I am the city of knowledge, and Ali is its gate.
أَنَا مَدِينَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَعَلِيٌّ بَابُهَا
Ene medînetü'l-ilmi ve Aliyyün bâbuhâ.
Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, no. 4637; al-Tirmidhi, Manaqib, no. 3723 (with the wording "Ene dâru'l-hikmeti ve Aliyyün bâbuhâ"). The authenticity of the narration is disputed: al-Tirmidhi calls it "gharib munkar", hadith scholars such as Ibn al-Jawzi consider it weak, and al-Hakim accepts it as sound.
The city is vast; its gate is one.
Whoever knows the gate shortens the road.
While this saying speaks of Ali,
it also tells how knowledge is gained:
through a gate, with a guide.
The narration is disputed among hadith scholars.
We give its source together with the dispute.