and would sometimes tie a stone(1) to his stomach out of hunger, and he would(2) go for a month or two without a fire being lit in his house.

It is established in the two Sahih collections that, among a group of men, one said, “As for me, I shall fast and never break my fast.” Another said, “As for me, I shall pray at night and never sleep.” Another said, “As for me, I shall not marry women.” Another said, “As for me, I shall not eat meat.” The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “Yet I fast and break my fast, pray at night and sleep, marry women, and eat meat. Whoever turns away from my sunnah is not of me.”(3)

How, then, could it be supposed that Alī turned away from the Sunnah of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and that this should be counted among his virtues? What praise is there for anyone who turns away from it?

Then how can it be claimed that, while Alī was in Iraq, he subsisted on nothing but coarsely ground barley with nothing to accompany it and ate neither wheat bread nor meat, when mass-transmitted reports establish the contrary? Did any of the Companions do that? Or did any of them say that doing so was recommended?

As for his statement, “The straps of his sword were made of palm fiber, and his sandal was made of palm fiber,” this too is false and contains nothing worthy of praise. It has been related that the sandal of (the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was made of leather, and the straps)(4) of the Prophet’s sword were(5) made of gold and silver. Allah had made provision readily available to them, so what praise is there in turning away from leather when it was readily available? This is praiseworthy only when it is unavailable.