Fabricated Hadith About Ali (RA) Meeting the Prophet ﷺ First on Qiyamah

Investigative Analysis of the Narration Claiming Ali (RA) Will Be the First to Meet the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment
Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid (May Allah protect him)

❖ The Claim: Ali (RA) Will Be the First to Meet the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment​

According to the narration, Laylā al-Ghifāriyya said:


“I used to accompany the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during battles, treating the wounded and caring for the sick.
When Ali (RA) went to Basrah, I went along with him. There, I saw Aisha (RA) standing alone on foot. I approached her and asked, ‘Have you not heard of the virtue of Ali (RA) from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’
She replied, ‘Yes, I have heard it.’
One time, Ali (RA) came to visit the Prophet ﷺ while he was sitting on my bed, covered with a cloak. Ali (RA) sat between us.
I said, ‘Couldn’t you find any other place to sit?’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘O Aisha, leave my brother. He was the first to accept Islam, he will be the last with whom I will make a covenant at the time of death, and on the Day of Judgment, he will be the first to meet me.’”
[Mizān al-I‘tidāl: 6/556; also narrated by al-‘Uqaylī in al-Ḍu‘afā’: 4/166]

❖ Assessment of the Chain of Narration​

The narration is extremely weak and unreliable. Let's analyze the narrators:

✿ ① Mūsā bin al-Qāsim​

• Al-Bukhari said: He reports narrations which are not narrated by anyone else.
• Al-Dhahabi said: All narrators in this chain are unknown (majhūl).

✿ ② ‘Abd al-Salām Abū al-Ṣalt​

He is the first narrator in this chain and is severely criticized:

• He is accused of fabricating Hadith (wāḍi‘ al-ḥadīth).
• Scholars have rejected his narrations altogether due to his unreliability and tendency to fabricate.

❖ Logical and Textual Issues in the Content​

Apart from the weak chain, the content of the narration itself is problematic and irrational from several angles:

1. Inappropriate Imagery:
   
   • It is highly inappropriate to suggest that a cousin (Ali RA) would sit between a husband and wife on a bed, especially in a culture defined by modesty and etiquette.
   • Ali (RA)’s noble character would never allow for such a scenario.
2. Contradiction with Authentic Hadith:
   
   • In Bukhari and Muslim, Umm al-Mu’minīn Aisha (RA) narrated that:
     
     The Prophet ﷺ said, “Call for me your father Abu Bakr and your brother, so I may write a document appointing him as caliph.”
     She said: “When I rose to go, the Prophet ﷺ became too weak and said: ‘Leave it. Allah and the Muslims will not choose anyone other than Abu Bakr.’”
     
     
   • Therefore, this weak narration appears to have been fabricated as a response to the authentic Hadith about Abu Bakr (RA)'s designation as caliph.

Conclusion:​

The narration claiming that Ali (RA) will be the first to meet the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment is fabricated and holds no authenticity due to the following reasons:


① It is narrated by unknown and discredited individuals like Mūsā bin al-Qāsim and ‘Abd al-Salām Abū al-Ṣalt.
② It includes content that contradicts established Islamic norms and verified Hadiths.
③ It likely emerged as a sectarian response to the well-known and authentic narration of the Prophet ﷺ appointing Abu Bakr (RA) for leadership.


Hence, this narration is to be rejected and cannot be accepted as a legitimate proof in Islamic belief or history.