Is it permissible to say of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Imam 'Ali" and "May Allah honor his face"?

Question : And their saying "May Allah honor the face of 'Ali," and their saying "Imam 'Ali," is this from his Companions?

Answer : This is from the distinctive practices of the Rafidah. We say that 'Ali is an imam, without doubt, and his words are followed by the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs," and 'Ali is among them. We say Abu Bakr is an imam, 'Umar is an imam, and 'Uthman is an imam. Indeed, we say that apart from these, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is an imam, Imam al-Shafi'i is an imam, and Imam Abu Hanifah is an imam. Imamate is not exclusive to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Unless they are supporting with it an imamate they claim, which is the imamate of infallibility. We do not approve of that for them, not in 'Ali ibn Abi Talib nor in anyone else, except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for their saying, “May Allah honor his face,” the honor. Which is more eloquent? Or the pleasure. What is it? The pleasure. Yes, the evidence for this is that the people of Paradise say, Allah says to them: “Wish for Me,” and they say: “Have You not given us? Have You not done such and such?” and He mentions His blessings upon them, then He says: “I have for you that I make My pleasure lawful for you, and I will never let any of it fall away.” So the pleasure became greater than the honor. These people who wanted to honor 'Ali ibn Abi Talib turned away from the better to the lesser. We say: If you say, “'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him),” that is better than if you say, “May Allah honor his face,” because the honor is less than the pleasure. And the evidence is the hadith of the people of Paradise with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), where they mention His blessings upon them and His giving to them, and then He says: “I have made My pleasure lawful for you, and I will not let it fall away after that.” Is that clear, everyone? But the one who wants falsehood, by the permission of Allah, makes the forbidden forbidden. When they wanted falsehood with this and singled out 'Ali ibn Abi Talab for it, they made the truth forbidden and turned to the lesser while the better existed. So we say: The most perfect and most honorable thing a servant can attain, other than Allah, yes, May Allah honor their faces. This verse is and what comes after it? He concluded it with this: “That is for the one who feared his Lord.” They say that they describe him with “May Allah honor his face” because he did not prostrate to an idol. So we say: If that is the case, how many of the Companions did not prostrate to an idol? All those who were born in Islam did not prostrate to an idol. And as for those in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, we do not know whether they prostrated to idols or not.