Commander of the faithful: Umar vs Ali

Who owns the title Ameerul Momineen?

It is a common view of the Ahlul Sunnah that the title of Ameerul Momineen (commander of the faithful) is a title reserved primarily for Umar ibn Al Khattab. Whereas in the Shia view this title is reserved SOLELY for the first Imam.

Not even any of the following 11 Imams are allowed to be referred to as such. Interestingly the Shia view holds that not only was the title given by the prophet of Allah to Ali, but directly bestowed upon him by Allah himself at the time of creation!

Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (as) narrates,

Verily, We are the first Ahlul Bayt (as). When Allah created the heavens and earth, Allah gave them Noor through Our Names. When Allah created the heavens and the earth, He ordered a crier to call, “I testify there is no god except Allah.” Then three times he announced, “Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of Allah”. Then three times he announced, “Ali (asws) is Ameerul Momineen"

Source: Bihar ul Anwar 38th Vol. hadith 1295

Umar's claim to the title:

Below is the story quoted from a Sunni website about how the title allegedly came to be for Umar. Pay attention to the fact that this title was not simply awarded to him, such as by Rasulallah (saw) but rather it was something he requested that the common-folk come up with to validate him!

Another point to mention is the fact that in the story Amr bin Al As supports his idea for the innovative title by mentioning that they are all momineen (pious believers). Which is strange since the Quran explicitly mentions that we should NOT assume so highly of ourselves in (53:32)

so do not assert your own goodness: He knows best who is mindful of Him.

Funny enough, the Imams would sometimes refer to false rulers with the title, because to them it was actually an insult.

The hadith from Wasaail Al Shia below explains how this is an insult under Taqiyyah:

عن محمد بن إسماعيل الرازي ، عن رجل سماه ، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال : دخل رجل على أبي عبد الله عليه السلام فقال : السلام عليك يا أمير المؤمنين ، فقام على قدميه فقال : مه هذا اسم لا يصلح إلا لأمير المؤمنين سماه به ، ولم يسم به أحد غيره فرضي به إلا كان منكوحا

“A man visited Aba Abdillah (as) and said: 

Asalaama `alayka oh Ameer al-Mu’mineen”, so he (as) got up on his feet and said: “What! This name is not allowed except for Ameer al-Mu’mineen (as) (Ali bin abi Taleb) who was named this, and no one was named this name other than him (Ali), and was pleased with it – except that he was one who was penetrated (a passive homosexual)…

Source: Wasaa’il al-Shia, Volume 14, Page 600, Hadith #1

The scan of Wasaail Al Shia and translation taken from PurifiedHousehold. See their page for more.

The title given to Ali

Regardless of the likely fabricated story of it being a newly found title specifically for Umar, certain Sunni scholars such as  Ibn al-Jawzi Al-Dhahabi, and Ibn 'Asakir hold that the prophet himself designated this title for Ali!  Sources for this:

• Ibn al-Jawzi. Al-Mozooat. 1. pp. 376–377.
• Al-Dhahabi. Mizan al-E’tedaal. 1. p. 64.
• Ibn 'Asakir. The history of Medina Damascus. 42. p. 386.

So how could it be that a title given to Ali by the prophet himself is suddenly a novel name for the second caliph long after the prophet's passing?

In addition, the famed Sunni muhadith, one of the authors of the Sahih Sittah, An Nisa'i, wrote an entire book on the merits of Imam Ali and titled it Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin Ali b. Abi Talib or Characters of the commander of the faithful. 

The cover of the book written by Imam Nisa'i. A title he published when he felt the Sunnis were wrongfully neglecting the merits of Imam Ali and falsely praising Muawiyah.

There seems to be very little left needing to be proven in this regard, the most significant of sunni scholars have deemed this title as Ali's according to the holy prophet.