The Shia say that this hadith (I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate) proves that the only source of the knowledge of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). Moreover, Sayyidina Ali has more knowledge than all the other companions and is the most excellent among them.
And from this hadith, the Imamate and Caliphate of Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) is also proven. In other words, in this hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ presented Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) as the true heir of his knowledge. Sayyidina Ali is the inheritor of all the outward and inward knowledge of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.
Also, the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt receive divine knowledge (Ilm Ladunni), meaning their knowledge continues to flow from the grace of revelation. In fact, from this hadith, the Shia prove the principle of Imamate that only that Imam can be the true guide who is the scientific, spiritual, and moral successor of the Prophet.
First Point
This hadith is well-known among us, both among the common and the learned. It is narrated in
Reference: (Mustadrak Hakim: 4639)
from Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), and in
Reference: (Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir by Tabarani: 11061, and Mustadrak Hakim: 3/126)
from Abdullah bin Umar, and even in Mustadrak Hakim it is narrated from Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).In Jami' Tirmidhi, its words are (( أنا دارالحکمۃ… )) "I am the house of wisdom..."
Reference: (Jami' Tirmidhi: 3723)
.Second Point
Sayyidina Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) is a companion of the Prophet, among Allah's righteous servants, and the fourth rightly guided Caliph. There is no denial of his virtue and status; rather, the authentic hadiths establishing his merits are so numerous that there is no need to pay attention to weak or fabricated hadiths. Only a believer loves Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and only a hypocrite harbors enmity towards him. However, it is not permissible to exaggerate regarding him or any other wali (friend) of Allah.
Third Point
This hadith is narrated through various chains, but it does not reach the level of authenticity with all its chains. Many scholars have explicitly stated this, and several have declared it fabricated (man-made).
Imam Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, has discussed all the chains of this narration in great detail, spanning nearly six pages. He has declared it baseless both rationally and textually. He states: This hadith is not established by any chain
Reference: Mawdu'at, p. 353, vol. 1
.Consider the statements of some hadith scholars:
◈ Imam Tirmidhi described this hadith as "strange, rejected"
Reference: (Jami' Tirmidhi: 3723)
.◈ Imam Tirmidhi narrates: "I asked (Imam) Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari about this hadith narrated on the authority of Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the Prophet ﷺ said: 'I am the house of wisdom and Ali is its door.' Imam Bukhari did not recognize this hadith (meaning it was not known to him), and he declared it rejected (denied and doubtful).
Then Imam Tirmidhi himself comments: None of the reliable students of Shareek have narrated this hadith, and in the narration of Salmah bin Kaheel, we do not know this hadith from anyone other than Shareek
Reference: (Al-‘Ilal al-Kabir: 699)
.◈ Imam Aqili, may Allah have mercy on him, says: There is no authentic hadith regarding this text
Reference: (Al-Du‘afa: 3/149)
.◈ Ibn al-Qaysarani, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
This hadith is among those fabricated by Abu al-Salt al-Harawi, and liars have followed in his footsteps
Reference: (Tadhkirat al-Huffaz p. 137)
.◈ Imam Darqutni has declared the narration from Sayyiduna Ali as disturbed
Reference: (3/247)
.◈ Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
This is a false hadith; the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the city of knowledge and its gates are his companions; among them are wide gates and some of medium rank according to their levels of knowledge
Reference: (Ahkam al-Qur’an: 3/86)
.◈ Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, spoke extensively on the hadith of Ali, the hadith of Ibn Abbas, and the hadith of Jabir, collected all the chains, and concluded: "And the hadith has no basis (origin)"
Reference: (Al-Mawdu'at: 1/355)
.◈ Imam Dhahabi states: This hadith (I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate) is the weakest narration. Despite Imam Tirmidhi's narration, it has been classified among the fabricated hadiths
Reference: (Al-Muntaqa min Minhaj al-I'tidal fi Naqd Kalam Ahl al-Rafd wal-I'tizal: 496)
.◈ Allama Albani discussed all its chains and declared it fabricated
Reference: (Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da'ifah: 2955)
.◈ Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: As far as the hadith "I am the city of knowledge" is concerned, it is very weak and weak, which is why it is counted among fabricated and false hadiths, although it has been narrated by Tirmidhi. For this reason, Ibn al-Jawzi mentioned it among the fabricated hadiths and clarified that this hadith is fabricated through all chains. The falsehood is recognized from its text alone; there is no need to examine its chain. Because if the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the city of knowledge and it has only one gate, then this is something that should be narrated not by one person but by many with mutawatir transmission, through which the unseen knowledge is obtained. The narration of one person does not provide the benefit of knowledge except with supporting evidence, and those evidences are either absent or hidden from the majority or most people; therefore, they do not acquire knowledge from the Quran and mutawatir Sunnah; unlike mutawatir transmission, through which both the specific and general people acquire knowledge. And this hadith was fabricated by some heretic or ignorant person who considered it praise; whereas it is a way for heretics to disparage the knowledge of religion when the one who conveys the religion is only one companion from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Moreover, it contradicts the mutawatir knowledge; because the knowledge of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, reached all the cities of Muslims through other companions besides Sayyiduna Ali
Reference: (Majmu' al-Fatawa: 4/410-411)
.Some scholars have called it authentic or good, but their opinion is not correct; rather, according to the majority of both ancient and contemporary scholars, this hadith is not established.
