The Rehabilitation of ʿAlī in Sunnī Ḥadīth and Historiography

Abstract

AbstractAfter the Prophet Muhammad, the most contested figure in Islamic history would be his son-in-law, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. ʿAlī’s political rivals staunchly denounced him, his family and his partisans as impious criminals in his own lifetime and after his death. Shortly after his assassination, the Umayyads succeeded in obtaining the reins of the caliphate and establishing a dynasty that lasted close to a century. Medieval sources indicate that rhetoric and propaganda hostile to ‘Alī permeated public discourse under the Umayyads. Nonetheless, through the efforts of his admirers, ʿAlī became a respected authority in both Sunnī and Shīʿī Islam within a few centuries of his death. His nearly universal portrayal in Muslim literature as a pious authority rather obscures a centuries-long process of contestation and rehabilitation. This study considers the methods that ḥadīth transmitters and scholars employed to reconcile expectations regarding ʿAlī’s character and image in Sunnism with the vast and heterogeneous body of accounts about him. Sunnī scholars made use of their editorial privilege by transmitting selected versions of reports and omitting controversial material.