Hadith 212: If people knew when ‘Ali was named Amir al Muʾminin (Commander of the Faithful), they would not deny his virtue.

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Hadith 212

لو علم الناس متى سمي علي أمير المؤمنين ما أنكروا فضله، سمي أمير المؤمنين وآدم بين الروح والجسد، قال الله عز وجل:وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْۢ بَنِيٓ ءَادَمَ مِنْ ظُهُوْرِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُم قالت الملائكة: بلى. قال تبارك وتعالى: أنا ربكم، ومحمد نبيكم، وعلي أميركم.

If people knew when ‘Ali was named Amir al Muʾminin (Commander of the Faithful), they would not deny his virtue. He was named Amir al Muʾminin (Commander of the Faithful) when Adam was still in-between his soul and body. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says, ‘And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], ‘Am I not your Lord?’ The angels said, “But of course.” Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala said, “I am your Lord, Muhammad is your Prophet, and ‘Ali is your amir (leader).”

Al Daylami mentions this hadith from Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman marfu’an (he attributed this hadith to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).[1]

This hadith is a lie.

Ibn Taymiyyah states, “The answer (to this hadith) is multifold:

1. Denying its authenticity and demanding whether it is really established.
2. This hadith is a fabrication and a lie, according to a consensus of the hadith scholars.
3. What appears in the Qurʾan is that Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says, “Am I not your Lord. They said, ‘But of course.’” There is no mention of the Prophet and the amir (leader). After this verse, the following words appear:

أَوْ تَقُوْلُوْٓا إِنَّمَآ أَشْرَكَ ءَابَآؤُنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا ذُرِّيَّةً مِّنْۢ بَعْدِهِمْ

Or [lest] you say, ‘It was only that our fathers associated [others in worship] with Allah before, and we were but descendants after them…

This proves that the covenant is referring specifically to tawhid (oneness of Allah), and not a covenant of Prophethood. What then with something lower than Prophethood?

4. The acceptable ahadith in this regard—as it appears in the Masanid, Sunan, al Muwattaʾ, books of tafsir, and others genres of books—contain nothing of this nature. If this were mentioned in the original version, everyone (who narrated it) would not have omitted it. A person whose truthfulness is unknown is the only person to narrate this version. In fact, it is famously known that it is a lie.
5. The covenant (in the verse) was taken by all of mankind. This means (assuming the validity of the addition) that ‘Ali is the amir (leader) of all of the prophets, from Nuh ‘alayh al Salam until Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This kind of speech is utterly preposterous; all of them died before Allah created ‘Ali. How then can he be an amir (leader) over them? The most that can be said (assuming it is authentic) is that he is an amir (leader) over the people of his time. As for him being the amir (leader) over those people who came into existence before and after him, this is a lie from someone who has no idea what they are speaking about. He has absolutely no shame in what he is saying…

NEXT⇒ Hadith 213

[1] Al Daylami: Musnad al Firdaws, 3/5066.

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Hadith 212

لو علم الناس متى سمي علي أمير المؤمنين ما أنكروا فضله، سمي أمير المؤمنين وآدم بين الروح والجسد، قال الله عز وجل:وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْۢ بَنِيٓ ءَادَمَ مِنْ ظُهُوْرِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُم قالت الملائكة: بلى. قال تبارك وتعالى: أنا ربكم، ومحمد نبيكم، وعلي أميركم.

If people knew when ‘Ali was named Amir al Muʾminin (Commander of the Faithful), they would not deny his virtue. He was named Amir al Muʾminin (Commander of the Faithful) when Adam was still in-between his soul and body. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says, ‘And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], ‘Am I not your Lord?’ The angels said, “But of course.” Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala said, “I am your Lord, Muhammad is your Prophet, and ‘Ali is your amir (leader).”

Al Daylami mentions this hadith from Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman marfu’an (he attributed this hadith to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).[1]

This hadith is a lie.

Ibn Taymiyyah states, “The answer (to this hadith) is multifold:

1. Denying its authenticity and demanding whether it is really established.
2. This hadith is a fabrication and a lie, according to a consensus of the hadith scholars.
3. What appears in the Qurʾan is that Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says, “Am I not your Lord. They said, ‘But of course.’” There is no mention of the Prophet and the amir (leader). After this verse, the following words appear:

أَوْ تَقُوْلُوْٓا إِنَّمَآ أَشْرَكَ ءَابَآؤُنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا ذُرِّيَّةً مِّنْۢ بَعْدِهِمْ

Or [lest] you say, ‘It was only that our fathers associated [others in worship] with Allah before, and we were but descendants after them…

This proves that the covenant is referring specifically to tawhid (oneness of Allah), and not a covenant of Prophethood. What then with something lower than Prophethood?

4. The acceptable ahadith in this regard—as it appears in the Masanid, Sunan, al Muwattaʾ, books of tafsir, and others genres of books—contain nothing of this nature. If this were mentioned in the original version, everyone (who narrated it) would not have omitted it. A person whose truthfulness is unknown is the only person to narrate this version. In fact, it is famously known that it is a lie.
5. The covenant (in the verse) was taken by all of mankind. This means (assuming the validity of the addition) that ‘Ali is the amir (leader) of all of the prophets, from Nuh ‘alayh al Salam until Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This kind of speech is utterly preposterous; all of them died before Allah created ‘Ali. How then can he be an amir (leader) over them? The most that can be said (assuming it is authentic) is that he is an amir (leader) over the people of his time. As for him being the amir (leader) over those people who came into existence before and after him, this is a lie from someone who has no idea what they are speaking about. He has absolutely no shame in what he is saying…

NEXT⇒ Hadith 213

[1] Al Daylami: Musnad al Firdaws, 3/5066.