Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

20. Hadith Al-‘Ilm, Some Further Shawahid

Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H) records:

فحدثنا بشرح هذا الحديث الشيخ أبو بكر بن إسحاق أنا الحسن بن علي بن زياد السري ثنا حامد بن يحيى البلخي بمكة ثنا سفيان عن إسماعيل بن أبي خالد عن قيس بن أبي حازم قال كنت بالمدينة فبينا أنا أطوف في السوق إذ بلغت أحجار الزيت فرأيت قوما مجتمعين على فارس قد ركب دابة وهو يشتم علي بن أبي طالب والناس وقوف حواليه إذ أقبل سعد بن أبي وقاص فوقف عليهم فقال : ما هذا ؟ فقالوا : رجل يشتم علي بن أبي طالب فتقدم سعد فأفرجوا له حتى وقف عليه فقال : يا هذا على ما تشتم علي بن أبي طالب ألم يكن أول من أسلم ألم يكن أول من صلى مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ألم يكن ازهد الناس ألم يكن أعلم الناس ؟ وذكر حتى قال : ألم يكن ختن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على ابنته ألم يكن صاحب راية رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في غزواته ؟ ثم استقبل القبلة ورفع يديه وقال : اللهم إن هذا يشتم وليا من أوليائك فلا تفرق هذا الجمع حتى تريهم قدرتك قال قيس : فو الله ما تفرقنا حتى ساخت به دابته فرمته على هامته في تلك الأحجار فانفلق دماغه ومات

Abu Bakr b. Ishaq – al-Hasan b. ‘Ali b. Ziyad al-Sirri – Hamid b. Yahya al-Balakhi –Sufyan – Isma’il b. Abi Khalid – Qays b. Abi Hazim:

I was in Madinah. While I was moving around in the market, oil stones arrived. So, I saw some people crowding around a Persian man who was riding an animal and cursing ‘Ali b. Abi Talib. People stood round him when Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas turned and stood in front of them and he asked, “What is this?” They replied, “A man cursing ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.” So, Sa’d moved forward and they made way for him until he stood before him and said, “O you! On what basis do you curse ‘Ali b. Abi Talib? Is he not the first to accept Islam? Is he not the first to performSalat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him? Is he not the most ascetic of mankind?Is he not the most knowledgeable of mankind ?” He mentioned (the merits of ‘Ali) until he said, “Is he not the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who married his daughter? Is he not the flagbearer of the Messenger of Allah in his battles?” Then he faced the Qiblah and raised his hand and said, “O Allah! This one curses one of your beloved friends. Therefore, do not let this crowd disperse before you show them Your Power.”

Qays said: “By Allah, we had not dispersed when the animal capsized him and threw him on his head into those stones. So, his brain broke open and he died.”282

Al-Hakim declares:

هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد

Thishadith has asahih chain.283

Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) confirms:

على شرط البخاري ومسلم

(Sahih ) upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim284

Of course, the context of Sa’d’s words is clear. After the Messenger of Allah,sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi ,Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib,‘alaihi al-salam , is the most knowledgeable of all mankind, from the beginning of existence till the Hour. That naturally includes both Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. This is a very powerful testimony from one of the most senior Sahabah, and one of the earliest Muslims. Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) claims theijma ’ of Sunni‘ulama that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were more knowledgeable than ‘Ali. Apparently, Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas,radhiyallahu ‘anhu , was not part of that consensus, nor was the Messenger of Allah!

Imam Hasan b. ‘Ali,‘alaihi al-salam , is the best of the Ahl al-Bayt,‘alaihim al-salam , after the Prophet andAmir al-Muminin . Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 241 H) records his opinion too:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا وكيع عن إسرائيل عن أبي إسحاق عن عمرو بن حبشي قال خطبنا الحسن بن علي بعد قتل علي رضي الله عنهما فقال: لقد فارقكم رجل بالأمس ما سبقه الأولون بعلم ولا أدركه الآخرون

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) – Waki’ – Israil – Abu Ishaq – ‘Amr b. Habashi:

Al-Hasan b. ‘Ali delievered a sermon to us after the killing of ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: “Verily, a man has left you yesterday. The awwalun (people of old)285 never surpassed him in knowledge,and the akhirun (later ones) 286 never reach his level (in knowledge) .287

Shaykh al-Arnauṭ says:

حسن

Hasan288

This confirms the words of Sa’d. None among those who had died among the Sahabah – including Abu Bakr and ‘Umar – ever reached the level ofAmir al-Muminin in knowledge. In fact, none among all past human generations from Adam was ever more knowledgeable than ‘Ali. Moreover, apart from Muhammad himself289 , no other human being in ourUmmah has ever attained, and none will ever reach, ‘Ali’s level in knowledge till the Day of Resurrection. Apparently, al-Hasan too was not part of the so-called consensus of Sunni‘ulama !

