Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: Once Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered together. Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the most beloved of you all to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am more beloved to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) than you. Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am more beloved to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) than you. Then they said: Come with us to the Messenger of Allah, so that we may ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this. Sayyiduna Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: These men came and asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission to enter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Go and see who they are. I told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): It is Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him); I did not say: It is my father. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Give them permission. They came in and said: O Messenger of Allah! Who is the most beloved to you? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Fatimah. They said: We are asking you about the men. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ja'far! As for you, your physical appearance resembles my physical appearance, and your character resembles my character most closely; you are from me and from my family tree. And O Ali! As for you, you are my son-in-law and the father of my children; I am from you and you are from me. And O Zayd! As for you, you are my freed slave (mawla), you are from me, and you are the most beloved of them to me."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Al-Tirmidhi recorded this report in abridged form. Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب المناقب / 15510
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ حسن۔
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (204/5) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 21270، وأخرجه المستدرك على الصحيحين برقم: 5010»