Answers Regarding Certain Matters of Religious Innovation and Associating Partners with Allah

Q: What is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger regarding a group of people who do the following: they say in the adhan (call to prayer), "I bear witness that Ali is the close friend of Allah," and "Hasten to the best of deeds," and "The family of Muhammad," and "Ali is the best of the families." When one of them dies, their closest relatives slaughter a sheep which they call the 'aqiqah (sacrifice for a newborn), and they do not break any of its bones. After that, they bury its bones and its fat, and they claim that this is a good deed and that it must be done. What is the position of a Muslim who follows the Muhammadan Sunnah and has a kinship tie with them? Is it permissible for him, according to the Shari'ah, to be affectionate toward them, honor them, accept their honors, marry them, and give them in marriage? It is known that they openly declare their belief, saying that they are the saved sect and that they are upon the truth while we are upon falsehood.

Answer:
Allah the Exalted has explained through the tongue of His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the words of the adhan and the iqamah. Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Abd Rabb al-Ansari saw the adhan in a dream and presented it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said to him: and ordered him to teach it to Bilal, because Bilal had a more resonant voice than he, so that he could call the adhan with it. Bilal used to call the adhan with these words in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) until Allah the Mighty and Majestic took him, and there was nothing in his adhan of the words mentioned in the question.
As for what some people narrate from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to say in the adhan: "Come to the best of deeds," it has no basis in truth.
As for what is narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and from Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), that they used to say in the adhan: "Come to the best of deeds," there is doubt regarding its authenticity from them, even though some scholars have authenticated it from them. However, what is known of their knowledge and jurisprudence in the religion necessitates suspending judgment on the authenticity of this from them; for someone like them would not be unaware of Bilal's adhan or Abu Mahdhura's adhan. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) heard and attended to this, and Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allah have mercy on him) is among the most knowledgeable people in jurisprudence, so it should not be thought that they would contradict the well-known and widespread Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the adhan. Even if we assume its authenticity from them, it is mawquf (stopping at the Companion) with them, and it is not permissible to oppose the authentic Sunnah with their words or the words of anyone else; for the Sunnah is the governing authority, along with the Book of Allah the Almighty, for all people, as Allah the Exalted said: [Surah al-Nisa: 59]. We have referred this phrase narrated from them, which is the expression: "Come to the best of deeds," in the adhan to the Sunnah, and we did not find it in what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the words of the adhan. As for the statement of Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) in what is narrated from him that it is in the first adhan, this may mean that he intended the adhan in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when it was first legislated. If he intended that, it has been abrogated by what the matter settled upon during the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and after, in the words of the adhan of Bilal, Ibn Umm Maktum, and Abu Mahdhura, and this phrase is not in them, nor is any other of the words mentioned in the question.
It is also said that the claim that this phrase exists in the first adhan, if we understand it as the adhan in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is not accepted; for the words of the adhan have been preserved in authentic hadiths since it was legislated, and this phrase is not in them, so its invalidity is known, and it is a religious innovation. It is also said that Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) is among the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), so if this report of his were authentic with marf' (traced to the Prophet), it would be in the category of mursal (a report missing the Companion link), and a mursal is not a proof according to the majority of scholars, as Imam Abu 'Umar ibn Abd al-Barr transmitted this from them in his book "al-Tamhid." This is if there is no authentic Sunnah that contradicts it, so how is it when there is in the authentic hadiths regarding the description of the adhan what indicates the invalidity of this mursal and that it is not considered! And success is from Allah.