophet (s) after the Dhat al-Salasil expedition, I thought that none would be more lovable to the Holy Prophet than I am. I therefore asked him, “O God’s Messenger, who is the most beloved to you?” The Prophet (s) mentioned a number of persons. I then asked, “What about ‛Ali?” The Holy Prophet (s) answered,
This man is asking me about my own self!
Imam ‛Ali; The Holy Prophet’s Brother
Many reports from the Holy Prophet (s) have confirmed his repetitive confirmations about his brotherhood with Imam ‛Ali (‛a). The following are few examples:
Al-Tirmidhi, through his chain of authority, has reported ‛Abdullah ibn ‛Umar as saying: When the Holy Prophet (s) brought into fraternal association each couple of Muslims, one from the fresh emigrants and the other from the inhabitants of al-Madinah, ‛Ali came to him with teary eyes and said, “O Allah’s Messenger, you have fraternized your companions with one another and left me!” Answering him, the Holy Prophet (s) said,
As for you, you are my brother in this world and the Next World.
Anas ibn Malik reported the following: One day, the Holy Prophet (s) ascended the minbar to deliver a speech. Once he finished, he asked, “Where is ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib?” ‛Ali jumped and said, “Here I am, Allah’s Messenger.” Hence, the Holy Prophet (s) embraced him, kissed him on the place between his eyes, and shouted,
O Muslims, this is my brother, cousin, and son-in-law.
This is my flesh, blood, and hair. This is the father of my two grandsons - al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the two chiefs of the youths of Paradise.
‛Abdullah ibn ‛Umar has reported that he heard the Holy Prophet (s), who was riding his she-camel in the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying,
O Allah, please be the witness! O Allah, I have conveyed to them that this (one; i.e. ‛Ali) is my brother, cousin, son-in-law, and the father of my descendants. O Allah, please throw down into Hell any one who shows enmity towards him.
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
When I was raised to the Seventh Sky, (Archangel) Gabriel said to me, “Advance, Muhammad! By God, none has ever gained this gift; neither an archangel nor a missioned prophet.” Then, my Lord revealed to me something. When I returned, a caller from behind the Divine Screen said to me, “How excellent your father Abraham is and how excellent your brother ‛Ali is. I thus recommend you to treat him in a good way.”
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
When the Resurrection Day comes, I will be called from the depth of the Throne with a call saying, “O Muhammad! Excellent is your father Abraham and excellent is your brother ‛Ali.”
Abu’l-Tufayl ‛Amir ibn Wa'ilah has reported the following: I was standing on the doorstep on that day of the Shura Committee when the members disputed with one another. Among the voices that were raised, I heard ‛Ali saying,
The people swore allegiance to Abu-Bakr while, by God I swear it, I had a better right and I was worthier than he was in that matter (of the position of leadership). Nonetheless, I listened to him and obeyed lest the people will renounce their religious faith and fight against each other with swords. Then, the people swore allegiance to ‛Umar while, by God I swear it, I had a better right and I was worthier than he was in the matter. Nonetheless, I listened to him and obeyed lest the people will renounce their religious faith and fight against each other with swords. Now, you want me to listen to and obey you as you are determined to swear allegiance to ‛Uthman? ‛Umar has included me with five persons while neither he nor have they recognized my superiority over them in righteousness, considering all of us equal. By God I swear this: If I wanted, I would enumerate my virtues that neither the Arabs, nor the non-Arabs, nor the covenanters, nor the polytheists can ever refute even one of them.
The Imam (‛a) then asked,
I adjure you all! Is there any one among you who was the brother of God’s Messenger save me?
They all answered, “No, by God.”
Imam ‛Ali (‛a) is reported to have said,
I am the true servant of Allah and the brother of His Messenger; and I am the greatest veracious one. No one will claim that he has this rank after me but a liar. I had performed prayers seven years before other people did.
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (‛a) has reported that when this holy verse was revealed “…give to me an aide from my family: Aaron, my brother. Strengthen my back by him…” the Holy Prophet (s), who was on a mountain, prayed to His Lord, saying,
O Allah, please strengthen my back by my brother ‛Ali.
Imam ‛Ali; The Holy Prophet’s Aide
On many occasions, the Holy Prophet (s) confirmed that Imam ‛Ali (‛a) was his aide.
