So, his brain broke open and he died.

So, his brain broke open and he died.”[^1] Al-Hakim declares: هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد This hadith has a sahih chain. ^2 Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) confirms: على شرط البخاري ومسلم ( Sahih ) upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim ^3 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 the ijma’ 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 , ‘alaihim al-salam , after the Prophet and Amir 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)[^4] never surpassed him in knowledge, and the akhirun (later ones) [^5] never reach his level (in knowledge) .[^6] Shaykh al-Arnauṭ says: حسن Hasan ^7 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 of Amir al-Muminin in knowledge.

In fact, none among all past human generations from Adam was ever more knowledgeable than ‘Ali. Moreover, apart from Muhammad himself[^8], no other human being in our Ummah 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.