In the previous article, the arguments of al-Siddiqa al-Tahira, The Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her), for rejecting the fabricated hadith “…la nuwarith, ma tarakna sadaqa” were presented. In this essay, another proof for establishing the falsity of this hadith is offered.
According to a narration cited in Bihar al-Anwar, after the confiscation of Fadak, Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) went to the mosque and objected to Abu Bakr, asking why he had prevented Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) from what the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had granted to her.
The Explicit Opposition of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) to the Fabricated Hadith
Based on clear and authentic reports, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) regarded the hadith “la nuwarith…” attributed to Abu Bakr as fabricated and false. Both Shiite and Sunni scholars have transmitted through reliable narrations that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said:
“Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with Ali; wherever Ali turns, the truth turns with him.”
Furthermore, the explicit rejection of this forged hadith by Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) constitutes a decisive and manifest proof of its invalidity.
The Truth-Adherence of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) in Reliable Sunni Narrations
- Fakhr al-Razi, a leading Sunni authority, in his commentary on Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim in Surat al-Hamd, raises the question of whether Bismillah must be recited aloud or quietly in prayer. He answers,
“It has been repeatedly confirmed that Ali ibn Abi Talib recited Bismillah aloud, and whoever follows him in his religion is rightly guided, because the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said, ‘Allahumma adir al-haqq ma Ali haythu dar.’ O God, cause the truth to revolve with Ali wherever he revolves.”
- Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mutazili writes,
“This hadith is established for me: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said, “Ali ma al-haqq wa al-haqq ma Ali yaduru haythu ma dar.” Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with Ali; the truth revolves wherever he revolves.”
- Al-Ghanji al-Shafi and al-Khatib al-Khwarazmi narrate that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him):
“Indeed, the truth is with you, on your tongue, in your heart, and before your eyes. Faith is intermixed with your flesh and blood just as it is intermixed with my flesh and blood.”
- Al-Haythami, Ibn Asakir, Abi Yala, and Ibn Maghazili narrate from Abu Said al-Khudri that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) pointed to Ali (peace be upon him) and said,
“The truth is with this one; the truth is with this one.”
The Testimony of Umm Salama
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and Ibn Asakir narrate from Abu Thabit, the freedman of Abu Dhar:
“I visited Umm Salama and found her weeping while remembering Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him). She said, “I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say,
Ali ma al-haqq wa al-haqq ma Ali, wa lan yaftariqa hatta yarida alayya al-hawd yawma al-qiyama.
Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with Ali, and these two shall never separate until they come to me at the Pond on the Day of Resurrection.”
The Admission of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr to Aisha
- Ibn Qutayba al-Dinawari writes:
“When Ali (peace be upon him) emerged victorious in the Battle of Jamal and Aisha was defeated, her brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr—who was among Ali’s supporters—visited her. He said:
Did you not hear the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say, “Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with Ali”? Yet you rose against him under the pretext of seeking justice for Uthman!”
- Ibn Mardawayh al-Isfahani relates that Aisha narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family):
“The truth is with Ali, and Ali is with the truth, and they shall never separate until they come to me at the Pond.”
- Ibn Mardawayh also narrates from Abu Dharr, from Umm Salama:
“Truly Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with him; they shall never part until they come to me at the Pond.”
The Inseparability of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) and the Qur’an
- Al-Tayrani, al-Haythami, al-Suyuti, and Ibn Hajar al-Makki narrate from Umm Salama:
“I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say:
Ali is with the Quran, and the Quran is with Ali; they shall never separate until they come to me at the Pond.”
- Al-Zamakhshari writes that Umm Salama said to Abu Thabit:
“By the One in whose hand is my soul, I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) say:
Ali is with the truth and the Quran, and the truth and the Quran are with Ali; they shall never separate until they come to me at the Pond.”
The Prophet’s Supplication for Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him)
- Al-Tirmidhi, al-Dhahabi, al-Hakim al-Nishaburi, al-Tabarani, Abi Yala, al-Suyuti, al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, and al-Hakim al-Haskani narrate,
“The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said, ‘May God have mercy on Ali. O God, cause the truth to follow him wherever he goes.”
- Ibn Asakir, Ibn Mardawayh, al-Tabari, al-Halabi, and al-Qunduzi narrate that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him):
“You are the Greater Siddiq, and you are the criterion that distinguishes truth from falsehood.”
The Prophet’s Counsel to Ammar
- Al-Khatib al-Khwarazmi and al-Hamawaini al-Juwayni narrate:
“The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Ammar:
‘If all people take one valley and Ali takes another, follow the valley of Ali and leave the people altogether. O Ammar, Ali is always upon guidance. O Ammar, obedience to Ali is obedience to me, and obedience to me is obedience to God.’”
- Al-Muhaqqiq al-Ardabili writes,
“Al-Khatib al-Khwarazmi narrates from Ibn Abbas, from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): ‘God has appointed Ali as His proof between Himself and His creation. Whoever knows him is a believer; whoever denies him is a disbeliever; whoever equates him with another is a polytheist; and whoever comes to God with his wilayah is successful.’ The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) also said:
‘Whoever obeys Ali has obeyed me, and whoever denies him has denied me.’”
Obedience to Amir al-Muminin Is Guidance; Enmity Toward Him Is Misery
Al-Tabarsi, al-Hur al-Amili, and Sayed Hashim al-Bahrani transmit:
“‘Urwa ibn al-Zubayr narrated that Abu Bakr said:
I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say:
The truth is with Ali, and Ali is with the truth. Whoever obeys him is rightly guided; whoever disobeys him is corrupted; whoever loves him is fortunate; and whoever hates him is wretched.’”
Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him): The Axis of Truth
The sum of these narrations establishes that Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him), in every word and action, is aligned with truth and reality, and that the truth never departs from him. His testimony and judgment always conform to the pleasure of God and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family). For this reason, rejecting him is, in essence, rejecting the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and the one who rejects him departs from faith and enters the ranks of the disbelievers.
Whoever regards the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) as merely equal to other people places himself among the polytheists. Consequently, if someone dismisses the testimony of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) on the pretext that he is “testifying in his own interest,” that person has undoubtedly deviated from the path of truth and denied the station of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), for he has placed him on the level of ordinary people whose statements may contain error or falsehood.
Thus, anyone who maintains such a position regarding Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) has certainly opposed the Book of God and the Sunnah and has departed from the framework of religion and the sacred law.