Asma' bint ‛Umays, the virtuous woman, has reported that she heard the Holy Prophet (s), praying to God, saying,
O Allah, I will say the same prayer my brother Moses had said to You: O Allah, please give to me an aide from my family; ‛Ali, my brother. Strengthen my back by him, and associate him with me in my affair; so that we should glorify You much and remember You oft. Surely, You are seeing us.
Abu-Dharr al-Ghifari, the prominent companion of the Holy Prophet, has reported the following:
One day, I followed the Messenger of Allah (s) in a congregational Midday Prayer. When we finished, a beggar asked for something, but nobody gave him anything. He therefore raised his hands towards the sky and said, “O Allah, bear witness to me that I have begged in the mosque of the Messenger, but nobody gave me anything.” Meanwhile, ‛Ali, who was in a state of genuflection in a prayer, pointed to a ring he was wearing in the little finger of his right hand. The beggar advanced towards ‛Ali and took the ring while the Holy Prophet (s) was watching the scene. Upon this situation, the Holy Prophet (s) supplicated the Lord, saying,
O Allah, my brother Moses besought You, saying, ‘O my Lord! Expand my breast for me, make my affair easy to me, loose the knot from my tongue that they may understand my word, and give to me an aide from my family: Aaron, my brother. Strengthen my back by him and associate him (with me) in my affair.’ So, You responded to him, saying in a clear-cut verse of the Qur'an: ‘We will strengthen your arm with your brother and We will give you both an authority.’ O Allah, as for me, Muhammad, Your prophet and choicest one, I beseech You to expand my breast for me, make my affair easy to me, and give me an aide from my family: ‛Ali. Strengthen my back by him.
As soon as the Holy Prophet (s) finished his prayer, Archangel Gabriel descended to him and said, “O Muhammad, read this: Only Allah is your Guardian… etc.
Imam ‛Ali; The Holy Prophet’s Vicegerent
Reporters of Prophetic traditions have uninterruptedly reported the Holy Prophet (s) to have declared Imam ‛Ali (‛a) as his vicegerent.
The Holy Prophet (s) is thus reported to have said,
This (i.e. ‛Ali) is my brother, vicegerent, and successor among you; therefore, listen to and obey him.
O ‛Ali, you are my successor concerning my leadership of this nation.
‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib is the foremost in accepting Islam, the most knowledgeable, and the leader and successor after me.
O people! Whose words are better than Allah's? Your Lord - Mighty is His Grace - has commanded me to assign ‛Ali over you as the most outstanding leader, as my own successor and executor of my will, and that you should regard him as my brother and vizier.
‛Ali is part of me and I am part of him. May Allah fight him who fights ‛Ali. ‛Ali is the leader of the creatures after me.
Verily, Almighty Allah has revealed to me that He would choose a brother, a successor, a vicegerent, and an heir for me from among my community. When I asked about his identity, the Lord said, “He is the one whom I love and who loves me. He is namely ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib.”
On one occasion, the Holy Prophet (s) said to Imam ‛Ali (‛a),
I should not leave before appointing you as my representative.
Imam ‛Ali’s position to the Holy Prophet
Successively, the Prophetic traditions venerate Imam ‛Ali’s stature and demonstrate the highness of his standing. Among these traditions is the one in which the Holy Prophet (s) declared the position of Imam ‛Ali (‛a) to him to be the same as the position of Prophet Aaron to his brother Prophet Moses.
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said to Imam ‛Ali (‛a),
Does it not please you that your standing to me is the same as (Prophet) Aaron's standing to (Prophet) Moses except that there will not be any prophet to come after me?
Jabir ibn ‛Abdullah has reported that he heard the Holy Prophet (s) saying to Imam ‛Ali (‛a),
Your position to me is as same as Prophet Aaron’s position to Prophet Moses except that there shall not come any prophet after me.
Sa‛d ibn Abi-Waqqas is reported as saying:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) saying, “‛Ali has three privileges…” Certainly, if I had had only one of these privileges, this would have been dearer to me than possessing this world and whatever therein. I heard him saying,
You position to me is as same as the position of (Prophet) Aaron to (Prophet Moses) except that there shall be no prophet after me.
I also heard him saying,
Tomorrow, I will give the standard to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. He will never be absconder.
I also heard him saying,
Whoever has regarded me as his master, must now regard this (‛Ali) as his master.
