Musnad of Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Magians had a book which they used to read and knowledge which they used to study. Then one of their leaders committed adultery, and they intended to carry out the prescribed punishment (hadd) on him. Thereupon he said to them: 'Did not Adam (peace be upon him) marry his sons to his daughters?' So they did not carry out the prescribed punishment on him, and (as a consequence) the book was taken up (from them). And indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took the jizyah from the Magians, and so did Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and I (in our times)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When the fighting grew fierce and the two armies met, we would shield ourselves behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and (on the battlefield) none of us was ever as close to the enemy as he (peace and blessings be upon him) was."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he sought permission from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): if a son were born to him after him (peace and blessings be upon him), could he name him after his (peace and blessings be upon him) name and give him his (peace and blessings be upon him) kunyah? Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "This was a concession granted by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," and his name was given as Muhammad and his kunyah as Abu al-Qasim.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he stated: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade me from wearing a gold ring, from reciting the Noble Qur'an while in the state of bowing (ruku'), from wearing 'qassi' (garments with silk woven into them), and from using garments dyed with safflower (deep red or yellow)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "On the day of Badr there was no horseman among us except Sayyiduna al-Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When one of you sneezes, let him say: 'Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil-'alamin 'ala kulli hal' (All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, in every state). And (the one who hears it, in reply) should say: 'Yarhamukumullah' (May Allah have mercy on you). Then (the one who sneezed) should say: 'Yahdikumullahu wa yuslihu balakum' (May Allah guide you and set your affairs right)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said concerning a nursing infant: "Water is (only) sprinkled over the urine of a boy, while the urine of a girl is washed." Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "This ruling applies as long as the two have not (properly) begun to eat food; once they begin to eat food, the urine of both is washed."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) "stood (at first for a funeral) and then (later) sat," meaning that this conduct of his (peace and blessings be upon him) was with regard to funerals.

It is narrated from al-Nazzal bin Sabrah (may Allah have mercy on him) that water was presented to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he drank it standing. Then he said: "Indeed, some people dislike drinking water while standing, yet I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drinking while standing." Then water was brought to him again, and he wiped (his limbs) with it and said: "This is the ablution of one whose ablution has not been broken."

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Zurayr (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "Ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to grant you the custodianship of the keys (of the House of Allah)." So Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) requested it from him (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "I will give you something that is better for you than that: a service that takes nothing from you, and from which you take nothing." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted them with the siqayah (the service of giving water to the pilgrims).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that "Sayyiduna al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) had a spear. Whenever we went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a military expedition, he would plant it (along the way), and the people passing by would pick it up (and carry it along)." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I said: 'I will certainly inform the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of this.' He (al-Mughirah) said: 'Then no lost item would ever be picked up.' So I left him alone."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood at Arafat and said: "This is Arafah, the place of standing, and the whole of Arafah is a place of standing." Then, when the sun had set, he (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from there and seated Sayyiduna Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) behind him. Meanwhile the people were driving their camels hard to the right and left, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards them, saying: "O people, calmness and dignity are binding upon you." When he (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Muzdalifah, he prayed the two prayers there, combined. Then, when morning came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Quzah (a place in Muzdalifah), stood there and said: "This is Quzah, and the whole of Muzdalifah is a place of standing." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from there, and when he reached the valley of Muhassir, he urged on his she-camel until he had crossed the valley. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped and seated Sayyiduna al-Fadl (may Allah be pleased with him) behind him. Then he came to the Jamrah, then he came to the place of sacrifice and said: "This is the place of sacrifice, and the whole of Mina is a place of sacrifice." The narrator said: A young woman of the tribe of Khath'am asked him (peace and blessings be upon him) for a ruling, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, my father is a very old man and his mind has also weakened, while Hajj has become obligatory upon him. Would it suffice if I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perform Hajj on behalf of your father." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned the neck of Sayyiduna al-Fadl (may Allah be pleased with him) to the other side. Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah, why did you turn the neck of your cousin?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw a young man and a young woman, and I did not feel safe for them from Satan (and his temptation)." The narrator said: A man came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have done the stoning (rami) before shaving my head." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Now shave your head or shorten your hair; there is no harm." Then another man came and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have sacrificed before doing the stoning." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Now do the stoning; there is no harm." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the House of Allah and performed tawaf around it, then he came to Zamzam and said: "O sons of Abd al-Muttalib, (hold on to) your office of giving water; were I not afraid that the people (following my example) would overpower you, I would have drawn the water with the bucket myself."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The angels (of mercy) do not enter a house in which there is an image (of a living being), a person in a state of major impurity (junub, one upon whom the ritual bath is obligatory), or a dog."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I was a man who frequently had madhi (pre-seminal fluid), so I instructed Sayyiduna al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about madhi, whereupon he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'For it (the emission of madhi) ablution is required, and for semen (being emitted) the ritual bath is obligatory.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he stated: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade me from reciting while in the state of bowing, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'O Ali, the example of one who does not straighten his back in his prayer is like that of a pregnant woman who conceived, then, when the time of her delivery drew near, she miscarried; so now she is neither pregnant nor has she become the mother of a child.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to send him to Yemen, he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), you are sending me as a judge while I am a young man, and I do not have much knowledge of judging and giving verdicts?" Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) struck my chest with his blessed hand and said: "Go, for Allah will surely keep your tongue firm (upon the truth) and guide your heart (to the right judgement)." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "After that (supplication), I never faced any difficulty or confusion in judging between two people." (In the chain of this report there is an unnamed narrator between Abu al-Bakhtari (may Allah have mercy on him) and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who heard this account directly from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The witr prayer is not definitively obligatory like the other obligatory prayers; rather, it is a Sunnah, so do not abandon it." Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I found it in my writing thus: that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself performed witr.

