It is found in some books by imams from among the people of the Sunnah the phrase: "Ali (peace be upon him)"; what is the ruling on that?

The questioner : The questioner:The questioner : He says: We see in some books of scholars who follow the Salafi methodology, such as al-Shawkani, that Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is referred to with the phrase: peace be upon him. This is how it appears in your book "Rulings on Funerals"; what do you say about that?

The Shaykh : I say: Singling out Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to be greeted with peace, to the exclusion of the other Rightly Guided Caliphs, has no evidence for it. However, using this phrase—even if accompanied by the word "salah"—is permissible for every Muslim. As it came in some authentic hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he visited Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari in his home at his invitation, after he had eaten and left, Jabir’s wife intercepted him and said: "O Messenger of Allah, invoke Allah for us." He said (peace be upon him): . Also, it came in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So, performing salah upon a Muslim is a permissible matter from the standpoint of the Shari'ah. But the early custom restricted this to the prophets and messengers. Since that is the case, if a Muslim wants to perform salah, meaning to make du'a for a Muslim, the original ruling is that it is permissible. But he should do so in a place or with people among whom the matter will not be confused, especially if they are non-Arabs. However, it is not befitting to single out this permissibility for Ali (peace be upon him), because that is from the practice of those who exaggerate in his status, such as the Shi'ah and their like. If that is found in a book of the people of the Sunnah, it is a slip of the pen; so it is better to avoid it.