639 - Muhammad ibn 'Ali informed me, saying: Salih told me that he asked his father [Ahmad ibn Hanbal] about this issue: "If someone were to say, 'Is it appropriate for one who affirms the Caliphate of 'Ali to place him fourth [in the sequence of the Rightly Guided Caliphs]?" He replied: "We only follow what has been reported. What is our opinion [to add to that]? As for 'Ali, he is a Caliph in my view. He named himself Commander of the Faithful, and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, called him Commander of the Faithful, and the people of Badr were present and they called him Commander of the Faithful." I said: "What if someone were to say, 'We find that a Kharijite emerges and styles himself as Commander of the Faithful, and the people call him Commander of the Faithful?'" He replied: "This is an evil, vile statement. To compare 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, to a Kharijite man, and to compare the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to other people—this is a base statement. Does he then say that 'Ali was merely a Kharijite? What a wretched statement this is!"