Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Mr. Burhanbhai,

Re: 'ahaadiths'  of Imam Ali (A.s.)

I shall be highly obliged if you will kindly advise me the best 'ahaadith ' available of Imam Ali (A.s.) to enable me to enhance more knowledge of Islam, apart from the Prophet (Saws) 'ahaadith' that you advised me earlier on.

Pls treat this as URGENT and reply by return.

Kind Regards,

Your brother in Islam,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Hadith of Imam Ali (r.a.)

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21: There is indeed the best model for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 79-80: We have sent you (O Mohamed) as a Messenger to mankind, and Allah’s witness suffices for this.   Whoever obeys the Messenger, in fact obeys Allah, and whoever turns away from him, he will be accountable for his deeds. Anyhow, we have not sent you (O Mohamed) to be a guardian over them.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32: Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.”  Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.”  And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.

Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 7 Surah Al-Ara’af verse 157: So, now Mercy has been assigned to those who follow this Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whose mention they shall find in the Torah and the Gospel.  He (Mohamed (saws)) enjoins them to do good and forbids them for evil.   He makes pure things ‘halaal’ for them and impure things ‘haraam’.  He relieves them of their burdens and frees them from the shackles that they bound themselves with (of customs and pagan rituals).

My beloved brother in Islam, Allah is very consistent in stating in the Holy Quran, that the only thing we need to follow to become believers, is Allah and His Messenger (saws). These are the only two sources that we need to always keep in mind. There is no third source, nor is it needed for a true believer.

Regarding the authentic ahaadiths of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him), it is extremely difficult … simply because so many people have written so many things about Hadrat Ali (r.a.), that it becomes difficult to say if one compilation is more authentic than the other.   A lot of sects and creeds have crept up in Islam, and most of them have used Hadrat Ali (r.a.) as their guide and leader … and some unscrupulous people have ascribed to his noble and blessed character many things, which are absolutely against the high station and noble rank of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taalib (r.a.). He was a true believer, and thus he too followed the same two sources all his life … Allah and His Messenger (saws), and it is inconceivable to even think that he ever did or said anything against any of the commandments of Allah and His Messenger (saws).  Thus if you truly want to follow Hadrat Ali (r.a.) and use him as your guide, follow what he followed… Allah and the Messenger (saws).

Because we have been specifically commanded in the Holy Quran, and in several narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to follow ONLY Allah and His Messenger (saws), the scholars of all ages have pre-dominantly only worked on only these two sources.  The Quran was completely revealed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and thus the knowledge of Islam was completed before his death.   After his (saws) death, nothing could be added to Islam, nor anything taken out!   Thus if we follow Allah and the Messenger (saws), we will have a complete understanding of Islam, without leaving anything out.

Almost all of the Imam Ali’s hadiths are the ones relating to the time when the Messenger of Allah (saws) was alive, and these have been recorded in the collection of ‘sahih – hadiths’ by the various eminent scholars. I have been able to locate about 80 odd hadiths which involve Imam Ali (r.a.) in the ‘sahih’ collections.  If you want, I can list them all and send them to you.

Everything else that happened after the death of the Prophet (saws), is considered the History of Islam, and nothing to do with our guidance to Islam.

Thus follow Allah and His Messenger (saws) as commanded by Allah in the Holy Quran, and Insha Allah, you will never go wrong.   

May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan