Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

340 The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way oflife
Due to the report that was narrated concerning 'Ali (&), in
which the Prophet (g) said to him: "You are to me as Haroon was to
~oosa,""~ those who exaggerate, such as the Rifias, started to use
the phrases 'peace be upon him' or 'may Allah honour his face' with
regard to Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&>I. Undoubtedly he is
deserving of that, but the other Companions are just as worthy."4
This phrase was used by many copyists and scribes, and by some of
the scholars of Ah1 as-Sunnah, specifically with regard to 'Ali(4);
they would say 'peace he upon him' or 'may Allah honour his face'
when referring to him hut not to the rest of the Companions. Even
though the meaning may be correct, we should treat all the
Companions equally in that regard.'15
2. Some of the virtues and most
important characteristics of 'Ali (&)
and the basis for his system of rule
Imam m ad, Ism2eel al-Q2@, an-Nas2'i and Ahu 'Ali an-
Neesahoori said: "There are no reports (with good chains of
narration) concerning any of the Companions more numerous than
those which were narrated concerning 'Ali (&)." 'I6 Al-Hi%& ihn
Hajar said: "The reason for that is that he came at a later stage, i.e., he
was the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs; differences arose during
his time, and there were some groups who rebelled against him. That
was why the Companions explained his virtues so often to people, in
order to refute those who opposed him. Therefore Ah1 as-Sunnah
needed to propagate his virtues, and there were many narrators
thereof. However, each of the four caliphs had a great deal of good
virtues, and if you compare the virtues of the four on the basis of
fairness and justice, the conclusion you reach will never differ from
the view of Ah1 as-Sunnah wal-Jams'ah at all."117 Ihn Katheer said: