The Question of Imāmah

The answer: Ali (ra) must be considered from two perspectives: first, from the perspective of his personal perfections and rank; and second, from the perspective of his representation of the collective personality of the descendants of the Prophet (saw). As for this collective personality, it displays, in a certain way, the nature of the Noble Messenger (saw).

Thus, from the first perspective, both Ali (ra) himself and all those upon the path of truth give precedence to Abū Bakr and Umar (ra). They regard their ranks as higher in the service of Islam and in nearness to Allah.

From the second perspective, however, Ali (ra) represents the collective personality of the descendants of the Prophet (saw). Since the collective personality of the descendants of the Prophet (saw) represents a reality pertaining to Muhammad (saw), Ali (ra) is unmatched in this respect. Indeed, the highly laudatory narrations of the Prophet (saw) concerning Ali (ra) are directed toward this second perspective. This truth is confirmed by the following narration of the Noble Messenger (saw):

“The descendants of every prophet descend from himself. My descendants are the descendants of Ali (ra).”

The reason why the laudatory narrations of the Prophet (saw) concerning Ali (ra) became more widespread than those concerning the three caliphs is as follows:

The Umayyads and the Khārijites unjustly attacked and disparaged him. In response, the followers of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah widely circulated narrations concerning him. The other Rightly Guided Caliphs, by contrast, were not subjected to such criticism and slander, and therefore there was no need to spread narrations concerning them.

Furthermore, the Prophet (saw), through his prophetic vision, saw that Ali (ra) would in the future face grave events and internal turmoil. In order to protect him from despair and to prevent his ummah from thinking ill of him, he consoled him with important narrations such as:

مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلاَهُ فَعَلِىٌّ مَوْلاَهُ

and guided his ummah.

The excessive love of the Shī‘a of walāyah for Ali (ra), and their inclination to prefer him due to influences from Sufism, do not make them as blameworthy as the Shī‘a of the caliphate. For those who follow the path of walāyah love their spiritual guides, and it is a feature of love to exaggerate. They wish to see the beloved as greater than his actual rank, and so they see him in that way. Those overcome by spiritual states may perhaps be excused for their excessive love. However, their biased preference for Ali (ra) arising from love can only be excused if they do not insult the Rightly Guided Caliphs, do not harbour hostility toward them, and do not go beyond the fundamental teachings of Islam.

As for the Shī‘a of the caliphate, since political prejudices have taken hold of them, they cannot free themselves from resentment and unfairness, and so they lose the right to be excused. They even confirm the statement:

لاَ لِحُبِّ عَلِىٍّ بَلْ لِبُغْضِ عُمَرَ