Overall, in the field of spending in Allah’s cause and in other ways, many of the Muhājirūn and Ansār had merit that Ali did not, for he had no wealth during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

[Section: The Nineteenth Proof—“Ask Those of Our Messengers Whom We Sent Before You”—and the Response to It]

Section

The Rāfidī author said (1): “The nineteenth proof is:

‘Ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before you.’

[Surah al-Zukhruf: 45]

Ibn Abd al-Barr said—and Abū Nuaym also transmitted it (2)—that: ‘On the night the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was taken on the Night Journey, Allah brought him together with the prophets (3), then said, “Ask them, O Muhammad: What were you sent to proclaim?” They replied, “We were sent (4) to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, to affirm your prophethood, and to recognize the authority of Ali ibn Abī Tālib.”’ This explicitly establishes Ali’s imamate (5).”

The response may be given from several angles:

First: The authenticity of this report and others like it must be established.

When, in response to this vile lie and others like it, we demand proof of authenticity, it is not because we doubt that this and its likes are among the most repugnant and abhorrent of lies. Rather, we proceed by way of concession for the sake of argument in debate: even if this were [not] known (6) to be a lie, it would not be permissible to cite it as proof until its truthfulness had been established; for