is a fabricated lie, as all scholars well versed in hadith (1) agree. The mere fact that the author of al-Hilya and others like him (2) transmitted it neither establishes nor indicates its authenticity. The author of al-Hilya narrated weak—and indeed fabricated—hadiths concerning the virtues of Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, Alī, the allies of Allah, and others, as the scholars unanimously agree (3). He and others like him are trustworthy hadith masters and authorities (4), reliable in what they narrate from their teachers; the fault, however, lies with transmitters earlier in their chains. They did not lie when reporting from those on whose authority they transmitted. Rather, one of the transmitters in the chain may have deliberately lied or erred. They merely convey from those who narrated to them what they heard and transmit singular reports so that they may be known.

Most singular reports are weak, as Imam Ahmad said:

“Beware of these singular reports, for most of them are weak.”

The statement in the hadith, “He is the word of righteousness,” itself shows that this is a lie (5). Calling him a “word” is analogous to calling the Messiah, peace be upon him, the Word of Allah (6). The Messiah was so called because his likeness before Allah is that of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be!” and he was. Thus, he was created by the word. As for Alī, he was created just as