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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books ‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah Hadith Saluni, Investigating Its Authenticity ================================================= Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d.

728 H) states: أما قول علي سلوني فإنما كان يخاطب بهذا أهل الكوفة ليعلمهم العلم والدين فإن غالبهم كانوا جهالا لم يدركوا النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم وأما أبو بكر فكان الذين حول منبره هم أكابر أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم الذين تعلموا من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم العلم والدين فكانت رعية أبي بكر أعلم الأمة وأدينها وأما الذين كان علي يخاطبهم فهم من جملة عوام الناس التابعين وكان كثير منهم من شرار التابعين ولهذا كان علي رضي الله عنه يذمهم ويدعو عليهم وكان التابعون بمكة والمدينة والشام والبصرة خيرا منهم As for the statement of ‘Ali “Ask me”, he only addressed this to the people of Kufah to teach them knowledge and the religion, because most of them were ignorant people who never met the Prophet, peace be upon him.

As for Abu Bakr, those who were around his pulpit were the most senior of the Sahabah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who learnt knowledge and the religion from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. So, the subjects of Abu Bakr were the most knowledgeable of the Ummah and the best in religious practice. However, those whom ‘Ali was addressing, they were commoners among the Tabi’in, and a lot of them were the evil ones among the Tabi’in .

This was why ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, criticized and cursed them, and the Tabi’in in Makkah, Madinah, Syria and Basra were better than them .[^1] He equally adds: فقول علي لمن عنده بالكوفة سلوني هو من هذا الباب لم يقل هذا لابن مسعود ومعاذ وأبي بن كعب وأبي الدرداء وسلمان وأمثالهم فضلا عن أن يقول ذلك لعمر وعثمان ولهذا لم يكن هؤلاء ممن يسأله فلم يسأله قط لا معاذ ولا أبي ولا ابن مسعود ولا من هو دونهم من الصحابة The statement of ‘Ali “Ask me” to those with him in Kufah was in this regard.

He never said this to Ibn Mas’ud, Mu’adh, Ubayy b. Ka’b, Abu Darda, Salman or others like them , much less saying that to ‘Umar and ‘Uthman. This is why these people were not among those who asked him. They never asked him (anything) – not Mu’adh, not Ubayy, not Ibn Mas’ud and not others from the Sahabah .[^2] It is obvious from the words of our dear Shaykh that he accepts the authenticity of Hadith Saluni . He is not calling it “a lie” or “a fabrication”, or dha’if or similar terms.

Rather, he conceded that the event did happen. However, he attempts to downplay the unmatched significance of the hadith .