al-Fiqār, and no hero but ʿAlī,” is a fabricated lie. Anyone who reports that this occurred on the day of Badr or on some other occasion is likewise lying. Dhū al-Fiqār was not ʿAlī’s sword; rather, it belonged to Abū Jahl, from whom the Muslims captured it as booty on the day of Badr. It was a sword made of metal. No sword descended from heaven, nor did this sword—or any other—grow longer.

Likewise, what he mentions about fighting the jinn—that ʿAlī or another human fought them in the well of Dhāt al-ʿIlm, or that some other human did so—is all lies. The jinn would never have fought the Companions in the first place. Rather, the disbelieving jinn used to fight the believing jinn. As for ʿAlī and his fellow Companions, their standing was far too great for the jinn to stand their ground against them in battle. It is established in the Sahīh that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb:

“Satan never sees you taking a path without taking a path other than yours.”

The account of ʿAlī being launched from a catapult and of the siege of the fortress called the Raven’s Fort is entirely a fabricated lie. The Muslims never launched anyone from a catapult towards the disbelievers—neither ʿAlī nor anyone else. Indeed, during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, the Muslims only ever set up a catapult against al-Tā’if, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, besieged it after the Battle of Hunayn and the defeat of Hawāzin. He besieged al-Tā’if, set up the catapult, and remained there for a month. It was not conquered until its people later embraced Islam voluntarily. And when