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Who was the first to use the phrase "May Allah honor his countenance" when mentioning Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The first to use the phrase "karramallahu wajhah" (may Allah honor his countenance) for Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, were the Shiites, and then some writers and scribes followed suit. Imam Ibn Kathir commented on this, saying: "This has become prevalent in the expression of many scribes of books, that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is singled out by saying 'alayhis salam' (peace be upon him) instead of other Companions, or 'karramallahu wajhah' (may Allah honor his countenance). While the meaning of this is correct, it is appropriate to equalize among the Companions in this regard, for this is a form of veneration and honor, and the two Sheikhs (Abu Bakr and Umar) and Amir al-Mu'minin Uthman are more deserving of it than him, may Allah be pleased with them."

The Permanent Committee also mentioned that singling out Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, with the title "honoring the countenance" is part of the exaggeration of the Shiites. The reason for this is either because he never looked at anyone's private parts, or because he never prostrated to an idol. However, this is not exclusive to him; rather, others among the Companions who were born into Islam share this distinction.

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

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