Recipient of both Immense Love & Malice

Hazrat Ali (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sa) called him and said, “Your example is like Prophet Jesus (as) in that the Jews opposed him so much that they fabricated a grievous calumny against his mother. The Christians exceeded all bounds in their love for him (i.e. for Jesus (as)) to the extent that they gave him a rank and station that was not for him.”

Hazrat Ali (ra) then said:

“Take heed! Two types of people will perish owing to their beliefs about me; the first are they who exceed all limits in their love for me and grant me that rank that is not for me, while the second are they who harbour malice against me and forge calumnies against me.”

(Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 1, Musnad Ali bin Abi Talib, Hadith 1377 [Beirut, Lebanon: Alam al-Kutub, 1998], 439.)