The Meaning of a Narration in Ibn Majah

Question

In Sunan Ibn Majah, p. 13, under the heading “The Virtue of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib,” the following narration is recorded: [ar]عن عبد الرحمن بن أبي ليلى قال: كان أبو ليلى يسير مع علي، فكان يلبس ثياب الصيف وثياب الشتاء، فقلنا: لو سألته! فقال: إن رسول الله... وأنا... الخ[/ar] “From ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla: Abu Layla used to travel with ‘Ali, and he would wear summer clothes [in winter] and winter clothes [in summer]; we said, ‘If only you would ask him!’ He replied, ‘Indeed the Messenger of Allah... and I...’” etc.

Answer

In the hadith on the virtue of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, the mark above “yasiru” and “fa-kana” is not meant to indicate the referent of the pronoun, but is a mark of a variant reading (nuskha): thus for “yasiru” the alternate reading is “yamurru,” and for “fa-kana” it is “wa-kana”; this variant is noted in the margin.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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