Let us seal this with the words of a top-ranking Sunni scholar. His name was ‘Aṭa. Imam al-Dhahabi proclaims about him:

عطاء بن أبي رباح، سيد التابعين علما وعملا وإتقانا في زمانه بمكة روى عن عائشة، وأبي هريرة، والكبار. وعاش تسعين سنة أو أزيد. وكان حجة إماما كبير الشأن، أخذ عنه أبو حنيفة وقال: ما رأيت مثله.

‘Aṭa b. Abi Rabah,the master of the Tabi’in in knowledge, piety, and generosity during his era in Makkah . He narrated from ‘Aishah, Abu

Hurayrah and the senior (Sahabah). He lived 90 years or a little over. He was an hujjah (authority), an Imam of great significance. Abu Hanifah learned from him, and said, “I have never seen anyone like him”.290

Al-Hafiz also submits:

عطاء بن أبي رباح نزيل مكة واحد الفقهاء والأئمة

‘Aṭa b. Abi Rabah.... He lived in Makkah.He was one of the jurists and Imams .291

So, was this great Imam part of the alleged “consensus”? Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah (d. 235 H) records:

حدثنا عبدة بن سليمان عن عبد الملك بن أبي سليمان قال: قلت لعطاء: كان في أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أحد أعلم من علي؟ قال: لا، والله أعلمه!

‘Abdah b. Sulayman – ‘Abd al-Malik b. Abi Sulayman:

I said to ‘Aṭa: “Was there ANYONE among the Sahabah of the Messenger of Allah who was more knowledgeable than ‘Ali?” He replied, “I swear by Allah, I do NOT know any such person! ”292

Al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states about the first narrator:

عبدة بن سليمان الكلابي أبو محمد الكوفي يقال اسمه عبد الرحمن ثقة ثبت

‘Abdah b. Sulayman al-Kalabi, Abu Muhammad al-Kufi, it is said that his name was ‘Abd al-Rahman:Thiqah (trustworthy), thabt (accurate).293

Concerning the second narrator, he says:

عبد الملك بن أبي سليمان ميسرة العرزمي بفتح المهملة وسكون الراء وبالزاي المفتوحة صدوق له أوهام

‘Abd al-Malik b. Abi Sulayman Maysarah al-‘Arzami:Saduq (very truthful) , he had hallucinations.294

The chain is thereforehasan due to ‘Abd al-Malik.

21. Hadith Al-Istislam, Investigating Its Authenticity

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) admits thatAmir al-Muminin ,‘alaihi al-salam , was the first human being ever to accept Islam from the Messenger of Allah,sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi :

ثم فيه قول علي صليت ستة أشهر قبل الناس فهذا مما يعلم بطلانه بالضرورة فإن بين إسلامه وإسلام زيد وأبي بكر وخديحة يوما أو نحوه فكيف يصلي قبل الناس بستة أشهر

Then, in it (i.e. the report) is the statement “’Ali performedSalat six months before anyone else”, this (statement) is one which is known to be necessarily fallacious, becausebetween his (‘Ali’s) acceptance of Islam and the acceptance of Islam by Zayd, Abu Bakr and Khadijah was only a distance of one day or a period like that . So, how did he performSalat six months before anyone else?295

So, ‘Ali accepted Islam one whole day before Khadijah, Zayd and Abu Bakr. But then, our dear Shaykh has a surprise package for us:

قول القائل علي أول من صلى مع النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم ممنوع بل اكثر الناس على خلاف ذلك وان أبا بكر صلى قبله

The claim that ‘Ali was the first to performSalat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is impossible.Rather, the majority of the people hold a contrary view, andbelieve that Abu Bakr perform Salat before him (i.e. ‘Ali) .296

