The virtues of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "There is none among your pure wives who does not have relatives and kin (to support her), so to whom do you entrust me (after you)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I entrust you to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded this narration in his 'al-Musannaf'; in its chain there is an unnamed narrator (an elder of Madinah), because of which it is weak in terms of its chain, although it has also been mentioned in various books of biography under the virtues of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "By Allah! Indeed, this is the covenant of the unlettered Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (with me): 'Soon after me people will act with disloyalty and treachery towards you.'"
Imam Ahmad narrated this hadith in al-Musnad. According to the hadith scholars there is criticism of it because of some narrators in its chain; however, on the basis of its many routes and supporting reports, some imams have accepted it at the level of hasan (good).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, this Ummah will soon treat you with disloyalty and breach of covenant after me."
Imam al-Bazzar and Imam Ibn Majah narrated it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, while speaking on the minbar: "By Allah! Indeed, this is the covenant of the unlettered Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with me: that this Ummah will soon act treacherously and disloyally towards me."
Imam Abu Ya'la (535) and Imam al-Bazzar (791) narrated this hadith. The hadith scholars differ over the reliability of the narrator Yazid al-Himmani in its chain and of his son Tha'labah; however, Imam al-Hakim declared it sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had conquered Makkah, he (peace and blessings be upon him) set out towards al-Ta'if and kept it under siege for eighteen or nineteen days, but it was not conquered. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) travelled some distance in a morning or evening stage and halted at a place; then in the heat of midday he gathered the people and addressed them, saying: "O people! I am your forerunner (at the Pond of Kawthar), and I enjoin you to treat my family ('itrah, the Ahl al-Bayt) with kindness and goodness, and your appointed meeting place with me is the Pond of Kawthar. So by the One in whose hand is my soul! You will certainly keep establishing the prayer and keep paying the zakah, or else I will send to you a man who is from me, or who is like my own self; he will strike the necks of their fighters and take their offspring captive." The narrator says: The people thought that perhaps that man would be Sayyiduna Abu Bakr or Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took hold of the hand of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "This is that man."
And Imam Abu Ya'la also narrated it in the same way through the chain of Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas and the Mother of the Believers Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Are you not pleased that you have the same position and rank with me that Harun (peace be upon him) had with Musa (peace be upon him), except that there is no Prophet after me?"
Imam Ibn Hibban declared it sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We used to mention among ourselves that the one with the greatest power of judgement and the best judge among the people of Madinah was Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Imam al-Bazzar also recorded this narration through the route of Muhammad bin Ahmad bin al-Junayd, Yahya bin Muhammad bin al-Sakan and Shu'bah, and Imam al-Hakim declared it sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The first of you to reach me at the Pond of Kawthar will be the one who was the first of you to accept Islam, and he is Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Imam al-Harith recorded this narration in his Musnad; however, in its chain there is a narrator named Yahya bin Hashim al-Ghassani, who according to the imams of hadith is severely discredited, a liar and a forger (one who fabricates hadith); therefore this narration is at the level of mawdu' (fabricated).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "At the time when I was returning from a funeral, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said something to me such that I would not like to have the whole world in exchange for it."
Imam Abu Ya'la narrated this hadith in his Musnad. In its chain there is criticism of the memory of the narrator Abu Hariz (Abdullah bin Husayn); however, Imam Ibn Ma'in declared him thiqah (trustworthy), and a hadith scholar of the great stature of Shu'bah bin al-Hajjaj narrated from him; therefore this chain is of hasan (good) grade.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established brotherhood (mu'akhah) among the people, he left me out, so I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! You have established the bond of brotherhood among your Companions, but you have left me out?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you think that I have overlooked you? In fact, I have chosen you specially for myself. You are my brother and I am your brother." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If anyone argues with you about this matter, tell him: 'I am the servant of Allah and the brother of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him),' and after you no one will claim this virtue except a great liar."
