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Did Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) burn a village because alcohol was sold there, and why did he punish the entire village?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The report narrated by Abu Ubaid al-Qasim bin Salam concerning Ali bin Abi Talib's looking at the village of Zurarah and his command to burn it due to the sale of wine therein, has a weak isnad (chain of narration) and is not authentic. This is due to the presence of Marwan bin Mu'awiyah, who did not verify his shaykhs (teachers), and the presence of Umar al-Maktab and Hadlam, who are unknown (majhulan) and unrecognized. Furthermore, there is an interruption (inqita') in the chain because Rabi'ah bin Zakar narrates from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) through the mediation of his father.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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