Imam Ali's Intellectual Life form the View of Non-Muslim Thinkers and Orientalists

Not only Shiites but also Sunnis and many non-Muslim scholars and orientalists admit that Imam Ali enjoys a superior scientific status. Non-Muslim scholars and orientalists view Imam Ali's scientific status from two prospective. On the one hand, many of them present a positive view, and have explain his remarkable scientific achievements in Qur’an commentary, jurisprudence (fiqh), judgment, Arabic literature and rhetoric, etc. evaluated his scientific works and praised him, basing their argument on authentic sources and a scholarly look. On the other hand, few of them, having evil intention and relying on unauthentic sources cast doubts as to his scientific status in some fields and attribute failure to some inabilities to him. Using a documentary approach, the present paper sheds light on Imam Ali's scientific life from the view of non-Muslim thinkers and orientalists.