Imam Ibn Majah narrated this hadith; the imams of narrator criticism have declared the narrator Umar bin Abdullah bin Ya'la bin Murrah in its chain da'if (weak) and munkar al-hadith (his narrations are rejected).

It is narrated from Zayd bin Aslam or Muhammad bin al-Munkadir (may Allah have mercy on them both) (the doubt is from the narrator) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Ali! Guard the door and do not let anyone enter upon me, for at this moment a group of angels is with me as visitors, who sought permission from their Lord to visit me." So Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) took charge of the door. Meanwhile Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came and asked permission to enter, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "There is absolutely no permission (to enter) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at this time." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) turned back, thinking that perhaps this restriction was due to some displeasure of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but he could not remain patient for long and came back again and said: "Seek permission for me from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to enter." He gave the same reply again: "There is no permission from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at this time." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "But why?" He replied: "Because a group of angels has come to him (peace and blessings be upon him), who sought permission from their Lord to visit him (peace and blessings be upon him)." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "O Ali! How many are they?" He replied: "They are three hundred and sixty angels." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the door to be opened, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), mentioning this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said: "O Messenger of Allah! He told me that a group of angels sought permission from their Lord to visit you, and, O Messenger of Allah, he also told me that their number is three hundred and sixty." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Did you tell him about the coming of the angels?" He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "And did you also tell him their number?" He said: "Yes." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked again: "O Ali! Tell me, how many are they?" He replied: "They are three hundred and sixty angels." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How did you come to know this?" He said: "I heard three hundred and sixty different voices and melodies of theirs, from which I knew that they were three hundred and sixty angels." Hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his blessed hand upon his chest and said: "May Allah Almighty increase you further in faith and knowledge."
Imam al-Harith recorded this narration in his Musnad (Bughyat al-Bahith: 928); however, its chain contains narrators such as Hammad bin Amr al-Nasibi and Isma'il bin Rafi', who have been declared da'if (weak) and matruk (abandoned), because of which this narration is technically severely weak.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent us on a military expedition (sariyyah) and appointed Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) as our commander. When we came (back) to his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed presence, he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How did you find your companion (commander)?" The narrator says: Then either I complained about him or someone other than me complained about him. I was a man who (by nature) kept his gaze lowered, but when I raised my head I saw that the blessed face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had turned red (with anger), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: "Whoever I am the mawla (friend and patron) of, Ali too is his mawla."
The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it in al-Musannaf (32072), Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad (22945) and Imam al-Nasa'i in al-Sunan al-Kubra (8422).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We were at al-Juhfah, at "Ghadir Khumm," when suddenly the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) took the hand of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in his blessed hand and said: "Whoever I am the mawla of, Ali too is his mawla."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah (32072) and Imam Ahmad in his Musnad narrated this hadith. Although there is scholarly criticism of its chain because of Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Aqil, on the basis of its many routes and other authentic supporting reports this hadith is sound and reliable in its basis.

It is narrated from Yazid al-Awdi that Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) came into the mosque and the people gathered around him. Meanwhile a young man stood up towards him and said: "I ask you by Allah: did you hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: 'Whoever I am the mawla (helper and friend) of, Ali too is his mawla. O Allah! O Allah, befriend whoever befriends him and be hostile to whoever is hostile to him'?" Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "By Allah, yes (I heard it)."
Imam Abu Ya'la said that Abu Bakr narrated this hadith to us with this same chain.
Imam al-Bazzar said that Ali bin Shubrumah al-Bahili narrated to us, from Ahmad bin Yahya al-Sufi, from a man, from Mansur bin Abi al-Aswad, from Dawud and Idris, both from their father, from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), this same narration.
And he further said that he found this same hadith recorded in his notebook (book) through Muhammad bin Miskin, from Abdullah bin Yusuf, from Ikrimah bin Ibrahim, from Idris al-Awdi.

