Buraida reported God's messenger as saying, "God who is blessed and exalted has commanded me to love four people, and He has informed me that He loves them." He was asked to name them and said, "`Ali is one of them (saying that three times), also Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad and Salman. He has commanded me to love them, and He has informed me that He loves them." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.
Hadith Referenceمشكوة المصابيح / كتاب المناقب / 6258
Hadith Gradingالألبانی:لم تتمّ دراسته | زبیر علی زئی:إسناده حسن
Hadith Takhrij´تحقيق و تخريج: محدث العصر حافظ زبير على زئي رحمه الله` «إسناده حسن، رواه الترمذي (3718) [و ابن ماجه (149) ] ٭ شريک القاضي صرح بالسماع عند أحمد (5/ 351 ح 22968) و حديثه حسن إذا صرح بالسماع و حدّث قبل اختلاطه .»