by either the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, or his father. He was not in a position to provide for himself, so how could he have provided for anyone else?

His entry into the mountain pass occurred during Abū Tālib’s lifetime, as established through mass-transmitted reports. Abū Tālib died before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went to Tā’if, as all agree, and his death and Khadījah’s occurred close together. Thus, Alī’s entry into the mountain pass took place in the early days of Islam.

It is established that Ibn Abbās was born while they were in the mountain pass, and that when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, died, Ibn Abbās was approaching puberty. Alī lived for forty years after the Hijrah, as all agree, and the Prophetic mission began thirteen years before that. The highest age reported for him at his death is sixty-three; therefore, at most, he would have been ten years old when Islam began.

[The Rāfidī’s Third Claim: That He Was the Most Knowledgeable of All People after the Messenger of Allah, Peace and Blessings Be upon Him]

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The Rāfidī (1) said:

“Third, he was the most knowledgeable of all people after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him” (2).

The response is that Ahl al-Sunnah reject this claim and affirm what their scholars have agreed upon: the most knowledgeable of all people after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was Abū Bakr, followed by Umar. More than one scholar has reported a consensus that Abū Bakr was the most knowledgeable of all the Companions, and the evidence