Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind
Short Answer
Yes, there is a Hadith saying that Sayidina Ali is the best person in Madinah. It is a strong Hadith. However, it was said after the death of Sayidina Umar. So it cannot be used as definitive proof to say that Sayidina Ali was the best of all Sahabah.
Hadith
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: كُنَّا نَتَحَدَّثُ أَنَّ أَفْضَلَ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ابْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ
Sayidina Abdullah (Ibn Masood) said: We used to say that the best of the people of Madinah is Ibn Abi Talib. (Musnad Bazar, 1616).
Authenticity
The Hadith above states that Sayidina Ali is the best of the people of Madinah. There is some difference of opinion regarding the authenticity of this narration. In the Nass (text) below we find Imam al-Haythami raising a concern with Yahya bin al-Sakan. He is one of the narrators in the chain of Imam al-Bazar.
رَوَاهُ الْبَزَّارُ، وَفِيهِ يَحْيَى بْنُ السَّكَنِ، وَثَّقَهُ ابْنُ حِبَّانَ وَضَعَّفَهُ صَالِحٌ جَزَرَةٌ، وَبَقِيَّةُ رِجَالِهِ ثِقَاتٌ. (مجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد)
It was narrated by al-Bazar, and it has Yahya bin Al-Sakan (in the chain). Ibn Hibban deemed him trustworthy (Thiqa). But Salih Jazrah deemed him weak. The narrators are trustworthy. (Majma al-Zawaid, Imam Noorud-deen al-Haythami).
Despite the difference of opinion regarding Yahya bin al-Sakan, it seems that the sound opinion concerning him is that he is a sound narrator. This is why Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani said the narrators of the Hadith in Bazar are reliable.
مَا روى الْبَزَّاز عَن بن مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ كُنَّا نَتَحَدَّثُ أَنَّ أَفْضَلَ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رِجَالُهُ مُوَثَّقُونَ وَهُوَ مَحْمُول على ان ذَلِك قَالَه بن مَسْعُود بعد قتل عمر. (فتح الباري شرح صحيح البخاري)
(Imam) al-Bazzaz narrated from Ibn Masoud: We used to say that the best of the people of Medina is Ali bin Abi Talib. The narrators are deemed trustworthy. It is understood that Ibn Masood said this after the killing of Umar. (Imam Ahmad bin Alin bin Hajr al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari)
Commentary
When it comes to the Sahabah, the position of Ahl al-Sunnah is that Sayidina Abu Bakr is the best of them. Then it is Sayidina Umar, then Sayidina Uthman and then Sayidina Ali. This differs with the Shia since they believe Sayidina Ali is the best of the Sahabah.
The above Hadith is sometimes quoted as a proof that Sayidina Ali was the best of the Sahabah. However, this is not a strong proof. The Hadith is clearly not unrestricted (Mutlaq). Meaning it does not mean that Sayidina Ali was better than all of the people of Madinah Sharif. As that would include the Prophet ﷺ. No Muslim believes that Sayina Ali is better than the Prophet ﷺ.
The Hadith is restricted (Muqayyad). So, it does not include all of the people of Madinah Sharif. Therefore, we can consider the restrictions presented by leading classical scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah. In the Nass above, Imam Ibn Hajr applied the Hadith to the people in Madinah after the passing of Sayidina Umar. The Nass below presents something similar.
وعن عبد الله قال: كنا نتحدث أن أفضل أهل المدينة علي بن أبي طالب. أخرجه أحمد في المناقب، وهو محمول عند من يقول بالترتيب المتقدم على أنه كذلك بعدهم. (الرياض النضرة في مناقب العشرة)
Abdullah said: We used to say that the best of the people of Madinah is Ali bin Abi Talib. It was narrated by Ahmad in al-Manaqib. It is understood, by those who establish the previously mentioned order, to refer to those after them (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman). (al-Riyad al-Nadirah, Imam Muhib al-Deen al-Tabari).
In this Nass (text), Imam Muhib al-Deen al-Tabari restricts the Hadith as being applicable to other than Sayidina Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. Therefore, Sayidina Ali is the best of the people of Madinah after these Sahabah.
Conclusion
Sunni Muslims must not come across as averse to the praise of Sayidina Ali (May Allah Most High be pleased with him). Rather we are very proud of any praise of Sayidina Ali found in Quran and Sunnah. However, we do not accept the interpretation of the Shia when it comes to such narrations.
Sometimes Sunni Muslims can come across as making light of the praise directed towards Sayidina Ali. This is unacceptable. Rather we thoroughly recognise the great rank of Sayina Ali. However, we oppose using such evidence out of place. So, using it to justify Shia misguidance is unacceptable to us.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (06.03.24)