One wonders. SinceAmir al-Muminin accepted Islam before Abu Bakr, how come the latter offeredSalat before him? Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah attempts to solve the puzzle:

فان الناس متنازعون في أول من اسلم فقيل أبو بكر أول من اسلم فهو اسبق إسلاما من على وقيل أن عليا أسلم قبله لكن علي كان صغيرا وإسلام الصبي فيه نزاع بين العلماء ولا نزاع في أن إسلام أبي بكر أكمل وانفع

The people disagreed about who accepted Islam first. It is said that Abu Bakr was the first to accept Islam, and therefore accepted Islam before ‘Ali.It is (also) said that ‘Ali accepted Islam before him. However, ‘Ali was a child, and the acceptance of Islam by a child, there is disagreement over it (i.e. its validity) among the ‘ulama . Meanwhile, there is no disagreement about the fact thatthe acceptance of Islam by Abu Bakr was more perfect and more beneficial (than that of ‘Ali).297

He adds:

والصبي المولود بين أبوين كافرين يجري عليه حكم الكفر في الدنيا باتفاق المسلمين وإذا أسلم قبل البلوغ فهل يجري عليه حكم الإسلام قبل البلوغ على قولين للعلماء بخلاف البالغ فإنه يصير مسلما باتفاق المسلمين فكان إسلام الثلاثة مخرجا لهم من الكفر باتفاق المسلمين وأما إسلام علي فهل يكون مخرجا له من الكفر على قولين مشهورين ومذهب الشافعي أن إسلام الصبي غير مخرج له من الكفر

A child born to two pagan parents is considered a pagan in this world by the consensus of Muslims . If he accepts Islam before maturity, is he considered a Muslim before he reaches maturity? There are two opinions among the‘ulama , as opposed to the situation of a matured person (who accepts Islam) because he (the matured person) is considered a Muslim by the consensus of Muslims. So, the acceptance of Islam by the three (i.e. Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman) took them out of paganism by the consensus of Muslims.However, the acceptance of Islam by ‘Ali, did it take him out of paganism? There are two well-known opinions.The opinion of (Imam) al-Shafi’i was that the acceptance of Islam by a child does not take him out of paganism .298

Our Shaykh has not explicitly endorsed either of the two opinions. Nonetheless, we will proceed with the assumption that Imam al-Shafi’i was correct.

The first question here is: was ‘Ali really a “child” when he accepted Islam? Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 463 H) answers:

قال أبو عمر قيل أسلم على وهو ابن ثلاث عشرة سنة وقيل ابن اثنتي عشرة سنة وقيل ابن خمس عشرة وقيل ابن ست عشرة وقيل ابن عشر وقيل ابن ثمان ....

وذكر أبو زيد عمر بن شبة قال حدثنا سريج بن النعمان قال حدثنا الفرات بن السائب عن ميمون بن مهران عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال أسلم علي بن أبي طالب وهو ابن ثلاث عشرة سنة وتوفى وهو ابن ثلاث وستين سنة قال أبو عمر رحمه الله هذا أصح ما قيل في ذلك

Abu ‘Umar said, “It is said that ‘Ali accepted Islam when he was thirteen years old. It is said that he was twelve years old. It is said that he was fifteen years old. It is said that he was sixteen years old. It is said that he was ten years old. It is said that he was eight years old....

Abu Zayd ‘Umar b. Shaybah mentioned that – Surayj b. al-Nu’man – al-Furat b. al-Saib – Maymun b. Mahran – Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both: “Ali b. Abi Talib accepted Islam while he was THIRTEEN YEARS OLD and died when he was sixty-three years old ”. Abu ‘Umar, may Allah be merciful to him, said: “This is the most correct opinion on the matter ”.299

Therefore, ‘Ali was thirteen years old when he accepted Islam at the hands of the Messenger of Allah. But, was he a matured person then, or was he still a child? Let us get the testimony of an eye-witness. Imam al-Haythami (d. 807 H) records:

عن أبي رافع قال : أول من أسلم من الرجال علي وأول من أسلم من النساء خديجة

Narrated Abu Rafi’:

The first to accept Islamamong the male adults was ‘Ali and the first to accept Islam from the female adults was Khadijah.300

Al-Haythami comments:

