The Bravery of ʿAlī رضي الله عنه and the Incident of Khaybar’s Gate

Based on the Work of Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri (حفظه الله)
Structured for Clarity and Research-Based Analysis

❖ Acknowledging the Bravery of ʿAlī رضي الله عنه​

Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه was universally acknowledged for his exceptional courage and strength, famously known as the "Lion of Allah." Genuine honor needs no exaggeration. However, over time, some exaggerated or fabricated tales have emerged about his life, detracting from his true legacy.

One such story is the claim that ʿAlī رضي الله عنه single-handedly uprooted and used Khaybar’s gate as a shield, which even several men could not lift. This narrative is often portrayed as supernatural, lacking authentic basis.

❖ Examination of Reported Narrations​

Let us examine the four main narrations often cited regarding this incident, using ḥadīth methodology and expert commentary.

◈ Narration 1 – From Abū Rāfiʿ رضي الله عنه​

Claim: ʿAlī رضي الله عنه used the gate of Khaybar as a shield after his own shield fell, and seven men later failed to lift it.

Narrated by Imām Aḥmad; analyzed in Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id (6/152)

Analysis:

• Contains unknown/mubham narrators.
• Disconnected (munqaṭiʿ) chain, as noted by Ibn Kathīr.
• Ruling: Weak (ḍaʿīf)

◈ Narration 2 – From Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh رضي الله عنهما​

Claim: ʿAlī رضي الله عنه lifted Khaybar’s gate, which required 40 men to move later.

Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (12/84), Tārīkh Baghdād, Tārīkh Dimashq

Analysis:

• Contains Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, a weak narrator according to majority of hadith scholars.
• Criticized by al-ʿIrāqī, al-Haythamī, al-Nawawī, Ibn Ḥajar, and al-Dhahabī.
• Ruling: Weak (ḍaʿīf)

◈ Narration 3 – Also from Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh رضي الله عنهما​

Claim: ʿAlī threw down Khaybar’s gate, and it took 70 men to place it back.

Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah (al-Bayhaqī), al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah (al-Sakhāwī)

Analysis:

• Contains Ḥarām ibn ʿUthmān, a discredited narrator by a consensus of leading scholars (Aḥmad, Bukhārī, Ibn Ḥibbān, etc.).
• Deemed matrūk and deviant.
• Even Imām Bayhaqī and Ibn Kathīr labeled it weak.
• Ruling: Very Weak (shadīd al-ḍaʿf)

◈ Narration 4 – Attributed to Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq​

Claim: In a letter, ʿAlī رضي الله عنه says the door was lifted not by physical strength but a divine light given by Allah, likening himself to the Prophet ﷺ as light from light.

Bihār al-Anwār (Shia source)

Analysis:

• Full of theological exaggeration and fabricated content.
• Includes unknown, rejected, and Shia narrators (e.g., Muḥammad ibn Miḥṣan, Yūnus ibn Ẓubyān, etc.).
• Rejected by both Sunni and some Shia scholars.
• Ruling: Fabricated (mawḍūʿ)
  

❖ Opinions of Major Hadith Critics​

• al-Maqrīzī: "Some ḥadīth scholars say there is no truth to the door-lifting incident."
  Imtāʿ al-Asmāʿ: 1/310
• al-Sakhāwī: "All narrations on this topic are weak, and some scholars consider them rejected (munkar)."
  al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah: 313

❖ Conclusion​

All narrations regarding ʿAlī رضي الله عنه lifting the gate of Khaybar single-handedly are either weak or fabricated. Authentic and reliable chains do not support this claim.