Muslim relates, on the authority of Abū al-Hayyāj, who said: ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—told me, “Shall I not send you on the very mission on which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me: that you do not leave any image without erasing it, nor any elevated grave without leveling it.” (1)

Biographical note: Abū al-Hayyāj is Ḥayyān ibn Ḥuṣayn al-Asadī, a trustworthy Successor (tābiʿī).

Glossary of key terms
– ʾalā: a particle used to draw attention.
– abʿathuka: “I dispatch/commission you.”
– lā tadaʿ: “do not leave.”
– illā ṭamastahā: “except that you efface it,” i.e., eradicate and erase it.
– mushrifan: “raised,” “elevated.”
– illā sawwāytah: “except that you level it,” i.e., make it flush with the ground.

Overall purport of the ḥadīth: The Commander of the Believers ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—may Allah be pleased with him—entrusts Abū al-Hayyāj with the same task the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had once entrusted to him: to remove and obliterate all images because they imitate Allah’s creation and lure people into venerating them, a practice that ultimately paves the way to idolatry.