whereupon certain people criticized him, saying, “He only left him behind because he dislikes him” (86). Whenever the Prophet ﷺ departed from Madinah he would place a man from his community in charge, leaving with him a number of believers over whom he would act. In the year of Tabūk, however, he granted no able-bodied believer permission to remain behind; therefore, no one stayed without an excuse except someone disobedient to Allah and His Messenger. That made this particular deputation appear weak, and the hypocrites seized on it for their slander. The Prophet ﷺ therefore clarified, “I did not leave you behind because your standing is diminished in my sight. Moses left Aaron in command—and Aaron was his partner in the mission. Are you not pleased to hold with respect to me the position of Aaron in relation to Moses, taking my place among my family just as Aaron took the place of his brother Moses?”
It is well known that he had deputized others (87) before ʿAlī, and those held the same position in relation to him (88); hence this was not an exclusive distinction. Had this appointment been superior to the others, ʿAlī—may Allah ennoble his face—would certainly have realized it and would not have come out to the Prophet weeping (89) and saying, “Do you really leave me behind with the women and children?”
Another indication is that, after this deputation, the Prophet placed Abū Bakr over him in the ninth year. That earlier appointment took place at the outset of the Tabūk expedition; but when the Prophet returned from the campaign he entrusted ⦗3/b⦘ Abū Bakr (90) with leading the pilgrimage and then dispatched ʿAlī after him. When ʿAlī caught up with him he asked, “Commander or commanded?” He replied, “Rather, commanded” (91). Thus Abū Bakr led the prayer while ʿAlī and others stood behind him; he issued orders over ʿAlī and the rest of the Companions, and they obeyed Abū Bakr. Meanwhile, ʿAlī proclaimed the annulment of the treaties that had existed between the Prophet ﷺ and the idolaters, because the prevailing custom was that only a man of his household would conclude or dissolve covenants. For that very reason the Prophet ﷺ said, in keeping with that custom, “None shall deliver this proclamation on my behalf except a man from my household” (92).
This, then, was not unique to ʿAlī—may Allah ennoble his face; any member of the Prophet’s family could have revoked the treaty and the purpose would have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, ʿAlī is the most excellent of Banū Hāshim after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
(86) This report also appears in the hadith of Saad ibn Abi Waqqas recorded by al-Nasai in Khasa’is, p. 51, no. 42. The editor states: “Its chain is sound together with what follows.” The wording is: “When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out for the expedition of Tabuk, he left Ali in Madina. People said about him: ‘He has grown tired of him and dislikes his company…’ ” I note that the chain contains Qatadah, who transmits with the ambiguous formula ‘an and was known for tadlis. Ismail al-Qadi relates in Ahkam al-Quran: “I heard Ali ibn al-Madini declare the reports of Qatadah from Said ibn al-Musayyib to be very weak, saying: I suspect that, between Qatadah and Said, there are other narrators.” The hadith is also transmitted by Ibn Abi Asim in al-Sunnah, no. 1343, by Abu Nuaym in al-Hilya 7/196, and by al-Khatib in al-Tarikh 1/324–325 through several chains from Qatadah. Reliable corroborations for the substance of the report are found in al-Tirmidhi, Sunan no. 3731, and in al-Nasai, Khasa’is nos. 43, 44, 46.
(87) See: Ibn Hisham, al-Sira, 2/302; 3/92, 292, 298, 306, 401, 426; 4/59.
(88) The original manuscript reads: “with this.”
(89) I have not found an authentic narration that mentions Ali’s weeping. The point occurs in the hadith of Abu Sa id al-Khudri preserved by al-Nasai in Khasa’is, p. 63, no. 57, which contains: Ali said, “O Messenger of Allah! Quraysh claim that you left me behind because you considered me burdensome and disliked my company,” and Ali then wept… The editor judged its chain weak. The isnad includes Abd Allah ibn Sharik, about whom criticism exists, and al-Harith ibn Malik, who is unknown (al-Taqrib nos. 1046, 3384).
(90) The original manuscript has: “Abu Bakr.”
(91) Al-Nasai, Book of Hajj, chapter “The sermon before the Day of Tarwiyah,” 5/247, no. 2993, with the wording: Abu Bakr asked him, “Are you a leader or a messenger?” He replied, “No, rather a messenger….” Al-Nasai comments: “Ibn Khuthaym is not strong in hadith; I included this report only to prevent someone from attributing the narration of Ibn Jurayj from Abu al-Zubayr…” and so on. Al-Albani listed it in Daif Sunan al-Nasai and declared the chain weak, no. 2993.
(92) Ibn Hajar states in Fath al-Bari 8/320, Book of Tafsir, chapter ‘And a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger…’: “Ahmad transmits with a hasan chain from Anas that the Prophet ﷺ sent Bara’a (Surat al-Tawba) with Abu Bakr, but when he reached Dhu al-Hulayfa he said, ‘It will not be conveyed except by me or by a man from my household,’ so he sent Ali with it.” See Musnad Ahmad 13/434, no. 13214. Al-Tirmidhi also records it (Sunan 5/275, no. 3090) and al-Nasai in Khasa’is Ali (no. 70) with the wording: “No one should proclaim this except a man from my household,” then he called Ali and gave it to him. Al-Tirmidhi comments: “Hasan gharib from the report of Anas.” The chain is hasan: all its narrators are trustworthy except Simak ibn Harb. Ibn Hajar in al-Taqrib describes him as reliable though his reports from Ikrimah are confused; in his later years he changed and could be prompted (al-Taqrib no. 2624). Here, however, he narrates from Anas ibn Malik, not from Ikrimah.