2688. ʿAli ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah reported to us; he said: ʿUthman ibn Ahmad narrated to us; he said: Abu Bakr ibn Abi Hamid narrated to us; he said: al-Khadr ibn Muhammad ibn Bukayr ⦗1483⦘ narrated to me; he said: Yaʿqub ibn Abi Maʿruf narrated to me:

“I spent forty years examining the Quran to see whether there was any basis for the claim made by the Rāfiḍah that ʿAli is mawla al-muʾminīn—the patron of the believers—because the Prophet ﷺ is his mawla. Then I found in the Quran: ‘It is not for any human being to whom Allah has given the Scripture, authority, and prophethood to say to the people, “Be servants to me instead of Allah,” but rather, “Be people devoted to the Lord”’ (Al ʿImran 3:79).”