Another report, conveying the same meaning as what has preceded.
Ibn ʿAdi said: Abu Yaʿla narrated to us; Kamil ibn Talhah narrated to us; Ibn Luhayʿah narrated to us; Yahya ibn ʿAbd Allah narrated to us, from Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Hubuli, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr, that during the Prophet’s final illness the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Summon for me my brother.”
They brought Abu Bakr, but he turned away from him. He again said, “Summon for me my brother.” They brought ʿUmar, but he turned away from him. He again said, “Summon for me my brother.” They brought ʿUthman, but he turned away from him. Then he said,
“Summon for me my brother.”
So ʿAli ibn Abi Talib was called. The Prophet covered him with a cloak and leaned close to him. When ʿAli came out, he was asked, “What did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say to you?” He replied, “He taught me one thousand gates of knowledge, each gate opening to a further one thousand gates.”
Ibn ʿAdi remarked: “This hadith is munkar; the flaw most likely comes from Ibn Luhayʿah, for he was extreme in his Shiʿite leaning. The leading scholars have critiqued him and judged him weak. Allah knows best.”
Another report
Ibn ʿAsakir (1) said: Abu ʿAli al-Muqriʾ (2) informed us; Abu Nuʿaym the ḥāfiẓ informed us; Abu Ahmad al-Ghaṭrifi narrated to us; Abu al-Ḥusayn ibn Abi Muqātil narrated to us; Muhammad ibn ʿUbayd ibn ʿUtbah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn ʿAli al-Wahbi al-Kufi narrated to us; Aḥmad ibn ʿImrān ibn Salamah—who was trustworthy, upright, and acceptable—narrated to us; Sufyan al-Thawri narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from ʿAlqamah, from ʿAbd Allah, who said:
“I was with the Prophet ﷺ when he was asked about ʿAli. He replied, ‘Wisdom has been divided into ten parts; ʿAli has been given nine parts, and the people share one part.’” (3)
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsakir remained silent about this report and did not comment on its status, whereas it is munkar, indeed fabricated, falsely attributed to Sufyan al-Thawri with this chain. May Allah disgrace the one who forged and invented it.
Another report
Abu Yaʿla (4) said: ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿUmar al-Qawāriri narrated to us; Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us; al-Aʿmash narrated to us, from ʿAmr (5) ibn Murrah, from Abu al-Bakhtari, from ʿAli, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched me to Yemen while I was still young and had no knowledge of adjudication. He struck me on the chest and said, ‘Allah will guide your heart and make your tongue firm.’ After that I never doubted in passing judgment between any two people.”
It is authentically reported from ʿUmar that he used to say, “ʿAli is the most judicial among us, and Ubayy is the most proficient in reciting the Quran.” ʿUmar would also say, “I seek refuge in Allah from a thorny legal problem that has no Abu al-Hasan to solve it.”