and to declare it false in Minhāj al-Sunnah (4/104), as he did with the hadith cited above there, despite his most excellent explanation—may Allah have mercy on him—that the mutual allegiance meant here is the opposite of enmity, and is a status established for every believer. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is among their leading figures: he regards them as allies, and they regard him as an ally. Thus, it refutes the Khawarij and the Nawasib (those hostile to Ali). However, the hadith does not state that the believers have no ally other than him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Aslam, Ghifar, Muzaynah, Juhaynah, Quraysh, and the Ansar are my allies, to the exclusion of all other people. They have no ally apart from Allah and His Messenger.”

Thus, the hadith contains absolutely no proof that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was more entitled to the caliphate than the two Shaykhs, as the Shiites claim; for mutual allegiance is distinct from wilāyah in the sense of governance. In that case, one would say: “the governor of every believer.” All of this is part of Shaykh al-Islam’s explanation, and, as you can see, it is powerful and sound. I therefore do not know why he declared the hadith false, except for haste and excessive zeal in refuting the Shiites. May Allah forgive both us and him.

2224 — “Whenever the sun rises, there remains no creature of Allah, the Exalted, except that it glorifies and praises Him, apart from Satan and the most rebellious of humankind.” I asked, “Who are the most rebellious of humankind?” He replied: “The worst of creation,” or he said, “the worst of Allah’s creation.”

Ibn al-Sunni recorded it in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah (146), from whom al-Daylami (4/46) narrated it; and Abu Nuʿaym also narrated it in al-Ḥilyah (6/111), through the route of Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid: Safwan ibn ʿAmr narrated to me from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Maysarah Abu Salamah al-Hadrami, from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbsah, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said it. I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Its narrators are known and trustworthy, apart from Abu Salamah al-Hadrami. A number of narrators transmitted from him, including Hariz ibn ʿUthman. Abu Dawud said: “All of Hariz’s shaykhs are trustworthy.”