It is narrated from Asim bin Damrah (may Allah have mercy on him) that we asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about the (voluntary) daytime prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "You will not be able to manage it." We said: "Whoever among us is able to (will do it)." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When the sun was (in the east) at the position at which it is (in the west) at the time of Asr, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray two rak'ahs; and when the sun was (in the east) at the position at which it is (in the west) at the time of Zuhr, he would pray four rak'ahs. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would separate every two rak'ahs by sending salutations (through the tashahhud) upon the angels brought near, the prophets, and the prophets and messengers who followed in their footsteps."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that a silk suit (hullah) was presented as a gift to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) clothed me in it. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I went out wearing it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: 'Indeed, I do not approve for you what I dislike for myself.'" He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered me, so I tore it up and divided it, to make head-coverings, among my womenfolk, namely Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) and the paternal aunt of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to a slave woman who had committed adultery, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Carry out the prescribed punishment on her." I found her still in her postnatal bleeding (nifas), not yet fully free of it, so I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When she has come out of this state of nifas and become healthy and pure, then carry out the prescribed punishment on her." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Carry out the prescribed punishments on the slaves, male and female, whom you own."

Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I set out from Muzdalifah together with Sayyiduna al-Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), and I kept hearing him raise the call 'Labbayk, labbayk' (Here I am, here I am) until he reached the Jamrah. I asked him: "O Abu Abdillah, what is this talbiyah?" He replied: "I heard my father, Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), calling out the talbiyah until he reached the Jamrah, and he narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called out the talbiyah until he reached it (the Jamrah)." Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Then I went to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and told him what Sayyiduna al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) had said, and he said: "He has spoken the truth." He further said: "My brother, Sayyiduna al-Fadl bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), who was riding behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), informed me that he (peace and blessings be upon him) kept calling out the talbiyah until he reached the Jamrah."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed witr in every part of the night: in its early part, in its middle part and in its last part; then his (peace and blessings be upon him) witr came to settle (permanently) on the last part of the night."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a peace treaty with Banu Taghlib on the condition that they would remain on their religion but would not make their children Christians," and they have certainly broken this covenant; so if I attain complete authority and power, I will kill their fighting men and take their offspring captive.

Suwayd bin Ghafalah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "At the end of time a people will emerge who are young in age and foolish in mind. They will (outwardly) speak the best of human words. They will recite the Qur'an, but it will not go beyond their throats. So when you meet them, kill them, for there is a reward with Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection for the one who kills them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took gold in his right hand and held silk in his left hand, then said: "These two are forbidden to the males of my Ummah."

It is narrated from Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon and said: "O people, carry out the prescribed punishment on your slaves, male and female, whether they are married or unmarried; for a slave woman of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) committed adultery, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered me to flog her. So I came to her and saw that she had only recently given birth (nifas), and I feared that if I flogged her (in this state), she would die. So I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him (peace and blessings be upon him) of the situation, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'You have done very well.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to the cloth sellers and said to a man: "Sell me a shirt for three dirhams." The man gave him a shirt, which he put on; it reached from his ankles to his wrists. When he (may Allah be pleased with him) had put it on, he said: 'Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi kasani minar-riyashi ma uwari bihi 'awrati wa atajammalu bihi fin-nas' (All praise belongs to Allah, who has given me clothing with which I cover my nakedness and adorn myself among the people). Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) said that whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) put on a garment, he would supplicate in this way.

