Alī (RA) as “Leader of the Righteous and Killer of the Wicked” – Fabricated Report
Author: Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Anwar Zāhid (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Text of the Report
Al-Khaṭīb in Tārīkh Baghdād and al-Ḥākim in al-Mustadrak narrated from Jābir bin ʿAbdullāh (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“ʿAlī is the leader (imām) of the righteous and the killer of the wicked. Whoever helps him will be helped, and whoever humiliates him will be humiliated.”
References:
- al-Mustadrak (1/169, no. 4644)
- Kanz al-ʿUmmāl (11/602)
- al-Ḍaʿīfah (1/532)
- al-Khaṭīb, Tārīkh (2/377; 4/219)
- Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿāt (1/353)
- al-Suyūṭī, al-Laʾālīʾ al-Maṣnūʿah (1/171)
Al-Ḥākim’s Judgment and al-Dhahabī’s Rebuttal
Al-Ḥākim declared: “Ṣaḥīḥ al-isnād.”
Imām al-Dhahabī responded:
«قلت بل والله موضوع و احمد كذاب فما أجهلك على سعة معرفتك»
“I say: By Allah, it is fabricated, and Aḥmad is a liar. How ignorant you are despite your vast knowledge!”
Narrators in the Chain
① Aḥmad bin ʿAbdullāh bin Yazīd al-Hāshimī
- Lived in Sāmarrāʾ.
- Ibn ʿAdī: “Used to fabricate aḥādīth.”
- Death: 371H.
[Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 1/249; al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn 1/79]
② ʿAbd al-Razzāq bin Hammām
- Narrator in the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah.
- Held Shīʿī views; in old age lost his mental faculties.
- Any narration from him that supports Shīʿī doctrine is not acceptable.
③ ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUthmān bin Khuthaym al-Makkī
- Yaḥyā bin Maʿīn: “His ḥadīth is not a proof.”
- ʿAbd al-Raḥmān: Would not narrate from him.
- al-Nasāʾī: Weak.
[Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 2/402]
Scholarly Observation
It is astonishing that al-Ḥākim declared this fabricated report as authentic. This is why the scholars said:
«لا تغتر بتحسين الترمذي ولا بصحيح الحاكم»
“Do not be deceived by al-Tirmidhī’s grading of ḥasan, nor by al-Ḥākim’s grading of ṣaḥīḥ.”
This chain contains:
- One fabricator (Aḥmad bin ʿAbdullāh)
- One weak narrator (ʿAbdullāh bin Khuthaym)
- One narrator biased toward Shīʿī views (ʿAbd al-Razzāq)
Yet al-Ḥākim still declared it ṣaḥīḥ. Scholars have noted that al-Mustadrak contains numerous such errors—Muḥammad bin Jaʿfar al-Kattānī stated that a quarter of al-Mustadrak is filled with munkar and weak reports, and over a hundred are fabricated.
[al-Risālah al-Mustatrafah, p. 19]
Conclusion
- Verdict: Fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
- Reason: Chain contains a known fabricator, a weak narrator, and a sectarian bias.
- Authenticity: Rejected by major ḥadīth critics despite al-Ḥākim’s grading.
