books in which the worthless and the sound are indiscriminately combined—books that every scholar knows contain falsehoods—such as many works of Quran commentary: the commentary (1) of al-Tha'labī, that of al-Wāhidī, and similar works; and books on virtues compiled by those who combine the worthless and the sound. This is especially true of the preacher of Khwārazm, for he is among the most prolific narrators of fabricated reports. He is not one of those knowledgeable in hadith, nor is al-Maghāzilī (2).

In his book al-Mawdu'āt (Fabricated Reports), Abū al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzī narrated this hadith (3) by way of Abū Hātim al-Bustī: Muhammad ibn Sahl ibn Ayyūb reported to us; Ammār ibn Rajā' reported to us; Ubayd Allāh (4) ibn Mūsā reported to us; Matar ibn Maymūn al-Iskāf reported to us, from Anas (5), that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Indeed, my brother, my minister, my successor (6) from (7) among my family, and the best person I shall leave behind me to settle my debt and fulfill my promise is Ali ibn Abī Tālib.” (8)

Ibn al-Jawzī said, “This is a fabricated hadith.”

Ibn Hibbān said, “Matar ibn Maymūn narrates fabricated reports from trustworthy authorities; it is not permissible to narrate from him.”

He also narrated it by way of Ahmad (9) ibn Adī with approximately this wording, and its chain hinges upon