Abu Matar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I saw a man being brought to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and the people said that he had stolen a camel. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "I do not think that you have stolen." He said: "Yes (I did)." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Perhaps you are under some misapprehension?" He said: "No, I did steal." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Qanbar, take him away, tie his finger (hand), light a fire, and call the butcher to cut it off, then wait until I come." When he (may Allah be pleased with him) came, he asked him: "Did you steal?" He said: "No." So he (may Allah be pleased with him) let him go. The people said: "O Commander of the Believers, why did you let him go when he had confessed before you?" He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I took him on the basis of his own word (his confession), and now I let him go on the basis of his own word (his denial)." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man who had stolen was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that his hand be cut off and then wept. It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, why are you weeping?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How can I not weep when the limbs of my Ummah are being cut off in your midst?" They said: "O Messenger of Allah, why did you not pardon him?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is an evil ruler who pardons the prescribed punishments (once the matter has come before him); rather, pardon one another among yourselves (before it reaches the ruler)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade me from wearing a gold ring, from using silk-striped garments (qassi) and clothes dyed red with safflower, and from reciting the Noble Qur'an while in the state of bowing." Also, (once) he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me a silk-striped suit, and I went out wearing it, or went (in the evening) wearing it. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw it on me, he said: "I did not give it to you so that you would wear it (yourself)." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I went back and handed one part of it to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), as if she were folding it with me, then I divided it into two parts. She said: "May your hands be covered in dust! What have you done?" I said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden me from wearing it, so now wear it yourself and clothe your other women with it as well."

It is narrated from Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Ali, from his father, from his grandfather, that he said: "I found a scroll tied to the hilt of the sword of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in which was written: 'Indeed, the most severe of people in hostility before Allah is the one who kills someone other than his killer, and the one who strikes someone other than the one who struck him; and whoever denies the favour of his mawali (the patrons who freed him) has indeed disowned what Allah Almighty sent down upon Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not expose your thigh (before others), and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I bear witness that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a peace treaty with the Christians of Banu Taghlib on the condition that "they would not make their children Christians, and if they did so, the covenant of protection (dhimmah) with them would come to an end." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah, they have done it (violated the covenant)! So by Allah, if my authority becomes fully established, I will certainly kill their fighting men and take their offspring captive."

Hujayyah bin Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about (sacrificing) a cow, and he said: "It (suffices) on behalf of seven people." I said: "What if its horn is broken?" He said: "There is no harm in that." I asked: "What if it is lame?" He said: "If it reaches the place of sacrifice (walking on its own, its sacrifice is valid)." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) also said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to examine the eye and the ear (of the sacrificial animal) carefully."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) "used to perform the forenoon prayer (Salat al-Duha)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I heard a man seeking forgiveness for his parents although they were both polytheists, so I rebuked him, whereupon he replied: 'Did not Ibrahim (peace be upon him) seek forgiveness for his father?'" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this incident to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah Almighty revealed this blessed verse: 'And Ibrahim's seeking forgiveness for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him.'" In the chain of this report, Yahya (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it through "Abdullah bin al-Khalil," while Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it through "Abu al-Khalil."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "If I carry out a prescribed punishment on anyone and he dies as a result, I would feel no regret in myself, except for the wine drinker; for if he dies (from being flogged), I will pay his blood money (diyah), because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not fix (a definite measure for) it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that, while mentioning the people of Nahrawan (the Khawarij), he said: "Among them is a man with a deficient hand (congenitally short, or a lump of flesh like a breast). Were I not afraid that you would become boastful (at this glad tiding) and give up deeds, I would certainly tell you what great reward Allah Almighty has promised, on the tongue of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), to those who fight them." Abidah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked: Did you yourself hear this (from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him))? He replied: "Yes, by the Lord of the Ka'bah!"

Qays bin Abbad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Another man and I went to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and I asked him: Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) specially entrust you with anything that he did not entrust to anyone else? He replied: "No, except what is in this sheath of my sword." Then he took out a document in which was written: "The blood of all Muslims is equal (in retaliation and blood money); even the lowest of them can act on behalf of their pledge of protection (that is, he can grant someone protection); and they are united as one hand against their enemies. No believer is to be killed in retaliation for a disbeliever, nor is one under a covenant (a non-Muslim) to be killed during the term of his covenant. Whoever introduces an innovation into the religion or a mischief or crime into the city, or gives shelter to a mischief-making criminal, upon him is the curse of Allah, of His angels and of all people."

It is narrated from Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) that a funeral passed by Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and some people stood up (out of respect), whereupon he asked: "What is this?" The people said: Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) (used to do so). Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood (for a funeral) only once, and after that he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not stand (out of respect)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of Badr the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me and to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him): "With one of you two is Jibril, and with the other is Mika'il, while Israfil is a mighty angel who is present at the battle, or (the narrator is unsure whether he (peace and blessings be upon him) said) he takes part in the fighting."