رواه البزار ورجاله رجال الصحيح

Al-Bazzar recorded it and its narrators are narrators of theSahih 301

So,Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali was an “adult” when he accepted Islam. Therefore, his Islam was – in terms of quality - as “perfect” as that of Abu Bakr and the otherkhalifah s. Moreover, ‘Ali accepted Islam about twenty hours or more before Zayd, Abu Bakr and Khadijah, according to the admission of Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah. Therefore, he enjoyed precedence in his “perfect” Islam over all others. This is further confirmed by thishadith documented by Imam al-Tabarani (d. 360 H):

حدثنا الحسن بن عبد الأعلى النرسي الصنعاني، حدثنا عبد الرزاق، حدثنا سفيان الثوري، عن سلمة بن كهيل، عن أبي صادق، عن عليم الكندي، عن سلمان الفارسي رضي الله عنه قال: أول هذه الأمة ورودا على نبيها، أولها إسلاما، علي بن أبي طالب

Al-Hasan b. ‘Abd al-A’la al-Narsi al-Sana’ani – ‘Abd al-Razzaq – Sufyan al-Thawri – Salamah b. Kuhayl – Abu Sadiq – ‘Alim al-Kindi – Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him:

“The first of thisUmmah to meet its Prophet (on the Day of Resurrection) will bethe first of them to accept Islam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib .”302

Shaykh al-Haji comments:

الإسناد: قال الهيثمي: ورجاله ثقات. وقال حمدي السلفي:

قلت: إن إبراهيم والحسن من الرواة عن عبد الرزاق بعد اختلاطه.

The chain: Al-Haythami said, “Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy) ”. Hamadi al-Salafi also said: “I say: ‘Ibrahim and al-Hasan are among those narrators who transmitted from ‘Abd al-Razzaq during his confusion.”303

In simple words, the narrators are all trustworthy indeed. However, al-Hasan narrated from ‘Abd al-Razzaq after the latter’s memory failure and during the consequent confusion. However, the report of ‘Abd al-Razzaq is corroborated by this report, recorded by Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah (d. 235 H):

حدثنا معاوية بن هشام حدثنا قيس عن سلمة بن كهيل عن أبي صادق عن عليم عن سلمان قال: أول هذه الأمة ورودا على نبيها أولها إسلاما علي بن أبي طالب.

Mu’awiyah b. Hisham – Qays – Salamah b. Kuhayl – Abu Sadiq – ‘Alim – Salman:

“The first of thisUmmah to meet its Prophet (on the Day of Resurrection will bethe first of them to accept Islam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib .”304

We already know about the trustworthiness of Salamah, Abu Sadiq and ‘Alim al-Kindi. What about Mu’awiyah and Qays? Al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states about Mu’awiyah:

معاوية بن هشام القصار أبو الحسن الكوفي مولى بني أسد ويقال له معاوية بن أبي العباس صدوق له أوهام

Mu’awiyah b. Hisham al-Qasar, Abu al-Hasan al-Kufi, freed slave of Banu Asad, he is also Mu’awiyah b. Abi al-‘Abbas:Saduq (very truthful) , he had hallucinations.305

Qays is almost like that too, according to al-Hafiz:

قيس بن الربيع الأسدي أبو محمد الكوفي صدوق تغير لما كبروأدخل عليه ابنه ما ليس من حديثه فحدث به

Qays b. al-Rabi’ al-Asadi, Abu Muhamamd al-Kufi:Saduq (very truthful) . His memory deteriorated when he became old, and his son told him things that were not part of his (original)ahadith , and he (Qays) narrated them asahadith .306

Both were very truthful, but with varying memory problems. Nonetheless, their report is a very good shahid for theriwayah of ‘Abd al-Razzaq. As a result, one can safely conclude that theathar of Salman al-Farisi above, narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzaq, issahih bi shawahidih . Therefore,Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib was the first human being, and the first male adult, to accept Islam.

Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 H) records ahadith that further corroborates this submission:

حدثنا محمد بن بشار و محمد بن المثنى قالا حدثنا محمد بن جعفر حدثنا شعبة بن عمرو بن مرة عن أبي حمزة رجل من الأنصار قال سمعت زيد بن أرقم يقول أول من أسلم علي

Muhammad b. Bashar and Muhammad b. al-Muthanna – Muhammad b. Ja’far – Shu’bah b. ‘Amr b. Marrah – Abu Hamza, who was a man from the Ansar – Zayd b. Arqam:

“The first to accept Islam was ‘Ali.”307

Al-Tirmidhi states:

هذا حديث حسن صحيح

Thishadith ishasan sahih 308

‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) agrees:

صحيح الإسناد

It has asahih chain309

Imam al-Tabarani (d. 360 H) also documents:

حدثنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم، عن عبد الرزاق، عن معمر، عن عثمان الجزري، عن مقسم، عن عبد الله بن عباس قال :أول من أسلم علي رضي الله

Ishaq b. Ibrahim – ‘Abd al-Razzaq – Ma’mar – ‘Uthman al-Jazari – Miqsam – ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas:

“The first one to accept Islam was ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.”310

Shaykh al-Haji comments:

حديث صحيح رجاله ثقات

A sahih hadith . Its narrators are trustworthy.311

Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr caps the references:

وروى عن سلمان وأبي ذر والمقداد وخباب وجابر وأبى سعيد الخدري وزيد بن الأرقم أن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه أول من أسلم وفضله هؤلاء على غيره

Salman, Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Khabab, Jabir, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Zayd b. Arqam narrated that ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first to accept Islam, and these people placed him in rank above everyone else.312

Notably, along with Ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Rafi’, those were nine Sahabah. Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H) records about the tenth Sahabi –Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas:

عن قيس بن أبي حازم قال كنت بالمدينة فبينا أنا أطوف في السوق إذ بلغت أحجار الزيت فرأيت قوما مجتمعين على فارس قد ركب دابة وهو يشتم علي بن أبي طالب والناس وقوف حواليه إذ أقبل سعد بن أبي وقاص فوقف عليهم فقال : ما هذا ؟ فقالوا : رجل يشتم علي بن أبي طالب فتقدم سعد فأفرجوا له حتى وقف عليه فقال : يا هذا على ما تشتم علي بن أبي طالب ألم يكن أول من أسلم ألم يكن أول من صلى مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

Narrated Qays b. Abi Hazim:

I was in Madinah. While I was moving around in the market, oil stones arrived. So, I saw some people crowding around a Persian man who was riding an animal and cursing ‘Ali b. Abi Talib. People stood round him when Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas turned and stood in front of them and he asked, “What is this?” They replied, “A man cursing ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.” So, Sa’d moved forward and they made way for him until he stood before him and said, “O you! On what basis do you curse ‘Ali b. Abi Talib?Is he not the first to accept Islam? Is he not the first to perform Salat with the Messenger of Allah , peace be upon him?....”313

Al-Hakim declares:

هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد

Thishadith has asahih chain.314

Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) confirms:

على شرط البخاري ومسلم

(Sahih ) upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim315

With the above, it can be confidently declared that the reports stating that ‘Ali was the first ever to accept Islam aremutawatir , and therefore absolutely true and undisputable. Moreover, that fact is further corroborated by anothermutawatir tradition of the Prophet –Hadith al-‘Ilm – narrated by fourteen of the Sahabah!

Additional evidence thatAmir al-Muminin had become an “adult” before he recited the shahadah of Islam lies in the fact that the Prophet performed the congregational prayers with him. He would not do that with a child! The report of Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas is already cited above. Meanwhile, there is corroboration in thishadith documented by Imam al-Tirmidhi:

حدثنا محمد بن حميد حدثنا إبراهيم بن المختار عن شعبة عن أبي بلج عن عمرو بن ميمون عن ابن عباس قال: أول من صلى علي

Muhammad b. Hamid – Ibrahim b. al-Mukhtar – Shu’bah – Abu Balj – ‘Amr b. Maymun – Ibn ‘Abbas:

“The first to performSalat was ‘Ali.”316

‘Allamah al-Albani says:

صحيح

Sahih 317

Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 241 H) records a shahid for the above report:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا يزيد بن هارون انا شعبة عن عمرو بن مرة قال سمعت أبا حمزة يحدث عن زيد بن أرقم قال أول من صلى مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم علي رضي الله تعالى عنه

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) – Yazid b. Harun – Shu’bah – ‘Amr b. Marrah – Abu Hamzah – Zayd b Arqam:

“The first to performSalat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was ‘Ali, may Allah the Most High be pleased with him.”318

Quite surprisingly, Shaykh al-Arnauṭ states about it:

إسناده ضعيف

Its chain isdha’if 319

As usual, he has given no reason for the weird verdict. So, let us independently verify the strength of thatsanad . Is the above report authentic? Or, is it really weak?

