ভূমিকা
Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books ‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah Hadith Al-Tashbih, Establishing Its Authenticity ==================================================== Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d.
728 H) states: بل حمله على ذلك ممتنع لان أحدا لا يساوي رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم لا عليا ولا غيره Rather, interpreting it like that is impossible, because there is none who is equal to the Messenger of Allah, neither ‘Ali nor any other person.[^1] We agree with our Shaykh that neither Abu Bakr nor ‘Umar was like, similar or equal to, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi , in absolutely any way or form.
However, it seems that the Shaykh has not properly understood the Shi’i position. We never claim total equality between the Prophet and the Amir. What we profess, instead, is that ‘Ali, ‘alaihi al-salam , reached the level of the Messenger in many of his merits. In other words, in a lot of qualities, ranks and statuses, both the Prophet and the Amir were, and are, equal . However, in all others, the Messenger of Allah was, and is, infinitely superior to ‘Ali.
Overall, the Prophet was, and is, the master, teacher and saviour of ‘Ali in both this world and the next. Imam al-Nasai (d.
303 H) records an authentic hadith that confirms just that: أخبرنا العباس بن محمد قال حدثنا الأحوص بن جواب قال حدثنا يونس بن أبي إسحاق عن أبي إسحاق عن زيد بن يثيع عن أبي ذر قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم لينتهين بنو وليعة أو لأبعثن إليهم رجلا كنفسي ينفذ فيهم أمري فيقتل المقاتلة ويسبي الذرية فما راعني إلا وكف عمر في حجزتي من خلفي من يعني فقلت ما إياك يعني ولا صاحبك قال فمن يعني قلت خاصف النعل قال وعلي يخصف نعلا Al-‘Abbas b. Muhammad – al-Ahwas b. Jawab – Yunus b.
Abi Ishaq – Abu Ishaq – Zayd b. Yathi’ – Abu Dharr: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “If the Banu Wali’ah do not desist, I will appoint over them a man who is exactly like myself to implement my command among them. So, he will execute the combatants and take the offspring as war captives.” I had not even moved when ‘Umar held my cloth and asked, “Who is he referring to?” I replied, “He is not referring to you or your companion (i.e.
Abu Bakr).” He said, “In that case, who is he referring to?” So, I said, “(He is) referring to the one repairing the shoe.” And ‘Ali was repairing a shoe.[^2] ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) says about this report: قلت: وهذا إسناد رجاله ثقات؛ لكن أبا إسحاق - وهو السبيعي - مدلس، وكان اختلط، وابنه يونس روى عنه بعد اختلاطه.