Shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? [It is] Abu Bakr, then ʻUmar.

Shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? [It is] Abu Bakr, and the second is ʼUmar (رضي الله عنهما). And if you wish, I shall name the third, Abu Ishaq said: `Abd Khair made it clear so that you would not have any doubts concerning what `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said.

The Prophet (ﷺ) took some silk in his right hand and some gold in his left hand, then he said: `These two are forbidden for the males of my ummah.”

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and when we were in the Harrah, at as-Suqya (a halting place between Makkah and Madinah) which belonged to Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Bring me some water for wudoo’.” When he had done wudoo he stood up and turned to face the qiblah, then he said takbeer, then he said: O Allah, Ibrahim was Your slave and Your close friend; he prayed for blessing for the people of Makkah. I am Muhammad, Your slave and Your Messenger; I am praying to You for the people of Madinah - bless their mudd and sa` [weights and measures] as You blessed the people of Makkah, double the blessing You bestowed upon the people of Makkah, a twofold blessing.”

`Ali (رضي الله عنه) addressed us - or he said: ‘Ali said: There will come a difficult time when the rich man will hold fast to that which is in his hand although he was not enjoined to do that. Allah says: `And do not forget liberality between yourselves` [Al-Baqarah 2:237]. The evil [people] will be elevated and good people will be humiliated. And those who are under compulsion (of force or necessity) will be bought from. The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade forced sales, transactions based on ambiguity and selling crops before they have ripened.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `The best woman (of her time) was Khadeejah and the best woman (of her time) was Maryam.”

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade me to wear gold rings and red garments, and to recite Qur`an when bowing and prostrating.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: `The Pen has been lifted from three: from the child until he reaches puberty, from the sleeper until he wakes up and from the insane until he regains his sanity.”

A married adulterer was brought to ‘Ali. He gave him one hundred lashes on Thursday and he stoned him on Friday. It was said to him: You gave him two hadd punishments? He said: I flogged him in accordance with the Book of Allah and I stoned him in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

A freed slave woman of Sa’eed bin Qais, who was married and had committed an immoral action, was brought to `Ali, he gave her one hundred lashes then he stoned her. Then he said: I flogged her in accordance with the Book of Allah and I stoned her in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

I saw ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) call for water for wudoo’. Then he wiped himself thoroughly with it and wiped the tops of his feet, then he said: This is the wudoo’ of one who has not broken his wudoo’. Then he said: Were it not that I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wipe the tops of his feet, I would have thought that the bottom of the feet were more deserving of being wiped. Then he drank the leftover wudoo’ water whilst standing then he said: Where are those who claim that no one should drink whilst standing?

He had a large head, a reddish white complexion, a large beard, large joints and large hands and feet. He had a long line of hair running from his chest to his navel and the hair on his head was thick and slightly wavy. He used to lean forward when walking as if he was walking uphill, and he was neither tall nor short, I have never seen anyone like him (ﷺ) before or since. ‘Ali bin Hakeem said in his hadeeth: ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) described the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to us. He said: He had a large head and beautiful, slightly wavy hair.

It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that The Prophet (ﷺ) did wudoo’ washing each part three time.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was neither short nor tall; he had a large head, wavy hair, a big beard and a reddish complexion. There was a long line of hair running from his chest to his navel. He had large joints and large hands and feet. When he walked, he walked energetically as if walking downhill, I have never seen anyone like him before or since.

He was not short and not tall, and he had a reddish colour and beautiful, slightly wavy hair. He had large joints and large hands, a large head and a long line of hair running from his chest to his navel. When he walked, he walked energetically as if he was walking downhill, I have never seen anyone like him (ﷺ) before or after.

