had iron enter his body. What he related about Alī combining prayer and almsgiving is likewise false, as explained above, and there is nothing praiseworthy about it. Had this been recommended, it would have been prescribed for Muslims. If Muslims were encouraged to give charity while praying, they would have done so. Since no Muslim has ever deemed this recommended, we know that it is not an act of worship; rather, it is discouraged.

Likewise, it has already been explained that everything he mentioned concerning the vow and the four dirhams is false; nor does it deserve great (1) praise.

As for his statement:

“He freed a thousand slaves from his own earnings.”

This is a lie that only the most ignorant people would believe. Alī did not free a thousand slaves—indeed (2), not even a hundred. Nor did he earn enough through his own labor to accomplish even a tenth of that, for he had no craft that he practiced; he was occupied either with jihad or with other matters.

Likewise, his statement:

“He would hire himself out and provide for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the mountain pass.”

This is manifestly false for several reasons:

First, they would not leave the mountain pass, and there was no one there who would hire him.

Second, his father, Abū Tālib, was with them in the mountain pass and provided for him.

Third, Khadījah was wealthy and provided from her own wealth.

Fourth, Alī never hired himself out in Mecca. He was young when he was in the mountain pass: either nearing puberty or (3) having reached it. Thus, while in the mountain pass, Alī was among those being provided for