Companions of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who had learned knowledge and religion from the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Thus, Abū Bakr’s subjects were the most knowledgeable and devout members of the Muslim nation. By contrast, those whom Alī addressed were ordinary people from among the Successors, many of whom were among the worst of the Successors. This is why Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—would condemn them and pray against them. The Successors in Mecca, Medina, Syria, and Basra were better than they were.

People compiled the judicial decisions and fatwas transmitted from Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Alī. They found that the most correct of them, and those most indicative of their issuer’s knowledge, were the rulings of Abū Bakr, followed by those of Umar.

Accordingly, the cases in which an authoritative text was found to contradict a ruling reported from Umar were fewer than those reported from Alī. As for Abū Bakr, hardly any authoritative text can be found that contradicts his rulings. He was the one who settled matters about which they were uncertain, and no disagreement among them was known during his tenure. Most of the legal rulings over which they disputed arose after Abū Bakr’s time.

The hadith cited from Alī is an evident fabrication, and nothing of this kind may be attributed to him. [Alī] (1) knew Allah and Allah’s religion too well ever to judge by the Torah and the Gospel, for the Muslims unanimously agreed that no Muslim may judge between any parties except by what Allah revealed in the Quran. (* When Jews and Christians referred their disputes to the Muslims for judgment, the Muslims were not permitted to judge [among them] (2) except by what Allah revealed in the Quran. *) (3) As Allah Most High said:

“O Messenger, do not let those who hasten into disbelief grieve you: those who say, ‘We believe,’ with their mouths while their hearts have not believed, and those among the Jews who avidly listen to lies and listen on behalf of other people who have not come to you.”