He was from the Shi’ah of Imam ‘Ali .

He was from the Shi’ah of Imam ‘Ali .[^7] Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr adds: وكان متشيعا في علي ويفضله ويثني على الشيخين أبي بكر وعمر ويترحم على عثمان He was a Shi’i of ‘Ali and considered him the most superior .

He used to extol the two Shaykhs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, and would ask for Allah’s mercy upon ‘Uthman.[^8] Al-Hafiz explains the words of Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr above: قال أبو عمر كان يعترف بفضل أبي بكر وعمر لكنه يقدم عليا Abu ‘Umar said: He accepted the merit of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar but he considered ‘Ali to be the most superior .[^9] This creates an impossible dilemma for Sunni Islam. If Sunnis stick with their view that Shi’ism – as defined by them – is a bid’ah ,…