Seventh:
It may be said: If it is the siddīq who merits the imamate, then the person most deserving to be a siddīq is Abū Bakr. This title has been established for him by abundant evidence and through mass transmission yielding necessary knowledge among both the elite and the general public—to the point that even the enemies of Islam know it. He would therefore be the one entitled to the imamate. But if being a siddīq does not entail the imamate, the argument is invalid.
[Section: The Twenty-Seventh Proof—“Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly”—and the response to it]
Section
The Rāfidī (1) said:
“The twenty-seventh proof is the words of Allah Most High:
‘Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly.’
[Surah al-Baqara: 274]
It is reported through Abū Nu'aym (2), with his chain of transmission to Ibn Abbās (3), that this verse was revealed concerning Alī (4). He had four dirhams, so he spent one dirham by night, one by day, one secretly, and one openly. Al-Tha'labī also narrated this. This did not occur for anyone else (5), so he must be superior and therefore the imam.”
The answer may be given from several angles:
First: Proof is required that the report is authentic. Its narration by Abū Nu'aym and al-Tha'labī does not establish its authenticity.