He was asked about the following report:
“Fātimah came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, Alī prays throughout every night except the night before Friday, when he offers the witr prayer and then sleeps until dawn.’ He replied, ‘Allah raises Alī’s soul every night before Friday, and it glorifies Him in heaven until dawn.’”
Is this authentic? And is it authentically reported that Alī said, “Ask me about the paths of heaven, for I know them better than the paths of the earth”?
He replied:
As for the report mentioned concerning Alī, it is a lie; no scholar has narrated it.
As for his saying, “Ask me about the paths of heaven,” he did say it, but he did not mean by this a path to guidance. Rather, by such words he meant righteous deeds through which one draws near to Allah. And Allah knows best.