So, they claimed that Muhsin was born during the lifetime of...

So, they claimed that Muhsin was born during the lifetime of the Prophet (S); therefore, the Prophet (S) named him “Muhsin.” And they mention a way to support their claim which does not attach any insult to Ali (as). Their narrative demonstrates the insistence of Ali (as) three times on naming the newborn “Harb,” but the Prophet (S) insisted otherwise. This gives the impression that Ali (as) used to live the mentality of a warrior who thought of nothing other than war...!

The apparent unintentional result is that Ali (as) used to kill people during the wars and he had such an urge to kill them. The issue, then, was not the issue of a sacrifice, of a scapegoat, of the desire to serve the creed as prompted by the divine obligation, so people’s hatred towards Ali (as) would become quite justified.

No matter what, Ibn Shahr Ashub al-Mazandarani regarded the claim that al-Muhsin was born during the lifetime of the Prophet (S) as a lowly claim put forth by bad people prompted by stubbornness.

Says he, “A group of bad people wa carried away by stubbornness to the extent that it said that Abu Bakr was more courageous than Ali (as), that Marhab was killed by Muhammed ibn Maslamah, that Thu al-Thudayya was killed in Egypt, and that during the mission to convey Surat Bara’a, Abu Bakr was in charge over Ali (as).

Some may even say that it was Anas ibn Malik who conveyed it, that Muhsin was born by Fatima (sa) during the lifetime of the Prophet (S) in a miscarriage, and that the Prophet (S)..., etc. Anyone who makes falsehood his conveyance will let his foot slip from the Straight Path: “And Satan made their deeds fair-seeming to them, so he kept them back from the Path, though they were endowed with intelligence and skill” (Qur’an, 29:38).

Some openly expressed their enmity to Ali (as).[^3] Thus, it becomes quite obvious that these folks who attempted to coordinate the miscarriage of al-Muhsin with the others (who are responsible for it) being above doubt, being too pious and too great to commit such a crime. They, therefore, decided that there was, undoubtedly, a miscarriage, but it took place during the lifetime of the Prophet (S).