It is narrated from Ikrimah and Abu Yazid al-Madani (may Allah have mercy on them both) that when Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) was brought to the house of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (after the wedding) (the full hadith), and in it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Fatimah! Indeed, I spared no effort in marrying you to the one among my family who is most beloved to me."
And this narration has already been mentioned before in 'The Book of Marriage'.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that once the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was holding my hand and we were walking in one of the streets of Madinah when we passed by a garden. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! How beautiful this garden is!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "For you in Paradise there is a garden far better than this." Until we passed by seven gardens, and each time I kept saying: "How lovely this is!" and he (peace and blessings be upon him) kept replying: "For you in Paradise there is a garden far more beautiful than this." Then when the road became completely empty and deserted, he (peace and blessings be upon him) embraced me and then burst into tears from intense grief. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said: "O Messenger of Allah! What is the reason for this weeping of yours?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are hidden grudges and enmities in the breasts of some people which they will reveal only after me." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Will my religion remain safe at that time?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, your religion will remain safe."
Imam al-Bazzar narrated this hadith from Amr bin Ali and Muhammad bin Ma'mar, both from Harami bin Umarah, with this same chain. It is also clarified concerning it that this narration is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only through this chain, and no narration of Abu Uthman from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) other than this is established.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Amr bin Hind al-Jamali (may Allah have mercy on him) that when the night came on which Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) was sent to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Do not begin anything new (marital relations) until I come to you." The narrator says: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not delay at all and went right after them. He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood at the door and sought permission, then entered and saw that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting apart from her. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, I know that you are the shihab (that is, the shining star or brave soldier) of Allah and His Messenger." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) called for water, rinsed his mouth with it and put that water back into the vessel; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) sprinkled that water on the chests of Sayyidah Fatimah and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) and supplicated for blessing for them; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out from them.
Imam al-Harith bin Abi Usamah recorded this hadith in his Musnad; its narrator Awf bin Abi Jamilah is thiqah (trustworthy), and Abdullah bin Amr bin Hind al-Jamali is a trustworthy Successor (Tabi'i).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a roasted partridge, bread and a little fat were presented as a gift to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entreated Allah: "O Allah! Send to me the one from Your creation who is most beloved to You, so that he may eat this food with me." Hearing this, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) supplicated: "O Allah! Make him my father (Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him))." And Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Allah! Make him my father (Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him))." Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said (in my heart): "O Allah! Make him Sa'd bin Ubadah." Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Then I sensed someone's footsteps at the door; I went out and there was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). I said (to put him off) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was occupied with some need or task at that time, so he went back. Then I heard footsteps at the door again and went out, and again it was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (and I repeated the same thing). Meanwhile the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard his voice and asked: "Look and see who this is." I went out and it was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). I came and informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of his arrival, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to express mutual love and closeness): "O Allah! (He is) my closest companion. O Allah! (He is) my wali (friend)."
And Imam al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that some birds were presented as a gift to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed them among his pure wives (may Allah be pleased with them), so that each wife received (one bird each) (and what follows is the full hadith with the previous meaning).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Safinah (may Allah be pleased with him), who looked after the provisions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on journeys and at home, that a woman of the Ansar presented two birds placed between two loaves of bread as a gift to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At that time he (peace and blessings be upon him) was in the mosque, and there was no one in the house except me and Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). Then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came and asked for the midday meal, I said: "O Messenger of Allah! A woman has sent a gift for you," and I presented the two birds to him (peace and blessings be upon him). On this occasion the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made this supplication: "O Allah! Send to me the one from Your creation who is most beloved to You and to Your Messenger" (the narrator says: I think that he (peace and blessings be upon him) also said the words 'to Your Messenger'). Sayyiduna Safinah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came and knocked lightly on the door. I asked: "Who is this?" He replied: "Abu al-Hasan." Then he knocked again and raised his voice a little, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who is this?" I said: "It is Ali." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Open the door for him." So I opened the door, and he ate the meat of those two birds together with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) until they were finished.
