‘Alī (1) is a good deed alongside which no sin can do harm, while hatred of him is a sin with which no good deed can avail (2).’”
The response is that the book al-Firdaws (3) contains as many fabricated hadiths as Allah willed. Although its compiler, Shīrawayh ibn Shahradār al-Daylamī (4), was a student and transmitter of hadith, he collected these hadiths, omitted their chains of transmission, and transmitted them (5) without regard for whether they were authentic, weak, or fabricated. For this reason, it contains a great many fabricated hadiths.
This is one of those hadiths which every Muslim recognizes that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would never have said (6). Love for Allah and His Messenger is greater than love for ‘Alī, yet sins still cause harm despite such love. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would flog ‘Abd Allāh ibn Himār (7) for
(1) K reads: “‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib—peace be upon him.”
(2) K reads: “does not avail.”
(3) W reads: “It is therefore said: As for the book *al-Firdaws*…”
(4) A, N, B, and M read: “Shahrayār,” which is an error. He was Shīrawayh ibn Shahradār ibn Shīrawayh ibn Fanākhasrū. Born in 445 and deceased in 509, he was a historian and hadith scholar. His works include *Tārīkh Hamadhān* and *Firdaws al-Akhyār*, a large hadith compilation that was abridged by his son Shahradār. Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī then abridged that abridgment. See the biography of Shīrawayh in *Shadharāt al-Dhahab*, 4/23–24, and *al-A‘lām*, 3/268.
(5) The phrase “transmitted them” is absent from N, M, and W.
(6) A and B read: “did not say it.” I did not find this fabricated hadith, but I found a similar fabricated hadith cited by Ibn al-Jawzī in *al-Mawdu‘āt*, 1/37: “Love for ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib consumes sins just as fire consumes firewood.” It was also cited by al-Suyūtī in *al-La’ālī al-Masnū‘a*, 1/355.
(7) W reads: “‘Abd Allāh Himār,” with *Himār* in the accusative; N and M have *Himār* in the nominative.