This Prophetic tradition has been so circulating that its reporters are too numerous. The immortally honored martyr, Zayd ibn ‛Ali ibn al-Husayn (‛a), poetized the purport of this tradition as follows:
If one makes comparison among the peoples according to his own view, then ‛Ali has been regarded as the most favorable on the strength of his virtues.
Add to this the saying of Allah’s Messenger, who always says nothing but the truth, although this will be in defiance of some noses of lying persons:
O ‛Ali, to me, your position is as same as Aaron’s to Moses; so, you are my true brother and companion.
When he called him on the Battle of Badr, ‛Ali responded to his call and went on fighting firmly for the sake of the Lord.
This tradition about ‛Ali’s position to the Holy Prophet (s) is easily understandable. The Holy Prophet (s) granted Imam ‛Ali (‛a) the position of Prophet Aaron to Prophet Moses. It is well known that Prophet Aaron was the aide and successor of Prophet Moses. Likewise, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) was the aide and successor of Prophet Muhammad (s). Because of the importance of this Prophetic tradition, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) provided it as one of his points of protest against those who swore allegiance to ‛Uthman as the next caliph after the assassination of ‛Umar ibn al-Khattab. He thus said to the gathering of the Muhajirun and the Ansar,
Do you know that Allah’s Messenger said to me, ‘Your position to me is as same as Aaron’s position to Moses?’ Does any one of you ever have the like of this position? However, we will act patiently so that Allah will bring about a matter, which was to be done.
Yes, they did. All of them did hear these words said by the Holy Prophet (s) as well as the other similar words he (s) used to say about Imam ‛Ali (‛a). Moreover, they swore allegiance to Imam ‛Ali (‛a) as the leader of the faithful believers in Ghadir Khumm. Yet, they then turned back on their heels and deviated from the straight path!
Imam ‛Ali; the Door to the Holy Prophet’s City of Knowledge
On account of Imam ‛Ali’s high status, great regard, and lofty position, the Holy Prophet (s) described him as the door to the city of his knowledge, which is of course larger than any other city.
Like the other Prophetic traditions that praise Imam ‛Ali (‛a) and highlight his precedence, this tradition has attained a high level of authenticity in its chains of authority.
Jabir ibn ‛Abdullah has reported that he heard the Holy Prophet (s), on the Day of al-Hudaybiyah Truce, taking ‛Ali from the arm and saying,
This is the commander of the pious and the slayer of the impious. Victorious is he who supports him and disappointed is he who disappoints him.
Raising his voice, the Holy Prophet (s) further said,
I am the city of knowledge and ‛Ali is its gate; so, he who aspires to attain the city must come to it from its gate.
‛Abdullah ibn ‛Abbas is reported to have quoted the Holy Prophet (s) as saying,
I am the city of knowledge, and ‛Ali is its door. So, whoever intends to come to this city, must first come to the door.
Through his own chain of authority, Ibn Hajar has reported that the Holy Prophet (s) said,
‛Ali is the door to my knowledge and the explainer to my nation what I have been commissioned to convey to them. To love him is faith, to hate him is hypocrisy, and to look at him is clemency.
Indeed, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) is the door of the Holy Prophet’s city of knowledge. Of course, this city is overflowing with various fields of knowledge and sciences. In addition, it comprises all the horizons of this world and supplies life with wisdom and the rules of ethics and morality. Due to his perception, clear view, and faithful heart, Imam ‛Ali (‛a) could comprehend this city entirely. So, whoever seeks to drink from this salubrious spring, must first come to the successor of the Holy Prophet and the door to the city of his knowledge.
It is however quite unfortunate that these people blocked the windows that opens on this divine illumination and deprived humankind of benefiting from his knowledge.
Imam ‛Ali; the Door to the Holy Prophet’s Wisdom
On many occasions, the Holy Prophet (s) declared that Imam ‛Ali (‛a) was the door to his wisdom:
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
I am the house of wisdom, and ‛Ali is its gate.
I am the city of wisdom and ‛Ali is its door; so, whoever inspires to attain wisdom must get it from its door.
Wisdom has been divided into ten parts. ‛Ali has been given nine parts and one part only has been left for people.
Imam ‛Ali (‛a) was the pioneer of and the directing guide to the divine wisdom; he opened all of its doors and established its rules. Muslim philosophers of all ages have derived their knowledge from Imam ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib (‛a).
