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The passing of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ did not signify the end of divine guidance, but rather the transition from revelation (tanzīl) to interpretation (taʾwīl). The Qur’an was complete, yet the Prophet’s departure left an essential question: who possessed the capability and divine insight to safeguard its correct understanding and practical implementation?

Revelation alone, without divinely guided interpretation, risks distortion. As a teacher’s legacy requires a trained successor to continue his method, so too did the Prophet ﷺ ensure that his community would not remain orphaned in faith. The early Muslim community faced the monumental responsibility of preserving not merely the text of revelation, but the correct understanding of its spirit, purpose, and application. Within this framework, Imam Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ع) emerges as the central figure designated to uphold the Prophet’s intellectual and spiritual mission.

The Prophetic Designation of Alī as the Protector of Interpretation

The Prophet ﷺ explicitly indicated that Alī (ع) would inherit the role of defending and elucidating the divine message.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“There is someone among you who will fight for the correct interpretation (ta’wīl) of this Qur’an, just as I fought for its revelation (tanzīl).”

The companions raised themselves, curious as to who it might be among them were Abu Bakr and Umar. The Prophet ﷺ then said:

“No. Rather, it is khasif al-naʿl (the repairer of the sandals),” referring to Alī (ع).

Al-Mustadrak ala al-Ṣaḥīḥayn ḥadīth no. 2656
Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah ḥadīth no. 2487

This report symbolically and explicitly identifies Alī (ع) as the guardian of the Qur’an’s taʾwīl the inner, interpretive understanding that complements its outward revelation. The Prophet’s parallel between his struggle for tanzīl and Alī’s struggle for taʾwīl reveals a deliberate continuation of mission: as the Prophet defended revelation from external rejection, Alī would defend interpretation from internal distortion.

The Knowledge of ʿAlī (ع)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“I am the city of knowledge, and ʿAlī is its gate. Whoever desires to enter the city should enter through its gate.”

Al-Mustadrak ʿala al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, ḥadīth no. 4693 (Declared authentic by Al-Ḥākim)

This declaration encapsulates the epistemological continuity between the Prophet ﷺ and ʿAlī (ع). In Islamic epistemology, knowledge is not simply empirical or textual; it is illuminated understanding, transmitted through divine guidance. To access the Prophet’s knowledge, one must enter through the gate Alī.

The metaphor conveys exclusivity and legitimacy: Alī (ع) is not merely one of many transmitters of knowledge but its divinely sanctioned conduit. This understanding is reinforced by Al-Ḥasan ibn Alī’s statement following his father’s martyrdom:

Imam Al-Ḥasan ibn Alī (ع) also said:

“Yesterday, a man (ʿAlī) left you whom neither the first nor the last of people could surpass in knowledge.”

Musnad Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, vol. 3, p. 247 (Chain – Hasan)

Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ said to Fāṭimah (ع):

“Your husband is the first to accept Islam from my Ummah, and the most knowledgeable and the most clement among them.”

Narrated by Aḥmad and Al-Ṭabarānī through trustworthy narrators

Collectively, these narrations present ʿAlī (ع) as the unparalleled inheritor of the Prophet’s intellectual legacy. His knowledge was not acquired through ordinary means but cultivated through intimate companionship, divine inspiration, and direct tutelage under the Prophet ﷺ.

Alī’s (ع) Mastery Over the Qur’an

The depth of ʿAlī’s knowledge of the Qur’an is attested through numerous historical and hadith reports. In one sermon, ʿAlī (ع) declared:

“Ask me, for by Allah, you will not ask me about anything that will happen until the Day of Resurrection except that I will tell you about it.
And ask me about the Book of Allah, for by Allah, there is no verse except that I know whether it was revealed at night or during the day, on a plain or on a mountain.”

Fatḥ al-Bārī (Commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
Al-Mustadrak ʿala al-Ṣaḥīḥayn (Chain Al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī — Ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Such a statement could only come from one whose heart had been illuminated with divine understanding. His confidence was not arrogance, it was the certainty of one entrusted with knowledge from the Prophet ﷺ himself.

Imam Alī (ع) was not merely a companion or a relative of the Prophet ﷺ; he was his spiritual heir the interpreter, protector, and living continuation of the Prophet’s knowledge.

Where the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ fought for the revelation of the Qur’an, Imam Alī (ع) fought for its interpretation. Where others sought rulings, Alī held the meanings. His words, knowledge, and insight remain an indispensable key to understanding the divine message correctly.

To separate Alī (ع) from the Qur’an is to sever the path to its true comprehension, for as the Prophet ﷺ himself said:

“ʿAlī is with the Qur’an, and the Qur’an is with ʿAlī — they shall never separate until they return to me at the Pond (of Kawthar).”

Al-Hakim al-Nisaburi said this hadith has a sound chain of narration, and Abu Saeed al-Taymi is Aqisa, a trustworthy narrator.

The continuity between the Qur’an and Imam Alī (ع) reflects the continuity between revelation and interpretation, the two pillars upon which the true understanding of Islam stands.