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this narration in his Musnad. The hadith scholars have criticised some narrators in its chain; however, this event of the "Hadith of the Bird" is well known in the science of hadith on account of being narrated through many routes and various chains.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hold Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) close to his blessed chest and kiss him, and at that time he (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: "May my father be ransomed for you, O you who will be martyred alone! May my father be ransomed for you, O you who will be martyred alone!"
The imams of narrator criticism have criticised the chain of this narration because of the presence of Suwayd bin Sa'id and Ibn Mina, and it has been declared technically da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him): I was sitting in the mosque with two men, and we mentioned Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said some improper words about him. Just then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came in a state of intense anger, and signs of displeasure were evident on his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed face. So I said: "I seek refuge with Allah from the anger of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What grudge do you have against me? Whoever hurts Ali has indeed hurt me," and he (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated these words three times. The narrator says: After this incident, whenever someone came to me and said that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was taking a dig at you, saying: "Beware of the trial of this little flat-nosed one (al-Ukhaynis)," I would ask: "Did he name me?" They would reply: "No." Then I would say: "Surely there are many flat-nosed people. I seek refuge with Allah from ever hurting the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (again) after having heard what I myself heard from his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed tongue."
Imam Ibn Abi Umar said that Marwan al-Fazari narrated this hadith to us from Qanan bin Abdullah, from Mus'ab bin Sa'd, from his father (Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him)).
Imam al-Bazzar said that Ahmad bin Aban narrated the hadith to us from Marwan with this same chain, and he said: We do not know this hadith to be narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) by any route other than this chain.
Imam Abu Ya'la said that Mahmud bin Khidash narrated the hadith to us from Marwan with this same chain.

Abu Bakr bin Khalid bin Urfutah narrates from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Malik (Abu Waqqas) (may Allah be pleased with him): I came to him in Madinah, and he said: "I have been told that you people revile Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?" I said: "Yes, we have done so." He asked: "Perhaps you too have reviled him?" I replied: "I seek refuge with Allah (from saying such a thing)." Then Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Never revile him, for even if a saw were placed on the middle of my head (on the parting of my hair) to make me revile Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), I would still never revile him, after the sayings I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about him."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated this hadith in 'al-Musannaf', and its chain is jayyid (good).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Two kinds of people have perished concerning me: one who goes to excess (ghuluww, overstepping the limit) in love, and the other an enemy who fabricates slander."
Sayyiduna Abu Juhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) on the minbar, pointing with his index finger and middle finger, saying: "Two kinds of people have been ruined concerning me: a lover who goes beyond the limit, and an enemy who harbours intense hatred and hostility."
And it is also narrated from Zadhan that he too narrated the like of it from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), except that he did not mention the pointing of the fingers in it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said (addressing those who complained against Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)): "What is the matter with you, and what is my dealing with you? Whoever hurts Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) has indeed hurt me."
Imam al-Harith bin Abi Usamah narrated this hadith in his Musnad. The hadith scholars have criticised the narrator Qanan bin Abdullah al-Laythi in its chain; however, since supporting reports for it exist in other books of hadith, this narration is acceptable.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) searched for me and found me sleeping in a small channel. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Get up. How mean-spirited people are, that they call you Abu Turab (the one covered in dust)!" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: He (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at me and it seemed as if some grief had arisen in my heart because of this, so he (peace and blessings be upon him), consoling me, said: "Stand up. By Allah! I will certainly make you pleased. You are my brother and the father of my two sons; you will fight for the sake of my sunnah and you will fulfil the obligations that are upon me. Whoever dies in my lifetime is the captive of Allah; whoever dies in your era 'has fulfilled his vow' [Surah al-Ahzab: 23]; and whoever dies loving you after your death, Allah Almighty will seal his end with security and faith for as long as the sun rises or sets; and whoever dies hating you dies the death of Jahiliyyah, and he will be held to account even for the deeds he did while in Islam."
