Ibn Abdi l-Barr testifies to the supernatural knowledge of Ali

Narrated to us by Abd-ul-Warith Ibn Sufyan, who said: Narrated to us by Qasim Ibn Asbagh, who said: Narrated to us by Ahmad Ibn Zuhair, who said: Narrated to us by Ibrahim Ibn Bashar, who said: Narrated to us Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah who said: Narrated to us Yahya Ibn Sa’id, from Sa’id Ibnu l-Musayyib who said:,,None of the people used to say it ﴾Question me﴿ except Ali Ibn Abi Talib (r. ).” Abu l-Ashbal Az-Zuhairi writes: ,,Its chain is authentic (Sahih).” [Jami’ Bayani l-Ilm by Ibn Abdi l-Barr, Volume 1, Page 463, Number 725]

وأخبرنا عبد الوارث بن سفيان قال حدثنا قاسم بن أصبغ قال حدثنا أحمد بن زهير قال حدثنا إبراهيم بن بشار قال حدثنا سفيان بن عيينة قال حدثنا يحيى بن سعيد عن سعيد بن المسيب قال: ما كان أحد من الناس يقول سلوني غير علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه قال المحقق أبو الأشبال الزهيري: إسناده صحيح

I was told by Ahmad ibn Fat’h who said: We were told by Hamzah ibn Muhammad who said: We were told by Is’haq ibn Ibrahim who said: We were told by Muhammad ibn Abdi l-A’la who said: We were told by Muhammad ibn Thawr, by Ma’mar, by Wahb ibn Abdillah, by Abu t-Tufail who said: ,,I was present with Ali (r. ) while he was preaching and said: ﴾Question me, for, by God, you will not question me about anything that is until the Day of Resurrection, except that I tell you about it, and question me about the Scripture of God, for, by God, there is no verse of it except that I know whether it came down by night, or by day, or whether it came down in a plain, or on a hill. ﴿ So Ibn-ul-Kawwa’ stood up while I was between him and Ali (r.) and said: ﴾What is meant by ,,By those who whirl up heavily. Then with those who carry heavy things. Then with those who lightly drag along. Then with those who divide a matter?”﴿ (51:1-4) Then he said: ﴾Woe to you. Ask in order to gain understanding (fiqh) and do not ask in order to cause trouble. Those who stir up heavily are the winds. (51:1) Those who carry heavy things are the clouds. (51:2) Those who go lightly are the ships. (51:3) Those who divide a matter are the angels.﴿ (51:4) He said: ﴾Did you see the darkness that is on the moon?﴿ He said: ﴾A blind man inquired about the blind. Did you not hear God say: ,,We made the night and the day two signs. Then We extinguished the sign of the night?” (17:12) So his erasure is the darkness that is on him.﴿ He said: ﴾Do you consider Dhu l-Qarnain a prophet or a king?﴿ He said: ﴾As neither. However, he was a good servant who loved God, whereupon He loved him and was faithful to God, whereupon God was faithful to him, and he called his people to be guided, but they beat him on his horn. Hereupon he called them to be guided, but they struck him on his other horn, and his two horns were not like the horns of a bull.﴿ He said: ﴾Do you see this rainbow? What is it?﴿ He said: ﴾It is a sign between Noah and his Lord and a safety from drowning.﴿ He said: ﴾Did you see the much-visited house? (52:4) What is it?﴿ He said: ﴾The building above the seven heavens under the throne. Seventy thousand angels enter it every day. They will not return there until the Day of Resurrection.﴿ He said: ﴾Who are those who exchanged the mercy of God for unbelief and brought their people to the place of destruction?﴿ (14:28) He said: ﴾They are the two most vicious of the Quraish. They were disposed of on the day of Badr.﴿ He said: ﴾Who are those whose effort failed in this worldly life while they thought they were doing good?﴿ (18:104) He said: ﴾The people of Hawra’ were of them.﴿” Abu l-Ashbal Az-Zuhairi writes: ,,Its chain is authentic (Sahih).” [Jami’ Bayani l-Ilm by Ibn Abdi l-Barr, Volume 1, page 464 – 465, number 726]

حدثني أحمد بن فتح قال حدثنا حمزة بن محمد قال حدثنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم قال حدثنا محمد بن عبد الأعلى قال حدثنا محمد بن ثور عن معمر عن وهب بن عبد الله عن أبي الطفيل قال: شهدت عليا رضي الله عنه وهو يخطب ويقول سلوني فوالله لا تسألوني عن شيء يكون إلى يوم القيامة الا حدثكم به وسلوني عن كتاب اله فوالله ما منه آية إلا وأنا أعلم بليل نزلت أم بنهار أم بسهل نزلت أم بجبل فقام ابن الكواء وأنا بينه وبين علي رضي الله عنه فقال: ما الذاريات ذروا فالحاملات وقرا فالجاريات يسرا فالمقسمات أمرا فقال ويلك سل تفقها ولا تسل تعنتا الذاريات ذروا الرياح فالحاملات وقرا السحاب والجاريات يسرا السفن فالمقسمات أمرا الملائكة قال: أفرأيت السواد الذي في القمر قال: أعمى سأل عن عمياء أما سمعت الله عز وجل يقول: وجعلنا الليل والنهار آيتين فمحونا آية الليل فمحوه السواد الذي فيه قال: أفرأيت ذا القرنين أنبيا كان أم ملكا قال: لا واحد منهما ولكنه كان عبدا صالحا أحب الله فأحبه وناصح الله فناصحه الله ودعى قومه إلى الهدي فضربوه على قرنه ثم دعاهم إلى الهدى فضربوه على قرنه الآخر ولم يكن له قرنان كقرني الثور قال: أفرأيت هذا القوس ما هو قال: هي علامة بين نوح وبين ربه وأمان من الغرق قال: أفرأيت البيت المعمور ما هو قال: الصراح فوق سبع سموات تحت العرش يدخله كل يوم سبعون ألف ملك لا يعودون فيه إلى يوم القيامة قال: فمن الذين بدلوا نعمة الله كفرا وأحلوا قومهم دار البوار قال: هما إلأفجران من قريش كفينهما يوم بدر قال: فمن الذين ضل سعيهم في الحياة الدنيا وهم يحسبون أنهم يحسنون صنعا قال: كان أهل حوراء منهم قال المحقق أبو الأشبال الزهيري: إسناده صحيح

Comment:

Ibn Abdi l-Barr was a Malikite jurist.