About his vast knowledge the Prophet (S) said...

About his vast knowledge the Prophet (S) said, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the gate of this city”.145 In relation to his adherence to the Truth the Prophet (S) said, “Ali is with the Truth and Truth is with Ali”.146 He was just in his dealings with people. He treated people equally. He never indulged himself in the worldly matters.

He would go to the public treasury and would look at the gold and silver and say, “O yellow (meaning gold) and O white (meaning silver), deceive and delude other than me”.147 He would then distribute them among the people until none remains. He would treat the destitute with mercy and would accompany the poor and spend time with them and would help people in need. He would speak the truth out loud and make judgement fairly and justly.

He would rule according to the laws Almighty Allah has revealed, implement Allah’s rules, and follow the way the Prophet followed, until goodness, blessing, welfare and comfort became widespread and covered all the people throughout the land.

In short, Imam Ali was like the (S) in virtuous traits and attributes – except for revelation and prophethood – such that Allah, the Most High, considered Imam Ali (A) – in the verse of muba>halah in the Qur’an – as the Prophet himself (S).148 145 al-Amali, by al-S{aduq, p 343 146 Bih}ar al-Anwar, vol. 29, p 343. 147 Bih}ar al-Anwar, vol.39, p69, vol.40, p333. 148 The ayah of muba>halah is as follows: .If anyone disputes with you after the knowledge has come to you (O Muhammad) say: ‘Come!

Let us summon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, and then let us earnestly pray and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie’. - The Qur’an: The Family of Emran (3): 61.

This verse refers to the dispute between the Nazarenes of Najra>n and Allah’s messenger about the truth of his mission, and after the Prophet presented all evidence to them and they stubbornly refused to accept all proof of reason, Almighty Allah instructed His Messenger through this verse to hold ibtihal with the other party, i.e.

the two parties come Hadith from Amir-ul-Mu’minin (AS) On the Almighty’s attributes Imam Ali peace be upon him states: “He cannot be conceived of by the imagination and He cannot be determined by comprehension. He cannot be perceived by the senses and He cannot be compared with any person. He is One but not numerable and He is Eternal without end.