❖ Rank of Knowledge Between Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه and Ali رضي الله عنه
Source: Fatawa Amun Puri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Puri
❀ Question:
Between Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه and Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه, who was greater in knowledge?
❀ Answer:
The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah are unanimously agreed that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was the greatest scholar and jurist among all the Companions. In contrast, the Rawafid claim that Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه was the most knowledgeable and the greatest jurist of the Ummah.
❀ Imam Abu al-Muzaffar al-Sam‘ani رحمه الله (d. 489H) said:
إجماع علماء السنة على أن أبا بكر أعلم من على
“The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah are unanimous that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was more knowledgeable than Ali رضي الله عنه.”
(Taqwīm al-Adillah ‘ala al-Imamah – quoted in Majmu‘ al-Fatawa of Ibn Taymiyyah, 4/398; Minhaj al-Sunnah, 7/502)
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728H) said:
ذكر غير واحد من العلماء إجماع العلماء على أن أبا بكر الصديق أعلم من على
“More than one scholar has mentioned the consensus of the scholars that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه was more knowledgeable than Ali رضي الله عنه.”
(Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 4/399)
Some narrations are found in the books that seem to imply that Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه was the most knowledgeable in the Ummah, but these narrations are fabricated and classified as mawdu‘ (fabricated), and thus carry no validity.
