then Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān accomplished more than ‘Alī in the “general dissemination” of knowledge afforded by holding authority.
As for “particular dissemination,” Ibn ‘Abbās issued more legal opinions than he did, and Abū Hurayra transmitted more reports than he did, although ‘Alī was more learned than both of them, just as Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān were also more learned than both. For the Rightly Guided Caliphs disseminated knowledge generally that people needed more urgently than the particular knowledge conveyed by others.
As for the reports spread by liars and the ignorant claiming that ‘Alī possessed knowledge exclusive to him among the Companions, they are all false. It is established in the authentic collection that he was asked:
“Do you possess anything from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?” He replied: “No, by Him who splits the seed and creates the soul, except an understanding of His Book that Allah grants a servant, and what is in this document.” It contained the prescribed blood-money payments—that is, the ages of the camels required as blood money—as well as the freeing of captives and the rule that a Muslim is not to be put to death for killing an unbeliever.
In another wording:
“Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entrust you with anything that he did not entrust to the people?” He denied this.
There are other reports from him indicating that anyone who claims that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, singled him out for special knowledge has lied about him.
What some ignorant people say—that he drank some of the water used to wash the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and thereby inherited the knowledge of the first and the last generations—is among the most vile and feeble lies. Drinking the water used to wash the deceased is not prescribed, nor did ‘Alī drink any of it. Had this conferred knowledge, everyone present would have shared it with him. No scholar has transmitted this report.