Hadith of “Madinat al-‘Ilm”: Analysis and the Reality of its Chains

Originally authored by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri ḥafiẓahullāh, the content below has been enhanced with structured headings and formatting for easier reading.

◈ The Virtue of Sayyiduna ‘Ali رضي الله عنه and the Reality of the Narration​

Sayyiduna ‘Ali رضي الله عنه is the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the fourth Caliph, and the valiant Lion of Allah. Numerous authentic virtues are attributed to him through the tongue of Prophethood. Only those virtues that have been authentically transmitted through sound narrations can be considered valid. Statements based on fabricated or weak reports do not qualify as authentic virtues. One such famous narration is as follows:

’أَنَا مَدِينَةُ الْعِلْمِ، وَعَلِيٌّ بَابُهَا’
Translation: "I am the city of knowledge, and ‘Ali رضي الله عنه is its gate."

This statement is widely believed among the general public to be a saying of the Messenger ﷺ. However, according to the principles of the scholars of Hadith, this narration is not authentic. The following presents a critical analysis of the available chains:

◈ Analysis of Various Chains​

The narration appears in numerous versions with slight variations in wording and numerous narrators. Each version is critically assessed below:

✿ Narration 1​

’أَنَا دَارُ الْحِكْمَةِ، وَعَلِيٌّ بَابُهَا’
Sunān al-Tirmidhī: 3723, Tahdhīb al-Āthār by al-Ṭabarānī, Musnad ‘Ali: p.104

Comments:
This narration is weak (ḍa‘īf) due to several issues in its chain:
① Muḥammad ibn ‘Umar al-Rūmī – Declared weak by the majority of Hadith scholars.
② Shurayk ibn ‘Abdullāh – Truthful but made numerous mistakes.
③ Presence of tadlīs (concealment in narration).

Scholarly Verdicts:
Imām Abū Ḥātim, Imām al-Tirmidhī, Imām Ibn Ḥibbān, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī have all labeled this narration as fabricated or rejected.

✿ Narration 2 – 34​

Numerous variants with similar phrasing such as:

• ’أَنَا مَدِينَةُ الْفِقْه’
• ’أَنَا مَدِينَةُ الْجَنَّة’
• ’شَجَرَةٌ أَنَا أَصْلُهَا...’
• ’عَلِيٌّ خَيْرُ الْبَشَرِ...’
• ’أَنَا مَدِينَةُ الْعِلْمِ، وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ وَعُثْمَانُ سُوَرُهَا...’

All of these narrations have been thoroughly examined and found to be fabricated or extremely weak based on the following criteria:

① Narrators were declared liars (kadhdhāb), fabricators (waḍdā‘), or severely weak (matrūk).
② Chains contain unknown (majhūl) or accused (muttaham) narrators.
③ Many chains involve tadlīs or broken links (incomplete chains).

◈ Statements of Renowned Hadith Scholars​

Here is a consensus of opinions from eminent scholars:

✔ Imām Yaḥyā ibn Ma‘īn: “This ḥadīth has no basis.”
✔ Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī: “It is munkar.”
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: “Gharīb and munkar.”
✔ Imām Ibn Ḥibbān: “Not established from the Prophet ﷺ.”
✔ Imām al-Dāraqutnī: “It is muḍṭarib and not proven.”
✔ Imām al-‘Uqaylī, Ibn ‘Adī, Ibn al-Jawzī, Nawawī, al-Dhahabī, Ibn Taymiyyah, and others: Declared it fabricated or false.

◈ Conclusion​

All the narrations under the theme of "I am the city of knowledge and ‘Ali is its gate" are either fabricated (mawḍū‘), weak (ḍa‘īf), or rejected (munkar) in their chains and content. Although Sayyiduna ‘Ali رضي الله عنه has numerous authentic virtues recorded in sound narrations, this specific Hadith is not one of them.