Imam ‛Ali and the Holy Prophet; the Same Tree
The Holy Prophet (s) affirmed that Imam ‛Ali (‛a) and he belonged to the same tree; the tree of true piety and faith. In this respect, many traditions have been reported from him (s).
Jabir ibn ‛Abdullah is reported to have heard the Holy Prophet (s) saying to Imam ‛Ali (‛a),
O ‛Ali, people are from various trees, while you and I are from one tree.
The Holy Prophet (s) then recited this holy verse:
And in the earth there are tracts side by side and gardens of grapes and corn and palm trees having one root and (others) having distinct roots. They are watered with one water. (13/4)
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
‛Ali and I are of one tree; while the other people are from various trees.
How great this tree is! From this tree, both the Holy Prophet, who is the chief of all created beings and the father of the true human civilization, and Imam ‛Ali, who is the door of the city of knowledge, have ramified. It is the very blessed tree whose root is fixed and whose branches are in the heavens. The yields of this tree have always been useful to humanity all over ages.
Imam ‛Ali; the Match of the Prophets
Imam ‛Ali (‛a) equaled all the prophets of Almighty Allah in their features and qualities.
Addressing his companions, the Holy Prophet (s) said,
If you want to see Adam in his knowledge, Noah in his grief, Abraham in his morality, Moses in his confidential talk (to his Lord), Jesus in his age, and Muhammad in his uprightness and forbearance, you may look at the coming person.
Everybody looked around and saw ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib (‛a) coming.
Poetizing the meaning of this Prophetic tradition, al-Mufajja‛, a famous Shi‛ite poet and man of letters, says,
O He who blames me because I love ‛Ali! Head for the inferno dispraised and disgraced.
Do you speak ill of the best of all creatures? May you always be kept away and deterred from true guidance!
He (‛Ali) always matched the prophets when he was middle-aged, boy, weanling, suckling, and at the breast.
In his knowledge, he was like Adam when the names and the epithets were explained for him.
And he was like Noah when he was saved from perdition and led on the ark to settle up Mount Judi.
Imam ‛Ali; the Most Beloved of all Humans to the Almighty
Anas ibn Malik, the servant of the Holy Prophet (s), has reported the following:
One day, I served the Holy Prophet (s) with a grilled bird and he ate one bite and prayed, “O Allah, please let the most beloved person to You come to me now.” Immediately, the door was knocked. “Who is it?” I asked. “It is ‛Ali,’ he answered. I, trying to dismiss him, said, “The Messenger of Allah is now busy.” The Prophet (s) then ate a second bit and repeated the same prayer. Again, the door was knocked. “Who is it?” I asked. “It is ‛Ali,” he answered. Trying to dismiss him, I said, “The Messenger of Allah is now busy.” For the third time, the Holy Prophet (s) ate a third bite and repeated the same prayer. The door was then knocked again and this time ‛Ali raised his voice that the Holy Prophet (s) could hear him. “O Anas,” ordered the Holy Prophet (s), “open the door.” I therefore opened the door to ‛Ali and let him in. The moment the Holy Prophet’s eyes fell on ‛Ali, he smiled and said, “All praise be to Allah Who has brought you. With each bite I ate, I prayed to Him to bring to me the most beloved of all creatures to Him, and it was you.” Complaining to the Holy Prophet (s), Imam ‛Ali (‛a) said, “I knocked the door three times and each time, Anas tried to dismiss me.” “Why did you do so?” asked the Holy Prophet (s). I answered, “In fact, I wished a man from the Ansar would come.” Smiling, the Holy Prophet (s) said, “One cannot be blamed for favoring his people.”
This incident, which is known as the tradition of the grilled bird, is one of the most authentic traditions that are reported from the Holy Prophet (s) in its chain of authority and denotation. It carries an obvious indication that Imam ‛Ali (‛a) is the most beloved of all human beings to Almighty Allah and to the Holy Prophet (s) on account of his remarkable piety, faith, and knowledge; therefore, he must have been the one who would hold the position of religious and political leadership of the Muslim community.
Obedience to the Imam; Obedience to the Prophet
In many of his discourses, the Holy Prophet (s) highlighted that to obey Imam ‛Ali (‛a) was to obey Almighty Allah and His Prophet:
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
Whoever obeys me has in fact obeyed Allah, whoever disobeys me has in fact disobeyed Allah, whoever obeys ‛Ali has in fact obeyed me, and whoever disobeys ‛Ali has in fact disobeyed me.
