al-Qattān that he had spoken critically of him, so al-Bukhārī did not include any of his narrations. No one has ever had as many lies told about him as Ja‘far al-Sādiq, even though he was entirely innocent of them. Knowledge of al-Bitāqa (The Card), al-Haft, al-Jadwal (The Table), bodily twitches, the benefits of the Quran, pronouncements concerning events, various kinds of allusion (1) in Quranic exegesis, and the interpretation of a dream in which a surah is recited was therefore attributed to him. All of this was falsely attributed to him.

Moreover, Ja‘far al-Sādiq learned from his father and from others, as noted above. His father likewise learned from ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn and others. Similarly, ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn (* acquired more of his knowledge from people other than al-Husayn than he acquired from al-Husayn, because al-Husayn *) (2) was killed in 61 AH while ‘Alī was still young. When he returned to Medina, he learned from its scholars. Indeed, ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn learned from the Mothers of the Believers ‘Ā’isha, Umm Salama, and Safiyya. He also learned from Ibn ‘Abbās, al-Miswar ibn Makhrama, Abū Rāfi‘—the freedman of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—Marwān ibn al-Hakam, Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib, and others.

Likewise, al-Hasan learned from his father and others, even from members of the generation of the Followers. This reflected his learning and piety; may Allah be pleased with him.

As for the scholars’ praise of ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn and accounts of his virtues, these are numerous.

Al-Zuhrī said:

“I never met anyone in Medina better than ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn.”

Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd al-Ansārī said:

“He was the finest Hāshimite I saw in Medina.”

Hammād ibn Zayd said that he had heard it related of ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn—who was the finest Hāshimite he had ever met—that he would say:

“O