The response may be given from several angles:

First: We do not concede that this report is authentic, and he has cited no evidence of its authenticity.

Second: By consensus of the scholars and hadith experts, this is a fabricated lie.

Third: This verse occurs in Surah al-Baqarah, which is Medinan by consensus of the Muslims, and it appears in the context of an address to the Children of Israel. Whether the address is directed to them (1), or to them and the believers (2), it was revealed after the Hijra, when those who prayed and bowed had already become numerous. It was not revealed at the beginning of Islam such that it could be claimed to apply specifically to the first person who prayed and bowed.

Fourth: The words “with those who bow” employ the plural form. Had the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and Alī been intended, it would have said, “with the two who bow,” using the dual form. By unanimous agreement, the plural form is not used to mean precisely two. Rather, it may apply either to three or more, or to two or more; but to intend precisely two is contrary to consensus.

Fifth: Allah said to Mary:

“Be devoutly obedient to your Lord, prostrate, and bow with those who bow.”

[Surah Āl Imrān: 43]

Mary lived before the advent of Islam (3). It is therefore known that there were people who bowed before Islam (4), and Alī was not among them. How, then, could there not have been people who bowed at the beginning of Islam among whom Alī was not included, when the wording in both instances is the same?