Textual criticism of Hadith al tayr

[TAHIR]

Textual criticism of Hadith al tayr .
Text of hadith:
"
Prophet (s.a.w), cooked a bird and then prayed o Allah bring me whom you love most in the universe to eat the bird with me then Ali came and ate the bird with him. "

Shia contention : the report proves Ali is most beloved among all to Allah.

Response:
 Allah doesn't decide who is is superior and who is not on account of eating birds.
What is the big deal in eating birds ?
The only occasion that was ripe for declaring Ali as most beloved to Allah and his Prophet would have been khaybar because here he has done what nobody else could do , but here prophet (s.a.w) settled for a simple
"Who loves Allah and his Prophet, and whom Allah and his Prophet love"
يُحِبُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
This was the occasion if any to make a clear pronouncement, why does one wait for  a meal inside a closed door ,which none could know.
We further emphasise that on this occasion Ali (r.a ) conquered a fortress which Umar (r.a) couldn't , sadly for shia the report and incident is transmitted in both shia and Sunni books.
But the expression
يُحِبُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
A rather general one defeats the purpose of shias.

2.
The only time a meal would bring some explicit comparison :

We read in an authentic hadith in musnad Ahmed ,
 عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ: کُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللّٰہِ ‌صلی ‌اللہ ‌علیہ ‌وآلہ ‌وسلم  عِنْدَ امْرَأَۃٍ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ صَنَعَتْ لَہُ طَعَامًا، فَقَالَ النَّبِیُّ ‌صلی ‌اللہ ‌علیہ ‌وآلہ ‌وسلم  ((یَدْخُلُ عَلَیْکُمْ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَہْلِ الْجَنَّۃِ۔)) فَدَخَلَ أَبُو بَکْرٍ رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ عَنْہُ فَہَنَّیْنَاہْ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: ((یَدْخُلُ عَلَیْکُمْ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَہْلِ الْجَنَّۃِ۔)) فَدَخَلَ عُمَرُ رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ عَنْہُ فَہَنَّیْنَاہْ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: ((یَدْخُلُ عَلَیْکُمْ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَہْلِ الْجَنَّۃِ۔)) فَرَأَیْتُ النَّبِیَّ ‌صلی ‌اللہ ‌علیہ ‌وآلہ ‌وسلم  یُدْخِلُ رَأْسَہُ تَحْتَ الْوَدِیِّ فَیَقُولُ: ((اللَّہُمَّ إِنْ شِئْتَ جَعَلْتَہُ عَلِیًّا۔)) فَدَخَلَ عَلِیٌّ رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ عَنْہُ فَہَنَّیْنَاہْ
Jabir (r.a) narrates , An Ansari women invited prophet (s.a.w) for a meal , the prophet (s.a.w) said (while at the Ansari women's place)
A man from Jannah is comming to you and thus came Abu Bakr.
Then Prophet (s.a.w) said man from paradise is comming and then came umar .
Then Prophet (s.a.w) said ,a man from paradise is comming and he (s.a.w) said O Allah if you like ,be him Ali (r.a), so Ali (r.a) came .
Two points from the report
a) Abu bakr and umar (r.a) prevailed this day
b) Prophet (s.a.w) wasn't sure if Ali was even comming do he prayed to Allah , o Allah ,if you wish...
This shows Prophet s.a.w didn't believe Ali (r.a) was absolutely afdhal over all companions

3.
The text of hadith is contradictory to the belief of those who believe Ali (r.a) was most beloved among companions ever since his birth.
Was prophet (s.a.w) unaware of the fact that Ali (r.a) is most beloved to Allah and then seeked for divine intervention within it ?

While we know for a fact that prophet (s.a.w) knew his companions in and out , and would say in their favour what was befitting them.
Here are some examples
1.إِنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ
Abdullah ibn Umar is a righteous man
(Sahi Bukhari no 7031)
2-ھٰذَا أَمِیْنُ ھٰذِہِ الْاُمَّۃِ
In musnad Ahmed (no 11496)
We read (summarised)
The king of najraan asked Prophet (s.a.w) to send along a righteous person , Prophet (s.a.w) said soon shall I send you one and he sent Abu ubaidah Ibn jarraha
3.sahi Bukhari no 2699
Prophet (s.a.w) says to Jaffar ibn abi Talib
Youu resemble me most in character and countenance
4-خُذُوا الْقُرْآنَ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةٍ مِنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ـ فَبَدَأَ بِهِ ـ وَسَالِمٍ مَوْلَى أَبِي حُذَيْفَةَ، وَمُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ، وَأُبَىِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ
Sahi Bukhari (3808)
Learn quran from four Abdullah ibn masood , ....
Not just charcters and qualities of his companions he knew the dynamics of entire society
5-خَيْرُ دُورِ الْأَنْصَارِ : بَنُو النَّجَّارِ ، ثُمَّ بَنُو عَبْدِ الْأَشْهَلِ ، ثُمَّ بَنُو الْحَارِثِ بْنِ الْخَزْرَجِ ، ثُمَّ بَنُو سَاعِدَةَ وَفِي كُلِّ دُورِ الْأَنْصَارِ خَيْرٌ    ،
Sahi Bukhari (3807)
Best among the houses of Ansar is Banu najar
Then abdul Ashal
Then then Banu Haris
Then Banu saidah ...

As it is clear that Prophet s.a.w had fine assessment of the minute of the details one can think about.
From quality to character , from trustworthiness to piety
So it is just impossible for him being unaware of who was the beloved of Allah

[Soccer]

Like your colleagues do, you can rely on your own reasoning to decide which path to take in life. The alternative to that, is to reflect the way God wants you to.

The Prophet knew a lot his statements would be doubted in the future, but, he stated them none the less. Because Quran and Sunnah have a way of reinforcing each other.

Don't waste your time on building conjectures on conjecture. Go straight to the Quran, and try to unravel it's wonders. I'm not asking you to believe in Ahlulbayt hadiths, just give them a chance, to make their case in the Quran.

They prove themselves and know how to remove the dark sorcery that keeps people away from the truth in Quran.