to Abu Bakr. When Abu Bakr met him he asked, “Have you taken exception to my rule?” ʿAlī replied, “No. I have merely sworn that I will not put my cloak on except to perform the prayer until I have compiled the Quran.” They maintain that he arranged it in the order of revelation. Muḥammad (ibn Sīrīn) said, “Had I been able to obtain that manuscript, it would have contained great knowledge.”

Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab said, “None of the Companions ever used to say salūnī—‘Ask me [anything]’—except ʿAlī.”

Ibn ʿAbbās related that ʿUmar said, “ʿAlī is the soundest of us in judgment, and Ubayy (ibn Kaʿb) is the best of us in recitation.”

Ibn Masʿūd said, “We would say that the most capable judge in Medina was ʿAlī.”

Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab reported from ʿUmar that he would say, “I seek refuge in Allah from a difficult case for which Abū al-Ḥasan (ʿAlī) is not present.”

Ibn ʿAbbās said, “Whenever a trustworthy person conveyed a legal opinion from ʿAlī, we would not depart from it.”

Sufyān (al-Thawrī) narrated, through Kalīb, from Jasrah: She said that when the fast of ʿĀshūrāʾ was mentioned in the presence of ʿĀʾisha, she asked, “Who directs you to observe it?” They answered, “ʿAlī.” She responded, “Indeed, he is the most knowledgeable of those still living concerning the Sunnah.”

Masrūq said, “The knowledge of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—came to rest with ʿUmar, ʿAlī, and ʿAbdullāh (ibn Masʿūd).”

Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Ṭūsī said, “I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say, ‘No Companion of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—has as many virtues reported about him as ʿAlī, may Allah honor his face.’”