his wives are likewise included, as shown by his statement recorded in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and Sahīh Muslim:

“O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, his wives, and his offspring.” (1)

Indeed, all the other members of his household until the Day of Resurrection are included, as are Alī’s brothers, such as Jafar and Aqīl.

It is well known that their inclusion in the invocation of blessings and peace does not indicate that Alī is superior to everyone not included therein, nor that it qualifies him for the imamate, much less that he alone is entitled to it. Do you not see that Ammār, al-Miqdād, Abū Dharr, and others whose excellence [the adherents of] the Sunnah (2) and the Shia agree upon are not included in the invocation of blessings upon the Prophet’s family, whereas Aqīl, al-Abbās, and his sons are included (3)? Yet the former are superior to the latter by agreement of [the adherents of] (4) the Sunnah and the Shia. Likewise, Aisha and the Prophet’s other wives are included, yet no woman is eligible for the imamate, nor is she the best of all people, by agreement of the adherents of the Sunnah and the Shia. Thus, this is a virtue that Alī shares with others, and not everyone who possesses it is superior to one who does not.

It is reported in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and Sahīh Muslim that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“The best generation is the generation among whom I was sent, followed by those who come after them.” (5)

The Followers are superior to the third generation. Yet the superiority of one group as a whole over another does not mean that every individual in the former is superior to every individual in the latter; for among the third and fourth generations are some who are superior to many of those who met the Companions,