Saying 'Ali "Karramallahu Wajhah"

The following is a translation of an answer by Shaykh al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Shafi'i al-Ash'ari (d.974AH) on the wisdom behind the usage of the supplication Karram Allahu Wajhah (may Allah honour his face) for the noble companion, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be well pleased with him). It has been recorded in his al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya (under the title mentioned below) on page 103 of the Dar al-Taqwa edition (Damascus, 2008). A few brief explanatory footnotes have been added by myself in order to clarify some things for the ease of the reader.

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[Shaykh al-Islam] Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah be well pleased with him) was asked regarding the wisdom of singling out and using Karram Allahu Wajhah (may Allah honour his face) with respect to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be well pleased with him, in place of taraddi[1].

He answered, saying:

The wisdom behind this is that ‘Ali, may Allah honour his face and be well pleased with him, never once prostrated to an idol. Thus it is fitting to supplicate for him with such a prayer that conforms to his condition, in terms of honouring his face. The intent of it [i.e. “his face”] is either its literal sense or an indirect reference to his whole being, i.e. his safeguarding himself from turning to other than Allah in his worship. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be well pleased with him and honour his face, shares this trait with him, for indeed he too never prostrated to an idol as has been documented. Thus to supplicate for him in this manner is also fitting. The usage of this supplication is more widespread with respect to 'Ali [may Allah be well pleased with him] only because the absence of his prostrating to an idol is something agreed upon, since he accepted Islam as a discerning young boy. His acceptance of Islam was at that time valid, contrary to our school of thought[2], because the rulings at the time of his acceptance of Islam were based on discernment. Thereafter, this was abrogated, and it came to be based on bulugh[3], as elucidated by [Imam] al-Bayhaqi [d.458AH] and others.

If you object and say:

Many of the noble companions [may Allah be well pleased with all of them] did not prostrate to any idol, such as the 'Abadila[4]: Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn 'Umar and Ibn al-Zubayr and others. Despite this fact, the people do not say Karram Allahu Wajhah for them, but rather say taraddi just like the rest of the noble companions.

I say in reply to such an objection:

These individuals and those like them were born after shirk[5] had dwindled and the flame of misguidance and affliction had been extinguished. Thus, those you have presented are dissimilar to the two Imams [Abu Bakr and 'Ali, may Allah be well pleased with both of them] in their abstention from the greatest trials of shirk in terms of prostrating to the idols, while it was being so heavily promoted by its people along with their extreme behaviour in persecuting those who abandon it. In abstaining at that time – while contravening parents and relatives along with bearing unbearable hardships – there is an indication towards sincere truthfulness that is not found after the prevalence of Islam and the perishing of misguidance. Thus it is fitting that they are distinguished from the rest of the noble companions [may Allah be pleased with all of them] with this exclusive honour, may Allah be well pleased with both of them and honour their faces.

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[1] Taraddi is a technical term which refers to invoking Allah's pleasure upon someone by saying Radiy Allahu 'Anh etc.

[2] That is, according to the Shafi‘i school of thought, a young child’s acceptance of Islam before having reached the age of maturity (bulugh) will not be considered valid. The Shafi‘i school regards the validity of ‘Ali’s (may Allah be well pleased with him) acceptance of Islam before bulugh as something that was later abrogated.

[3] Bulugh refers to the maturing of a person by which they gain understanding to a level whereby they become legally responsible for their personal beliefs and actions.

[4] 'Abadila is the plural of 'Abd Allah (servant of Allah). It is used as a technical term to refer to four noble companions who had the name 'Abd Allah, three of whom have been mentioned here by the author. They are 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar, 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be well pleased with all of them.

[5] Polytheism.