Testimony of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as)

The Sunni hadith scholar Abu Sa‘d Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Malini (d. 421 AH) has transmitted the following narration with his chain of transmission:

 أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْحَجَّارُ الْمِصْرِيُّ بِهَا، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ يُونُسَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْأَعْلَى، حَدَّثَنِي أَخِي أَبُو سَهْلٍ يُونُسُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ يُونُسَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْأَعْلَى، أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ شُعَيْبٍ النَّسَائِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ، أَخْبَرَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُوسَى، أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْرَائِيلُ، عَنْ حَكِيمِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِعَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ: إِنَّ عَلِيًّا قَالَ: إِنَّ خَيْرَ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ، وَالثَّانِي عُمَرُ، وَلَوْ شِئْتُ أَنْ أُسَمِّيَ الثَّالِثَ، فَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ: كَيْفَ أَصْنَعُ بِحَدِيثٍ حَدَّثَنِيهِ سَعِيدُ بْنُ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لِعَلِيٍّ: أَنْتَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَا نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي، قَالَ: ثُمَّ ضَرَبَ فَخِذِي ضَرْبَةً أَوْجَعَهَا، وَقَالَ: مَنْ هَذَا الَّذِي هُوَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى؟

Hakim ibn Jubayr reports:

I said to Ali ibn al-Husayn (Imam Zayn al-Abidin), “People say that Ali ibn Abi Talib said, ‘The best of this Ummah after its Prophet are Abu Bakr, then Umar, and if I wished, I would name the third.’”

Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn replied:

“What should I do with the hadith that was narrated to me by Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to Ali (peace be upon him): *‘You are to me as Harun was to Musa, except there is no prophet after me’?*”

The narrator continues:

He then struck my thigh with a blow that hurt and said, “Tell me—who is this person whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) likened to Harun in relation to Musa?”

The verifier of the book has graded this hadith as authentic (sahih).

(Source: *Al-Arba‘in fi Shuyukh al-Sufiyya*, p. 191, hadith no. 29, Dar al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyya, Beirut, Lebanon)

Key Insights from the Report:

1. Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him), the son of Imam al-Husayn (peace be upon him), clearly rejected the claim found in some Sunni sources that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) considered Abu Bakr and Umar superior to himself.

2. He responded by citing the Hadith al-Manzilah—“You are to me as Harun was to Musa”—which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said regarding Imam Ali (peace be upon him). Imam Zayn al-Abidin used this narration to affirm Imam Ali’s absolute superiority and presented it as an explicit declaration (nass sareeh) from the Prophet himself.

3. The tone and gesture of Imam Zayn al-Abidin—striking the narrator’s thigh—was a deliberate expression of firm rebuke. It signaled intense disapproval of the false attribution to his grandfather. This physical reaction, coupled with his rhetorical counter-question, reveals how strongly the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt opposed fabricated traditions invented to diminish the rank of Imam Ali (peace be upon him).

4. Since this narration is sourced from Sunni compilations, it serves as compelling internal evidence. It calls on Sunni readers to pause, reflect, and reevaluate those reports which claim that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) preferred others over himself.

Conclusion:

This narration decisively proves that Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him) held the superiority of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) as indisputable and based on the Prophet’s own words. Furthermore, it confirms that attributing superiority to certain companions over Imam Ali is not only false, but also forcefully rejected by the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). Their legacy is one of unwavering resistance to distortion and defence of the truth—regardless of how widely accepted the fabrication may have become.

Written by: Dr. Asif Hussain Kashmiri

Compiled by: Abdullah Imami

Translated and updated by: The Shiapen Team