He therefore gathered them and said...

He therefore gathered them and said: “Neither have I neither sealed your door nor Have allowed `Ali’s door to Remain open. It is Allah Who has Ordered sealing of your doors and Leaving `Ali’s door open.”[2] Certain relatives of the Prophet (a.s) too wished that the doors of their homes opened towards the mosque, therefore they complained that showing partiality towards `Ali (a.s) he had allowed him this privilege and refused them the facility.

He said: “Neither have I sent you out nor did I allow `Ali (a.s) to stay. It is Allah who has kept you out and `Ali (a.s) to stay in.”[3] `Umar too considered this a singular privilege for `Ali (a.s) and used to say: “`Ali ibn Abi-Talib enjoyed three such special privileges that if I got even one, it would have meant to me more than owning red haired camels.” When asked what these privileges were, He said: “The first was that he was married to Fatimah bint Muhammad (a.s); secondly, he had the honor of residing inside the mosque with the Prophet (a.s), and thus the matters that were legitimate for the Prophet (a.s) became legitimate for him, and Thirdly, He was given the Standard on The Day of Khaybar!”[4] Ibrahim al-Hamawayni writes in Fara’id al-Simtayn that at least thirty companions have talked about the tradition of Fath al-Bab (The Opening of the Door) and termed it as a singular privilege for Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s).

In the school of Ahl al-Sunnah, while this tradition is certainly quoted, they also mention that the Prophet (a.s) had said “Barring the window of the house of Abū-Bakr, no other window was open towards the mosque.” [1] Sahīh Al-Tirmidhī, Vol 2, Page 214 [2] Khasā’is al-Nassā’ī, Page 37 [3] Mustadrak Hakim, Vol 3, Page 117 [4] Mustadrak Hakim, Vol 3, Page 125 When there was no chance of refuting the first narration, they tried to connect the two versions saying that the first event happened in the first year of Hegira and the second happened during the last days of the Prophet (a.s) This means that when the Prophet (a.s) ordered the sealing of the doors all openings were sealed except that of `Ali’s house.

But when the time for the departure of the Prophet (a.s) was nigh, he ordered Abū-Bakr’s window to remain open towards the mosque and ordered all other windows sealed. This way they thought that a similarity had been established between the two events. But the effectiveness of the similarities of events will be in the event of their weight on the scale of dirayah.