ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—may Allah be pleased with him—the Musawī sharif surnamed al-Murtadā, “the Possessor of the Two Glories.”

He was older than his brother al-Radhī, “the Possessor of the Two Noble Lineages,” who was the naqīb of the Ṭālibids. Gifted in poetry, he was regarded as an authority in Imāmī (Twelver) and Muʿtazilī theology and debated those doctrines; scholars of every persuasion argued before him. He produced numerous writings on Shiʿi doctrine, in both its fundamentals and its ancillary rulings.

Ibn al-Jawzī records in his biography several distinctive Shiʿi opinions he held, among them:
• that prostration in prayer is valid only on bare earth or something of the same substance;
• that cleansing with stones (istijmār) suffices after defecation but not after urination;
• that it is unlawful to marry women from the People of the Book, and that the meat they slaughter—as well as any food handled by them or by other unbelievers—is forbidden;
• that divorce is not effected without the presence of two witnesses, and that a conditional divorce does not take effect even when its condition is fulfilled;
• that whoever sleeps through the ʿishāʾ prayer until midnight must make it up and fast the following morning as expiation;
• that a woman who cuts off her hair must offer the expiation prescribed for accidental killing;
• that anyone who tears his garment in mourning must expiate as for breaking an oath;
• that a man who unwittingly marries a woman already married must give five dirhams in charity; and
• that the thief’s hand is severed at the bases of the fingers.

Ibn al-Jawzī ⦗1⦘ writes: “I copied these rulings from the handwriting of Abū ’l-Wafāʾ ibn ʿAqil,” adding, “These are astonishing opinions that shatter the consensus, and even more astonishing is his reviling of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them.”

He then quoted some vile words in which al-Murtadā pronounced ʿUmar ⦗ibn al-Khaṭṭāb⦘, ʿUthmān, ʿĀʾisha, and Ḥafṣa—may Allah be pleased with them—disbelievers. May Allah disgrace him and those like him from among the impure rejecters, should he not have repented.

Ibn al-Jawzī further narrates: “Ibn Nāṣir told us, on the authority of Abū ’l-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ṭiyūrī, who said: I heard Abū ’l-Qāsim ibn Barhān relate: ‘I visited al-Sharif al-Murtadā Abū ’l-Qāsim al-ʿAlawī during his final illness. He had turned his face to the wall and I heard him saying, “Abū Bakr and ʿUmar assumed authority and were just; they sought mercy and were shown mercy. As for me, I claim they apostatized after embracing Islam.” I rose, and had not yet reached the threshold when I heard the cry announcing his death.’” He died this year at the age of eighty-one.

Ibn Khallikān ⦗2⦘ also mentioned him, glossing over his faults ⦗3⦘—as is his habit when praising poets—and quoted some of his fine verses. He added: “It is said that he is the one who compiled Nahj al-Balāghah.” May Allah pardon him and show him mercy.