Review of the Narration: “Ali (RA) is Allah’s Proof Upon His Creation”Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid (May Allah protect him)
❖ The Claim: Ali (RA) is Allah’s Proof Over His Creation
According to a narration attributed to Anas bin Malik (RA):
“I was sitting near the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when Ali (RA) came. The Prophet ﷺ said:
‘O Anas! Who is this?’
I replied: ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.’
The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘O Anas! He is Allah’s proof (ḥujjah) upon His creation.’
Another version adds: ‘He will be the proof upon my Ummah on the Day of Judgment.’
[Mizān al-Iʿtidāl by al-Dhahabī: 6/446; also recorded by Ibn ʿAdī in al-Kāmil under the biography of Maṭar ibn Maymūn]
❖ Critical Evaluation of the Claim
One of the most surprising aspects of this narration is its attribution to Anas bin Malik (RA), who lived until 93 AH and pledged allegiance to several Umayyad caliphs, but never gave allegiance to Ali (RA). This raises serious doubts about the authenticity of this narration.
Al-Dhahabī explicitly states:
“This narration is false (bāṭil).”
❖ The Narrator:
Also referred to as Maṭar ibn Abī Maṭar, this narrator is the primary transmitter of the narration from Anas bin Malik (RA).
Criticism by Hadith Scholars:- Imam Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī, Al-Bukhārī, and Al-Nasāʾī:
He is munkar al-ḥadīth (narrates unacceptable reports).
- Al-Dāraqutnī:
He is matrūk (abandoned in Hadith).
[Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn: 165]
- Al-Bukhārī wrote:
Maṭar narrated from Anas (RA) and ʿIkrimah. Yūnus ibn Bukayr narrates from him. He is munkar al-ḥadīth.
[Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Ṣaghīr: 110]
❖ Other Fabricated Narrations from Maṭar
Maṭar has also been attributed as the source of multiple fabricated narrations, including:
- “Looking at the face of Ali (RA) is worship.”
- “My brother, my minister, my successor among my household, and the best of those I leave behind is Ali (RA).”
Al-Dhahabī states clearly:
The fabricator of all three of these narrations is Maṭar ibn Maymūn.
These narrations have been listed among fabricated reports by:- Ibn Ḥibbān in al-Majrūḥīn: 3/5
- Al-ʿUqaylī in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: 2/252
- Ibn ʿIrāq in Tanzīh al-Sharīʿah: 1/353
- Ibn al-Jawzī in al-Mawḍūʿāt: 1/347
- Mizān al-Iʿtidāl: 1/446
❖ A Fourth Fabricated Narration
Another weak narration recorded by Ibn ʿAdī and Al-Dhahabī states:
“Ali is my brother, my companion, my cousin, and the best of those I leave behind, who will fulfill my debts and promises.”
[Ibn al-Jawzī in al-Mawḍūʿāt: 1/378; al-Hindī in Kanz al-ʿUmmāl: 32907]
❖ Questionable Response from the Narrator
When questioned, the narrator claimed he met Anas (RA) in a place called Khuraybah (a locality in Basrah).
This is cited as his justification for narrating these fabrications.
❖ Another Narrator: ʿUbaydullah ibn Mūsā al-ʿUṣabī al-Kūfī
These fabrications were transmitted from Maṭar by ʿUbaydullah ibn Mūsā, a Kufan.
- Although narrations from him appear in the Ṣaḥāḥ (authentic collections), he was known to be a staunch Rāfiḍī (Shiite).
- His detailed background and sectarian bias have been addressed earlier.
Furthermore, three different narrators — ʿAlī ibn Muthannā, ʿAlī ibn Sahl, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sirāj — narrate this story with different wordings, suggesting that:
Maṭar or ʿUbaydullah fabricated varying versions of the narration to suit specific contexts.
As the principle goes:
“A liar has no good memory.”
This inconsistency is another sign of fabrication.
Conclusion:
The narration stating that Ali (RA) is Allah’s proof over His creation or over the Ummah on the Day of Judgment is:
False in content, Unsupported by authentic chains, Attributed to a known fabricator (Maṭar ibn Maymūn), Propagated through unreliable, sectarian transmitters, Listed among fabricated narrations by major Hadith critics.Hence, this narration is completely rejected in Hadith sciences and holds no authority in Islamic belief.
