diff --git a/activerecord/test/cases/relations_test.rb b/activerecord/test/cases/relations_test.rb
index 6270533dc2..4edaf79e9a 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/cases/relations_test.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/cases/relations_test.rb
@@ -1806,6 +1806,10 @@ class RelationTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     assert_equal post, custom_post_relation.joins(:author).where!(title: post.title).take
   end
 
+  test "arel_attribute respects a custom table" do
+    assert_equal [posts(:welcome)], custom_post_relation.ranked_by_comments.limit_by(1).to_a
+  end
+
   test "#load" do
     relation = Post.all
     assert_queries(1) do
diff --git a/activerecord/test/models/post.rb b/activerecord/test/models/post.rb
index 4c8e847354..935a11e811 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/models/post.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/models/post.rb
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   scope :containing_the_letter_a, -> { where("body LIKE '%a%'") }
   scope :titled_with_an_apostrophe, -> { where("title LIKE '%''%'") }
-  scope :ranked_by_comments,      -> { order("comments_count DESC") }
+  scope :ranked_by_comments, -> { order(arel_attribute(:comments_count).desc) }
 
   scope :limit_by, lambda { |l| limit(l) }
   scope :locked, -> { lock }