bestowed by the Lord (1).’ And Mecca was conquered through him.”

The response, after saying, “May Allah’s curse be upon the liars (2),” is to ask: Which scholars of transmitted reports have mentioned this? Where is its chain of transmission, and what establishes its authenticity? This is a lie, for Khaybar was not conquered in its entirety in a single day. Rather, it consisted of separate fortresses, some taken by force and others through negotiated settlements. They then concealed what was covered by their agreement with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and thus became belligerents. Neither Abū Bakr nor ‘Umar was defeated there.

It has been reported that ‘Alī wrenched out the fortress gate, but not that he made it into a bridge.

His statement, “Mecca was conquered through him,” is also a lie. ‘Alī played no part in the conquest of Mecca beyond that of the others who participated in it.

The many well-known hadiths concerning the expedition to conquer Mecca bear this out. ‘Alī had resolved to kill two relatives of his sister’s husband, whom his sister Umm Hāniʾ had granted protection. The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—upheld the protection she had granted them. He also intended to marry (3) Abū Jahl’s daughter, until the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—became angry, whereupon he abandoned the idea.

In the two Sahīh collections (4), Abū Hurayrah is reported to have said (5): “On the day of the conquest, we were with the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and he placed Khālid ibn al-Walīd in command of the left flank,