Hārūn ibn Sufyān al-Mustamli said: “I was sitting with ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd when the name of ʿUthmān was mentioned. He remarked, ‘He took one hundred thousand dirhams from the Bayt al-Māl (state treasury) without right.’ I replied, ‘No, by Allah, he only took it rightfully.’ (1)

Abū Dāwūd said: ‘In my estimation ʿAmr ibn Marzūq ranks higher than ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd. ʿAlī has been branded with the mark of wrongdoing, for he said, “It would not grieve me if Allah punished Muʿāwiyah.”’ (2)

Abū Jaʿfar al-ʿUqaylī related: ‘I asked ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad, “Why did you not write down hadith from ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd?” He answered, “My father forbade me to go to him, for reports had reached him that ʿAlī spoke ill of the Companions.”’ (3)

Ziyād ibn Ayyūb said: ‘A man asked Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal about ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd. Al-Haytham exclaimed, “A person like that—does one even ask about him?!” Aḥmad responded, “Restrain yourself, Abū ʿAbd Allāh.” Later another man spoke of him disparagingly, whereupon Aḥmad said, “And does he revile the Companions of the Messenger of Allah?”

Ziyād ibn Ayyūb continued: “I was once with ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd when they questioned him about the Qur’an. He answered, ‘The Qur’an is the Speech of Allah. As for anyone who says it is created, I would not censure him.’” Aḥmad commented, “What has reached me about him is worse than that.” (4)

Abū Zurʿah said: ‘Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal did not approve of writing hadith from ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd or from Saʿīd ibn Sulaymān; I saw both their names struck through in his notebook.’ (5)