When we came to Madinah we ate from its fruits and did not feel comfortable in it, and we became ill. The Prophet (ﷺ) was trying to find out about the well of Badr, and when we heard that the mushrikeen had come, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) marched to Badr, and Badr was a well. We got there before the mushrikeen and we found two of their men, a man from Quraish and a freed slave of “Uqbah bin Abi Mu`ait. As for the Qurashi, he managed to escape, but we caught the freed slave of ‘Uqbah and started asking him: How many are the people? He said: By Allah, they are great in number and powerful. When he said that, the Muslims began to beat him and they brought him to the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: How many are the people? He said: By Allah, they are great in number and powerful. The Prophet (ﷺ) tried hard to make him tell him how many they were, but he refused. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) asked him: How many camels do they slaughter? He said: Ten each day. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: They are one thousand; each camel is for one hundred men. Then a shower of rain fell on us at night and we rushed to seek shelter beneath the trees and leather shields, sheltering from the rain. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spent the night calling upon his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, saying: “O Allah, if You cause this band to be destroyed, You will never be worshipped.” When dawn came, he called out: `Prayer, O slaves of Allah!” And the people came from beneath the trees and shields and the Messenger of Allah led us in prayer and encouraged us to fight. Then he said: `The army of Quraish is beneath this red outcrop of the mountain.` When the people drew close to us, and we stood in ranks facing one another, we saw one of their men, riding a red camel of his, going around among the people. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `O `Ali, call Hamzah for me` - as he was the closest of them to the mushrikeen - and said `Who is the one on the red camel and what is he saying to them?` Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `If there is anyone among the people who is enjoining good, then perhaps it is the one on the red camel.` Hamzah came and said: He is `Utbah bin Rabee`ah, and he is telling them not to fight; he is saying to them: O people, I can see people who are going to fight to the death and you will never be able to harm them, because it will cost you too dear to do so. O people, put the blame on me and say: `Utbah bin Rabee`ah is a coward, although you know that I am not the most cowardly among you. Abu Jahl heard that and said: Are you saying this? By Allah, if anyone else said this I would have insulted him; you are filled with fear, ‘Utbah said: Do you mean me, O you with the whistling rear end (i.e., one who breaks wind a great deal because of fear)? Today you will know which of us is the coward. Then ‘Utbah and his brother Shaibah and his son al-Waleed stepped forward in a display of courage and said: Who will come out to fight in single combat? Six young men of the Ansar stepped forward, but `Utbah said: We do not want these; let some of our cousins of Banu ‘Abdul-Muttalib come out. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Get up, O Ali, get up, O Hamzah, get up, O `Ubaidah bin al-Harith bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib.` Allah caused `Utbah and Shaibah, the two sons of Rabee`ah, and al-Waleed bin ‘Utbah to be killed and ‘Ubaidah was wounded. We killed seventy of them and captured seventy. A short Ansari man brought al-Abbas bin `Abdul-Muttalib as a captive, and al-`Abbas said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), by Allah, this is not the one who captured me; I was captured by a bold man who was one of the most handsome of people, who was riding a piebald horse, but I do not see him among the people. The Ansari said: I captured him, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: `Be quiet! Allah, may He be exalted, supported you with a noble angel.` `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: We took prisoners, and from among Banu `Abdul-Muttalib, we captured al-`Abbas, ‘Aqeel and Nawfal bin al-Harith.

I asked `A’ishah: Tell me about a man among the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) whom I can ask about wiping over the khuffain. She said: Go to ‘Ali and ask him, for he stayed close to the Prophet (ﷺ). So I went to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) and asked him, and he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told us to wipe over our khifaf when we travelled.

‘Ali adjured the people at ar-Rahbah, saying: Whoever heard the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) speak on the day of Ghadeer Khumm, let him stand up. And (of the people) around Sa’eed, six men stood up, and (of the people) around Zaid, six men stood up, and they testified that they had heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) on the day of Ghadeer Khumm. “Isn`t it Allah Who is closer to the believers?” They said: Yes. He said: `O Allah, if I am a person`s mawla (friend and supporter) then ‘Ali is also his mawla; O Allah, take as friends those who take him as a friend, and take as enemies those who take him as an enemy.”A hadeeth like that of Abu Ishaq was narrated from `Amr Dhi Murr, i.e., from Sa`eed and Zaid, and he added to it: `and support those who support him, and forsake those who forsake him.`A similar report was narrated from Abut-Tufail from Zaid bin Arqam from the Prophet (ﷺ).

When al-Hasan was born, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came and said: “Show me my son; what did you name him?` I said: I named him Harb [which means `war`]. He said: `Rather he is Hasan.” When al-Husain was born, he said: `Show me my son; what did you name him?` I said: I named him Harb, He said: `Rather he is Husain.” When the third one was born, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: `Show me my son; what did you name him?` I said: Harb, He said: “Rather. he is Muhassin.” Then he said: “I have named them after the fashion of the sons of Haroon, Shabbar and Shabeer and Mushabbir.”

‘Ali was asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) tell you anything that was only for you? He said. He did not tell us anything that was only for us without telling all other people, except that which is in the sheath of this sword of mine. He brought out a document on which it was written: `May Allah curse the one who slaughters in the name of something other than Allah, may Allah curse the one who steals the boundary markers, may Allah curse the one who curses his father and may Allah curse the one who gives refuge to an offender.”