Appearance
Is ʿAlī Superior to the Earlier Prophets?
فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا۟ نَدْعُ أَبْنَآءَنَا وَأَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ
“Should anyone argue with you concerning him, after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then let us pray earnestly and call down God’s curse upon the liars’” (3:61)
The question
If “ourselves” makes ʿAlī as the Prophet’s own self, is he superior to all the prophets except Muhammad, as Maḥmūd ibn Ḥasan al-Ḥimṣī argued, or does the consensus that prophets are superior to non-prophets rule this out, as Fakhr al-Rāzī holds?
Views answered: Fakhr al-Rāzī
Jawādī Āmulī’s argument
Fakhr al-Rāzī reports the argument of Maḥmūd ibn Ḥasan al-Ḥimṣī, a Twelver Shia teacher of Ray: “ourselves” is ʿAlī, made like the Prophet in all but prophethood and rank, so, as the Prophet is above all prophets, ʿAlī is above them too. He rejects it: just as there is consensus that Muhammad is above ʿAlī, there is consensus that a prophet is above a non-prophet. Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī holds that “the truth lies with” al-Ḥimṣī. The narration “whoever wishes to see Adam in his knowledge … should look at ʿAlī” and others like it are many; every prophet’s rank is bounded by his scripture, the Qur’an is guardian over all of them (5:48), and by the hadith of the Two Weighty Things the People of the House are equal to the Qur’an in every degree. The claimed consensus does not exist, and would not bind, since it does not include the infallible. ʿAlī was not a prophet, but he had wilāyah, the foundation of prophethood, and he succeeds the Prophet whose mission covers all lands and times.
Views compared
Fakhr al-Rāzī’s view is given as al-Tasnim reports it. Each point opens al-Tasnim at that place.
ʿAlī and the earlier prophets Read →
Fakhr al-Rāzī
There is consensus that a prophet is superior to a non-prophet, so the verse’s likeness of ʿAlī to the Prophet excludes the prophets.Jawādī Āmulī
The truth lies with Maḥmūd ibn Ḥasan al-Ḥimṣī: ʿAlī is superior to the earlier prophets.The narrations Read →
Fakhr al-Rāzī
Cites “whoever wishes to see Adam in his knowledge …” only as al-Ḥimṣī’s support.Jawādī Āmulī
These narrations are many (istifāḍah), not a single report, and together they establish his superiority.The Qur’an and the People of the House Read →
Jawādī Āmulī
Each prophet’s rank is bounded by his book; the Qur’an is guardian over all of them (5:48); and by the hadith of the Two Weighty Things the People of the House reach every degree of the Qur’an.The consensus Read →
Fakhr al-Rāzī
Prophets are superior to non-prophets by consensus.Jawādī Āmulī
There is no such consensus, and it would not bind, since it does not include the infallible; at most, each prophet is above his own successor.A non-prophet above prophets? Read →
Jawādī Āmulī
ʿAlī had wilāyah, the foundation of prophethood, and he succeeds the Prophet whose mission covers all lands and all times.Reading guide
Each step opens al-Tasnim at that point.