Did Ali Eulogize Abu Bakr after his Death?

There have been claims made that after Abu Bakr passed away, 'Alī b. Abī Tālib (as) mourned over his passing. The full sermon can be read at: ‘The ideal muslim man’. 

These people have quoted Ibn al-Jawzī as a source of reference for this sermon but conveniently failed to mention the chain of narrators of this ḥadīth. Ibn al-Jawzī, of course, only cited this as an attack against the Shī'ah, and what a weak attack this was. He says:

يا أيها الرَّافِضِيُّ لا تَسْمَعْ مَدْحَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ مِنْ فِيهِ , اسْمَعْ , قَوْلَ، عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فِيهِ

"O Rāfiḍī, do not listen to the praise of Abū Bakr from his mouth; rather, listen to the words of ʿAlī (as) about him."

The incompetence of the scholars from our opponents' side is very clear, for one he cites that which has no ḥujjah (authority) over us as an argument against us, but also cites an incredibly weak source from his own side! Let us demonstrate this by citing the chain from his Kitab al-Tabsira, vol. 1, pg. 401 - 402:

أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْقَزَّازُ , أَنْبَأَنَا أَبُو الْحُسَيْنِ بْنُ الْمُهْتَدِي , أَنْبَأَنَا الْقَاسِمُ بْنُ حُبَابَةَ , حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَلِيٍّ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ الْوَرَّاقُ , عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مَنْصُورِ بْنِ زَاجٍ , حَدَّثَنِي أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُصْعَبٍ , حَدَّثَنِي عُمَرُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ خَالِدٍ الْقُرَشِيُّ , عَنْ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ عُمَيْرٍ , عَنْ أُسَيْدِ بْنِ صَفْوَانَ

"Abdur-Rahmān ibn Muḥammad al-Qazzāz informed us, Abū al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Muhtadī informed us, al-Qāsim ibn Ḥubābah informed us, Abū ʿAlī Ismāʿīl ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Warrāq informed us, Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr ibn Zāj informed me, Aḥmad ibn Muṣʿab informed me, ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Qurashī informed us, from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from Usayd ibn Ṣafwān...

As we can see, from this hadith there is a narrator in the chain named ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Qurashī. Now, the incompetence of Sunni scholarship is endless, as Ibn al-Jawzī himself used to say that this man used to fabricate hadiths! Just refer to his book regarding fabrications in hadith, titled Kitāb al-Dhuʿafāʾ wa-l-Mutrakūn (vol. 2, pg. 204), where he says:

عمر بن إِبْرَاهِيم بن خَالِد بن عبد الرَّحْمَن أَبُو حَفْص الْكرْدِي مولى بني هَاشم روى عَن عبد الْملك بن عُمَيْر وَابْن أبي ذِئْب وَشعْبَة. قَالَ الدَّارَقُطْنِيّ

كَانَ كذابا يضع الحَدِيث. وَقَالَ ابْن حبَان روى عَن الثِّقَات مَا لم يحدثوا بِهِ قطّ لَا يجوز الِاحْتِجَاج بِخَبَرِهِ. وَقَالَ أَبُو بكر الْخَطِيب كَانَ غير ثِقَة يروي الْمَنَاكِير عَن الْأَثْبَات

`Umar ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid, Abū Ḥafṣ al-Kurdī.... Al-Dāraqutnī said:

"He was a liar who fabricated ḥadīth." Ibn Ḥibbān said: "He narrated from trustworthy narrators things they never narrated. His reports cannot be used as evidence." Abū Bakr al-Khaṭīb said: "He was not trustworthy and narrated odd reports from the authentic narrators."

Subḥān'Allāh, Ibn al-Jawzī cites a narration from someone whom he knew was a fabricator of ḥadīth, but for some reason, he trusted this particular narration of his and used it as proof against the Shī‘ah. Truly an embarrassment of an argument and indicative of the insincerity of their scholars, for they pick and choose what to take or reject. If this narration had ʿAlī (as) insulting Abū Bakr, Ibn al-Jawzī would jump to calling it a fabrication and laugh at the Shī‘ah for not being able to bring adequate evidence. However, the fact that he endorses it when it’s pro-Abū Bakr just shows how biased Sunnī scholarship really is towards these companions.

Let us now present the real views of Ali (as) regarding Abū Bakr in the authentic sources of Ahl al-Sunnah, for which all we need to refer to is Sahih muslim 1757c:

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed away, Abu Bakr said:" I am the successor of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)." Both of you came to demand your shares from the property (left behind by the Messenger of Allah). (Referring to Hadrat 'Abbas), he said: You demanded your share from the property of your nephew, and he (referring to 'Ali) demanded a share on behalf of his wife from the property of her father. Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said:" We do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity." So both of you thought him to be a liar, sinful, treacherous and dishonest. And Allah knows that he was true, virtuous, well-guided and a follower of truth. When Abu Bakr passed away and (I have become) the successor of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him), you thought me to be a liar, sinful, treacherous and dishonest. And Allah knows that I am true, virtuous, well-guided and a follower of truth.

So we see that Ali (as)’s actual views of Abu Bakr after his death, according to ʿUmar himself, were that he was a liar, sinful, treacherous, and dishonest, unlike the weak narration cited by Ibn al-Jawzī which tries to imply that he praised him. This narration is actually authentic per Sunni standards, in contrast to Ibn al-Jawzī’s report.