If you do not know, that is a calamity; but if you do know, the calamity is greater still.
Fifth: Allah—Glorified and Exalted—has mentioned calling upon the People of the Book as witnesses in more than one verse, as in His words:
“Say, ‘Have you considered: if it is from Allah and you then disbelieve in it?’”
[Surah Fussilat: 52]
“And a witness from the Children of Israel testified to the like of it.”
[Surah al-Ahqāf: 10]
Do you suppose that Alī was one of the Children of Israel?
He also said:
“If you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down to you, ask those who read the Scripture before you.”
[Surah Yūnus: 94]
Was Alī, then, among those who read the Scripture before him?
He also said:
“We sent before you none but men to whom We revealed.”
[Surah Yūsuf: 109]
“Ask the People of the Reminder.”
[Surah al-Nahl: 43]
Are the People of the Reminder (1)—those (2) who are asked whether Allah sent men to them (3)—Alī ibn Abī Tālib?!
Sixth: Even if it were assumed that Alī was the witness, it would not follow that he was superior to others. Likewise, the People of the Book who testify to this—such as Abd Allāh ibn Salām * and Salmān, Ka'b al-Ahbār, and others—are not superior to the first forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers * (4), such as Abū Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, Alī, Ja'far, and others (5).
(1) “The People of the Reminder” is absent from (S) and (N); (B) reads: “then the People of the Reminder.”
(2) “Those” is absent from (M), with a blank space in its place.
(3) “To them” is absent from (M), with a blank space in its place.
(4) The passage between the two asterisks is absent from (M).
(5) In his *Tafsīr* (al-Ma'ārif ed., 16:500–507), al-Tabarī states that, according to the reading “and whoever has knowledge of the Book,” the meaning is “and those who have knowledge of the Book”—that is, the books revealed before the Quran, such as the Torah and the Gospel. He states that the exegetes interpreted the passage according to this reading. He then cites reports (20535–20541) identifying the referent as Abd Allāh ibn Salām, as well as other reports stating that they were people from among the People of the Book, including Abd Allāh ibn Salām, Salmān al-Fārisī, and Tamīm al-Dārī.
Ibn Kathīr says in his commentary on the verse: “It has been said that it was revealed concerning Abd Allāh ibn Salām; Mujāhid held this view. This opinion is strange, however, because the verse is Meccan, whereas Abd Allāh ibn Salām embraced Islam only when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—first arrived in Medina. The more evident interpretation is that reported by al-Awfī from Ibn Abbās, who said: ‘They are from among the Jews and Christians.’” See the remainder of his discussion.
Al-Qurtubī says in his commentary on the verse: “Judge Abū Bakr Ibn al-Arabī said: As for one who claims that the referent is Alī, he relies on one of two grounds: either because, in his estimation, Alī was the most learned of the believers—though this is not so; rather, Abū Bakr, Umar, and Uthmān were more learned than he—or because of the Prophet’s saying, ‘I am the city of knowledge, and Alī is its gate.’ This is a baseless hadith.”