Fourth Point
This hadith contradicts other authentic hadiths; moreover, if it is understood from this that only Hazrat Ali is the sole gateway to the knowledge of the Prophet, then it would mean that thousands of hadiths narrated from other companions, jurisprudential opinions, and religious traditions become unreliable. This is not only against reason and tradition but also affects the entire scholarly and religious structure of Islam.
Fifth Point
The knowledge of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ reached all the major cities of Islam not only through Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه but also through other esteemed companions رضي الله عنهم. The people of Medina and Mecca acquired religious teachings from Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Ibn Abbas, and Hazrat Aisha رضي الله عنهم. In Sham and Basra, very few narrations came from Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه; there, companions like Hazrat Muadh bin Jabal, Hazrat Abu Darda, and Hazrat Ibn Umar رضي الله عنهم were major sources of knowledge. Even in Kufa, where the scholarly influence of Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه was most prominent, people had already learned the Quran and Sunnah before the caliphate of Hazrat Uthman رضي الله عنه. The great jurists of Medina learned the religion during the time of Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه, not only from Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه. Therefore, attributing the Prophetic knowledge exclusively to Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه is neither logically correct, nor narratively, nor historically.
Sixth Point
Even if this is accepted as correct, similar special virtues are narrated about many other companions. For example, consider the following hadith:
Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Among my Ummah, the most merciful to my Ummah is Abu Bakr, and the most severe in the matter of Allah is Umar, and the most truthful in modesty is Uthman, and the greatest reciter of the Book of Allah is Abu bin Ka'b, and the greatest expert in obligations (inheritance) is Zaid bin Thabit, and the greatest scholar of halal and haram is Mu'adh bin Jabal, and every Ummah has a trustworthy one, and the trustworthy one of this Ummah is Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah."
Reference: (Jami' at-Tirmidhi: 3791)
Imam Tirmidhi says: This hadith is Hasan Sahih. And Allama Al-Albani has declared its chain authentic.
Seventh Point
The Ahl al-Sunnah, even if they accept this hadith as authentic, limit it only to scholarly virtue and do not consider it as evidence for political leadership or imamate.
The tradition is not explicit regarding the issue of infallibility and caliphate, so declaring knowledge to necessarily imply infallibility and then linking imamate and caliphate to it are arbitrary, self-made arguments; there is nothing of this sort in the hadith.
Eighth Point
The companions unanimously recognized Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) as the greatest scholar. For instance, in Sahih al-Bukhari, Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a hadith in which he declared Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) as the most knowledgeable.
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 3654)
Moreover, he was also the rightful heir to the caliphate, and there are many indications and evidences in the hadith supporting this. For example, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ appointed him to lead the prayer towards the end of his life
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 683)
, which clarifies his status and rank among the nations.Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Abu Bakr is our leader and the best among us, and he was the most beloved to us after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 3668)
.When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to consult, he gave precedence to Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنهما. These two would speak in front of him ﷺ in the presence of all other companions رضي الله عنهم. In one hadith, it is stated: ’’اقتدوا باللذين من بعدي، أبي بكرٍ وعمرَ‘‘ Follow Abu Bakr and Umar after me
Reference: (Jami` at-Tirmidhi: 3662)
.Similarly, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما narrates that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ’’خواب میں میرے پاس دودھ کا ایک پیالہ لایا گیا میں نے اس میں سے کچھ دودھ نوش کیا حتی کہ اس کی سیرابی میرے ناخنوں تک ٹپکنے لگی۔ میں نے اپنا بچا ہوا دودھ عمر رضی اللہ عنہ کو دے دیا۔‘‘ The noble companions رضي الله عنهم asked: What does this mean? He replied: ’’اس کی تعبیر علم ہے ‘‘
Reference: Sahih Bukhari: 82, 3691, 7032
.Final Point
On numerous occasions, Sayyiduna Ali was not with the Noble Messenger ﷺ. For example:
◄ When you ﷺ were at your home.
◄ During the Battle of Tabuk.
◄ At the initial stage of the Hajj journey.
◄ When Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه performed Hajj with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه in the ninth year of Hijra.
◄ The journey to Ta’if.
These and many other occasions when Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه was not with the Noble Messenger ﷺ, yet these sciences and details have reached us.
The mentioned hadith does not reach the level of authenticity in terms of its chain of narration, therefore it is not correct to base on it that Sayyiduna Ali is infallible, an Imam, the first rightful caliph, or the sole path of divine knowledge.