The chain of this narration contains narrators such as Suwayd bin Sa'id and Zakariyya bin Abdullah al-Suhbani, who are da'if (weak) and munkar al-hadith (their narrations are rejected), on account of which this narration is, by scholarly and technical standards, severely weak or munkar (rejected).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to a tree at Ghadir Khumm; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out holding the hand of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked: "Do you not bear witness that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is your Lord?" They all said: Of course (we bear witness). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you not bear witness that Allah and His Messenger have more right and authority over you than your own selves, and that Allah and His Messenger are your true patrons and helpers?" They said: Yes (we bear witness to this). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So whoever Allah and His Messenger are the mawla of, then indeed this one (Ali) is also his mawla. And I am leaving among you that which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray: (it is) the Book of Allah Almighty, one end (rope) of which is in my hand and the other end in your hands, and my Ahl al-Bayt (family)."
This chain is sahih (authentic). Imam al-Nasa'i narrated the hadith of Ghadir Khumm through Abu al-Tufayl from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam, Sayyiduna Ali and a group of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and this narration contains additional words that are not found there; and Imam al-Tirmidhi also narrated the basis of this hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took his hand at Ghadir Khumm and said: "O Allah! Whoever I am the mawla (beloved and patron) of, Ali too is his mawla." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that afterwards the people added these words: 'Allahumma wali man walahu wa 'adi man 'adahu' (O Allah, befriend whoever befriends him, and be the enemy of whoever is his enemy).
And the hadith of Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) has already passed in the Book of Purification.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): I was near the house of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with a group of the Muhajirun and the Ansar (may Allah be pleased with them), when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us and asked: "Shall I not tell you about the best of you?" The Companions said: Of course (O Messenger of Allah, please tell us). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the best of you are those who are 'al-mufuna al-mutayyibun' (those who fulfil their promises and covenants and who are pure in character and conduct). Indeed, Allah Almighty loves 'al-hafiyy al-taqiyy' (the person who is most kind (well-mannered) and God-fearing and pious)." The narrator says: Meanwhile Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by there, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said (pointing towards him): "The truth is with this one, the truth is with this one."
(168) And the hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the story of the daughter of Sayyiduna Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with them both) has already passed in the section on custody and upbringing.

It is narrated from Jurayy bin Kulayb that he said: I saw Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) commanding something while Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was forbidding it, so I said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that surely some ill feeling or rift has arisen between the two of you.
Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "There is nothing between us except goodness, but the best of us is the one who follows this religion the most."

Abu Amr bin al-Ala' narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) once delivered a sermon and said: "O people! By Allah, besides whom there is no true deity, I have not taken an atom's weight of anything, little or much, from your wealth (the public treasury) except this one thing." Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) took out from the sleeve of his shirt a small vial in which there was perfume, and said: "A dihqan (a local chief or landlord) presented this to me as a gift."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it in 'al-Musannaf' (hadith: 3947), and all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us while we were lying on our sides in the mosque, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) struck us (to get our attention) with a fresh palm branch that was in his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed hand, then said: "Are you sleeping in the mosque?! Indeed, sleeping in the mosque is not (befitting)." Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: (Hearing this) we all quickly ran off from there, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) too rushed off with us. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "O Ali! Come here. Indeed, everything that is lawful for me in the mosque is lawful for you. And by the One in whose hand is my soul! On the Day of Resurrection you will drive (unworthy people) away from my Pond (of Kawthar) just as a stray camel is pushed away from water; you will have a staff made of the wood of 'awsaj (a thorny shrub). And it is as if I am (now) looking at your place and standing at the Pond of Kawthar."
In the chain of this hadith there is a narrator named Haram bin Uthman, whom Imam al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad and other hadith scholars declared matruk (abandoned); therefore this narration is extremely weak in its chain. Ahmad bin Mani' narrated it in his Musnad.