Is Ali the Gate to the City of Knowledge?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ
Shaykh al-Albānī has declared this report mawdhū (fabricated) in his al-Da'īf al-Jāmī -
He’s supposed to be an ex-Shia yet he’s taking Sunni sources to refute Shia beliefs, when he could take a look at Al Kafi and see the merits of Imam Ali (as). But anyhow, let’s take a look at other Sunni sources and see what they say:
1) Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal V3 Page 247: Al Hassan Ibn Ali said: “Yesterday a man (Ali) left you that neither the first nor the last of people surpassed his knowledge.” Grading: Hassan
2) Majma’ul Zawa’id wa Manba’ Al-Fawa’id Hadith Volume 37 Page 247 Hadith 14671: The Prophet (sawa) said to Fatima (sa): “Your husband is the first to accept Islam from my Ummah, and the most knowledgeable and the most clement of them.” Grading: Narrated by Ahmed and Al Tabarani, and by Thiqah narrators.
Al Mustadrak Ala Al Sahihin Hadith 4693: “I’m the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate, whoever sought the city should approach it from its gate” Grading: Sahih
Lisan Al Mizan V2 Page 465: The Prophet (sawa) said: “I’m the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate”
Commentary: This narration has multiple ways to it in Mustadrak Al Hakim such that the least we can say is that the Hadith is not Mawdoo’ (fabricated), but that it does have an origin.
For more narrations on Imam Ali’s (as) knowledge check here: http://kingoflinks.net/ImamAli/30ElmAli/Main34.htm