Love for ‛Ali; Love for Allah
Likewise, the Holy Prophet (s), in many of his words, declared that love for Imam ‛Ali (‛a) meant love for Almighty Allah:
The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said,
I admonish whoever believed in me and held me truthful to accept the (divinely ordained) leadership of ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib, for whoever accepts him as the ruler accepts me as such, and whoever loves him loves me too, and whoever loves me loves Allah. Whoever hates him hates me, and whoever hates me hates Allah the Sublime and Almighty.
When the Holy Prophet (s) chose ‛Ali over all others to convey the Surah Bara'ah to the polytheists, he said to him,
Whoever loves you has in fact loved me, whoever loves me has in fact loved Allah, and whoever loves Allah will be allowed Paradise by Him.
Ibn ‛Abbas has reported that the Holy Prophet (s), once, came out grasping ‛Ali’s hand and saying,
Behold! Whoever hates this one has in fact hated Allah and His Messenger, and whoever loves him has in fact loved Allah and His Messenger.
Abu-Rafi‛ has reported the following: The Holy Prophet (s), once, sent ‛Ali (‛a) to Yemen accompanied by a man from the tribe of Aslam named ‛Amr ibn Shas. When they returned home, ‛Amr was dispraising and complaining against Imam ‛Ali (‛a). Upon being informed of this, the Holy Prophet (s) summoned ‛Amr, rebuked him, and said, “Fie on you, ‛Amr! Have you noticed from ‛Ali any partiality in judgment or prejudice in distribution?”
“No, I have not,” answered ‛Amr.
“Why did you then say what I have been informed against you?” asked the Holy Prophet (s).
“In fact,” said ‛Amr, “I hate him and I cannot possess myself against so.”
The Holy Prophet (s) became so furious that signs of rage were clearly seen on his face. He (s) then declared,
Whoever hates him (i.e. ‛Ali) has in fact hated me, and whoever hates me has in fact hated Allah. Whoever loves him has in fact loved me, and whoever loves me has in fact loved Allah the All-exalted.
Love for ‛Ali is Faith; Hating him is Hypocrisy
In the presence of his companions, the Holy Prophet (s) declared that love for ‛Ali (‛a) indicated true faith, piety, and obedience to Almighty Allah; while to hate him indicated disobedience to Almighty Allah, hypocrisy, and abandonment of faith.
Imam ‛Ali (‛a) is reported to have said,
I swear by the One Who has cleft the seed and created the breeze from nothing, the Prophet of Makkah has promised me that nobody loves me except a true believer, and nobody hates me except a hypocrite.
Al-Musawir al-Himyari has reported his mother as saying: One day, I visited Ummu-Salamah and heard her quoting the Holy Prophet (s) as saying,
A hypocrite shall never love ‛Ali and a true believer shall never hate him.
Ibn ‛Abbas has reported that the Holy Prophet (s), once, looked in the face of ‛Ali (‛a) and said,
No one loves you but a true believer and no one hates you but a hypocrite. He who loves you has in fact loved me and he who hates you has in fact hated me. He who loves me shall be loved by Allah and he who hates me shall be hated by Allah. Woe shall be to him who hates you after my departure.
Abu-Sa‛id al-Khidri has reported that the Holy Prophet (s) said to Imam ‛Ali (‛a),
Love for you is faith, and to hate you is hypocrisy. The first to enter Paradise will be those who love you, and the first to enter Hellfire will be those who hate you.
This rule was applied by the companions of the Holy Prophet (s). In this respect, Abu-Dharr used to say,
We would recognize the hypocrites through three characteristics: (1) they used to doubt Allah and His Messenger, (2) they used to fail to join the congregational prayers, and (3) they hated ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib.
As for Jabir ibn ‛Abdullah al-Ansari, the great companion of the Holy Prophet (s), he used to say,
The only mark through which we would recognize the hypocrites was their hatred towards ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib.
Love for Imam ‛Ali; The Title of the True Believer’s Record
The record of deeds becomes bright only due to its profusion with true faith. In turn, true faith will be the distinctive feature of the true believers. The Holy Prophet (s) thus teaches us that this true faith has one title only: love for Imam ‛Ali (‛a).
Anas ibn Malik is reported to have said: I swear by Allah save Whom there is no god, I heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
The title of the true believer’s record is the love for ‛Ali ibn Abi-Talib.
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Author: Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi
