So to love ʿAli more than any other Companion is a position Sunnism does not reject even today although an ignoramus may label it as heretical. It rejects only the aberrant extremes of the Shiʿa who go against ʿAli himself and the Ahl al-Bayt (not to mention Allah Almighty and His Prophet ﷺ in spewing hatred for the Two Shaykhs and the remainder of the Companions. This is not accepted.

In the thread "Tabari" for example, it is clear that the excerpt with which the same person takes issue mentions extremist Rafidis - those who not only disrespect the two Shaykhs - Abu Bakr and ʿUmar, Allah be well-pleased with them - but also reject their imamate. These have nothing to do with the moderate Shiʿis retained by al-Bukhari and the hadith masters. That is why al-Tabari considers them kafir, and al-Shafiʿi forbade praying behind them. More extreme Shiʿis yet consider ʿAli the true messenger of Allah, and farther folly than that is the heresy that ʿAli is Allah - we seek refuge in Allah from such beliefs. All these groups and their leaders are identified in al-Ashʿari's Maqalat al-Islamiyyin and the heresiographies of al-Shahrastani, Ibn Hazm, ʿAbd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi etc. but our Shiʿa brethren take refuge in pious ignorance. Worse, it seems rafd and extremism are the order of the day among Shiʿis in our time.

The contributor cited four Shiʿi narrators retained by the Sunni Imams of hadith, I looked into the first one and found enough to illustrate the points I am making above:

Ibrahim ibn Yazid
His name is Ibrahim ibn Yazid ibn ʿ
Umer ibn al-Aswad al-Nakhʿi al-Kufi, the faqih.

What he does not also say (as I indicated, either through ignorance or because accuracy and truth are secondary to him) is that Ibrahim ibn Yazid in Bukhari and Muslim narrated about 100 hadiths from ʿA'isha through his uncle al-Aswad ibn Yazid, the same ʿA'isha al-Siddiqa daughter of Abi Bakr al-Siddiq whose authority Rafidis reject. As the Prophet is related to say ﷺ "The dogs of Haw'ab shall bark at her." Not to mention the fact that Ibrahim ibn Yazid also narrates from Ibn Masʿud, Abu Hurayra, and Ibn ʿAbbas - the same Ibn ʿAbbas who explains the verse {You are the best community ever brought forth among humankind} to refer to the Muhajirun, among whom are Abu Bakr and ʿUmar.

It would seem that the standards of internet Shiʿi contributors are stricter than Ibrahim ibn Yazid's. But the truth is: internet Shiʿi contributors do not understand most of what they quote. They call Ahl al-Sunna the ʿAwamm [commonality] but it is they who act like the uneducated commonality in undiscerning imitation of their stray authorities. As I said: Rafidis have nothing to do with the moderate Shiʿis of the pious Salaf.

Here is an important excerpt about the positions of the Sunni imams with regard to the multifarious Shiʿi sects.

"To prefer ʿAli [to ʿUthman] is neither Rafd (rejectionism) nor a bidʿa (heretical innovation), for several of the Companions and Successors did.1 Both ʿUthman and ʿAli possess great merits and precedence and are among the foremost martyrs. However, the vast majority of the Community agree to give precedence to ʿUthman,2 and this is our position also; and better than both of them without doubt are Abu Bakr and ʿUmar. Whoever differs with this is a hardened Shiʿi.3 Whoever disrespects the Two Shaykhs [Abu Bakr and ʿUmar] while accepting the validity of their imamate is a disgusting Rafidi.4 As for those who both insult them and reject the validity of their imamate, they are extremist Rafidis - may Allah lead them to perdition!"5

Source: al-Dhahabi, Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubala' (Chapter on ʿAli - may Allah be well-pleased with him).

Notes

1See al-Haytami, Fatawa Hadithiyya (p. 155) and Ibn Hazm's al-Fisal and al-Muhalla as quoted in al-Ghumari's al-Burhan (p. 85-88). This fact shows the weakness of the report from Imam Ahmad in al-Khallal's al-Sunna (2:392) whereby "There was no disagreement among the Companions of Allah's Messenger ﷺ that ʿUthman is better than ʿAli."

2As in Abu Hanifa's al-Fiqh al-Akbar and al-Tahawi's ʿAqida.

3Al-Qanuji (d. 1307) said in Abjad al-ʿUlum (3:163): "Among the sayings of Zayn al-ʿAbidin the son of Muhammad al-Bakri (d. 991) the son of Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri al-Misri al-Shafiʿi: ʿAbu Bakr is better than ʿAli, however, love and attraction are a different matter.' And this is my belief also." Al-Qari said in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar (p. 140): "It is patent that to prefer ʿAli to the Two Shaykhs contravenes the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamaʿa according to what the totality of the Salaf follow."

4Imam Ahmad is related to define the Rafidi as "He who insults Abu Bakr and ʿUmar" in al-Khallal, al-Sunna (3:493).

5Al-Qari said in Sharh al-Shifa' (2:92): "Al-Nawawi said that cursing the Companions is one of the most depraved acts (min akbar al-fawahish), while the author (ʿIyad) counts it among the major sins (kaba'ir). Such offense is punished with corporeal punishment according to the vast majority, while according to some of the Malikis and Hanafis the offender is executed.

In some of the books of the latter, it is stated that to insult the two Shaykhs (Abu Bakr and ʿUmar) constitutes disbelief (kufr)." Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Sahih Muslim: "Know that to insult the Companions is prohibited and constitutes one of the major grave indecencies (al-fawahish al-muharramat) whether with regard to those of them involved in a dissension or other than them, because they entered those conflicts on the conviction of their ijtihad and interpretation."

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