Ali, took (1) him by both upper arms and lifted them until the people could see the [whiteness] (2) of the Messenger of Allah’s armpits—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They had not yet dispersed when this verse was revealed:

“Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and approved Islam as your religion.”

[Surat al-Māidah: 3]

The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then said, “Allah is the Greatest! The religion has been perfected, the favor completed, and the Lord is pleased with my mission and with Ali’s authority after me.”

He then said:

“Whoever has me as his mawlā, Ali is his mawlā. O Allah, befriend whoever befriends him, be hostile to whoever is hostile to him, support whoever supports him, and forsake whoever forsakes him.”’”

The response may be given from several angles:

First, the authenticity of the hadith itself must be established. Merely attributing its narration to Abū Nuaym does not establish its authenticity, by agreement among Sunni and Shia scholars. Abū Nuaym narrated many hadiths that are weak, including reports unanimously regarded as fabricated by Sunni and Shia hadith scholars. Although he was a hadith master (3), possessed extensive knowledge of hadith, and transmitted widely, he followed the customary practice of hadith scholars like him: they would transmit everything related to a given subject in order that it be known, even though they cited only some of it as evidence.

Compilers followed different approaches. Some would not narrate from anyone whom they knew to lie, such as Mālik, Shuba, Yahyā ibn Saīd, Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. These scholars would not narrate from anyone whom they did not regard as trustworthy,