◉ The Claim: ʿAlī (RA), Hārūn (AS), and the Prophet ﷺ Were Created from the Same Clay
One narration states:
“Hārūn ibn ʿImrān (AS), Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā (AS), and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib were all created from the same clay.”
This narration is transmitted by Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar through his father from his grandfather. It has been cited in:
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (6/135)
- Tārīkh al-Baghdād by al-Khaṭīb (6/59)
- Al-Mawḍūʿāt by Ibn al-Jawzī (1/339)
- Tanzīh al-Sharīʿah by Ibn ʿIrāq (1/351)
- Al-Lāʾī (1/165)
◉ Evaluation of the Narrator: Muḥammad ibn Khalaf al-Marwazī
This narration has been identified as fabricated (mawḍūʿ) and falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. The blame for fabricating it lies with Muḥammad ibn Khalaf al-Marwazī, who narrated it from Mūsā ibn Ibrāhīm.
✔ Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn:
“Muḥammad ibn Khalaf al-Rūzī is a liar (kadhdhāb).”
✔ Imām al-Dāraqutnī:
“This narrator is abandoned (matrūk).”
✔ Ibn Ḥibbān:
“He was a foolish man who would repeat whatever he was told like a parrot; hence, he is to be discarded.”
(Al-Mawḍūʿāt: 1/339)
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī (in Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 6/135):
Reiterates Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn’s verdict and confirms the fabrication.
✔ Ibn al-Jawzī:
Also lists this report as mawḍūʿ in his compilation of fabrications (Al-Mawḍūʿāt 1/339).
✔ Aḥmad ibn Ṣiddīq al-Ghumārī (in Al-Kashf al-Ḥathīth, p. 656):
Reiterates its status as fabricated.
◉ Theological Clarification: The Prophet ﷺ Was a Human Created from Earth
The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ was a human being, and like all humans, he was created from clay. The Qur’an clearly establishes the creation of mankind from ṭīn (clay):
﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ﴾
“We created man from an extract of clay.”
(Sūrah al-Mu’minūn: 12)
As for which type or part of clay, this is not a matter of theological dispute in Islam and holds no doctrinal significance.
◉ Refutation of Sabāʾiyyah and Extremist Claims
The Sabāʾiyyah sect, known for their extreme veneration of ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه), claimed that:
- The Prophet ﷺ was created from nūr (light).
- ʿAlī (RA) shared in this light-based creation.
- ʿAlī (RA) held a divine or semi-divine status.
Such beliefs are heretical and outside the fold of Sunni Islam, as they contradict the Qur’anic principle of human creation from clay and elevate human beings to divine status.
◉ Historical Reality of ʿAlī (RA)'s Political Role
Despite such mystical and exaggerated theological claims, historical reality demonstrates that:
- Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (RA) gained control over regions outside Kūfah, which were under ʿAlī’s (RA) rule.
- During arbitration (taḥkīm), Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (RA) and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (RA) played significant roles, leading to political complications and ʿAlī (RA)’s reduced authority.
These events are well-documented, and they disprove mystical claims of ʿAlī (RA)'s divine superiority, which, if true, would not reconcile with such worldly setbacks.
◉ Conclusion
- The narration claiming that ʿAlī (RA), Hārūn (AS), and the Prophet ﷺ were created from the same clay is fabricated.
- The fabricator, Muḥammad ibn Khalaf al-Marwazī, has been declared a liar and unreliable by leading Hadith critics.
- Theologically, all humans are created from clay, and the Prophet ﷺ being a human was no exception.
- Claims of light-based or divine creation, especially those linking ʿAlī (RA) to divine attributes, stem from heretical sects such as the Sabāʾiyyah.
- Such claims are refuted by both authentic Hadith methodology and sound Islamic doctrine