Al-Hafiz says about the first narrator:

عبد الله بن أحمد بن محمد بن حنبل الشيباني أبو عبد الرحمن ولد الإمام ثقة

‘Abd Allah b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman: son of the Imam,thiqah (trustworthy) .320

He further states about the second narrator:

أحمد بن محمد بن حنبل بن هلال بن أسد الشيباني المروزي نزيل بغداد أبو عبد الله أحد الأئمة ثقة حافظ فقيه حجة

Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal b. Hilal b. Asad al-Shaybani al-Maruzi, a Baghdad resident, Abu ‘Abd Allah:One of the Imams, thiqah (trustworthy), hafiz (a hadith scientist), jurist, hujjah (an authority) .321

Concerning the third narrator, the verdict is the same, according to al-Hafiz:

يزيد بن هارون بن زاذان السلمي مولاهم أبو خالد الواسطي ثقة متقن عابد

Yazid b. Harun b. Zazan al-Sulami, their freed slave, Abu Khalid al-Wasiṭi:Thiqah (trustworthy), extremely precise , a great worshipper of Allah.322

The fourth narrator, Shu’bah, needs no introduction. Al-Hafiz makes some ground-breaking pronouncements about him nonetheless:

شعبة بن الحجاج بن الورد العتكي مولاهم أبو بسطام الواسطي ثم البصري ثقة حافظ متقن كان الثوري يقول هو أمير المؤمنين في الحديث

Shu’bah b. al-Hajjaj b. al-Ward al-‘Atki, their freed slave, Abu Busṭam al-Wasiṭi, al-Basri:Thiqah (trustworthy), hafiz (a hadith scientist), extremely

precise . Al-Thawri used to say: “He was the amir al-muminin (the supreme leader) in al-Hadith .”323

He has a very simple verdict about the fifth narrator as well:

عمرو بن مرة بن عبد الله بن طارق الجملي بفتح الجيم والميم المرادي أبو عبد الله الكوفي الأعمى ثقة عابد كان لا يدلس

‘Amr b. Marrah b. ‘Abd Allah b. Tariq al-Jamali al-Muradi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Kufi, the blind person:Thiqah (trustworthy) , a great worshipper of Allah. He did NOT dotadlis .324

The last narrator is like that too, as pronounced by al-Hafiz:

طلحة بن يزيد الأيلي بفتح الهمزة وسكون الياء أبو حمزة مولى الأنصار نزل الكوفة وثقه النسائي

Talhah b. Yazid al-Ayli, the freed slave of the Ansar, he lived in Kufah:Al-Nasai declared him thiqah (trustworthy). 325

So, all the narrators arethiqah (trustworthy), and there is no evidence of disconnection in the chain. As such, the isnad issahih without a doubt! ‘Allamah al-Albani also states about anotherhadith with a very similarsanad :

أخرجه أبو داود من طريق شعبة عن عمرو بن مرة قال: سمعت أبا حمزة أنه سمع زيد بن أرقم قال ....قلت: وهذا سند صحيح رجاله رجال الشيخين غير أبي حمزة واسمه طلحة بن يزيد الأنصاري فمن رجال البخاري، ووثقه ابن حبان والنسائي.

Abu Dawud recorded it through the route ofShu’bah – ‘Amr b. Marrah – Abu Hamzah – Zayd b. Arqam .... I (al-Albani) say:This chain is sahih . Its narrators are narrators of the two Shaykhs apart fromAbu Hamzah, and his name is Talhah b. Yazid al-Ansari and he is from the narrators of al-Bukhari. Ibn Hibban and al-Nasai declared him thiqah (trustworthy) .326

In conclusion, the chain of Zayd b. Arqam’s report that ‘Ali was the first human being to performSalat with the Prophet, recorded inMusnad Ahmad, is impeccablysahih . All the narrators are trustworthy, and there is no disconnection in the chain whatsoever. As such, Shaykh al-Arnauṭ’s tadh’if of thesanad has no academic basis.