The Book of the Sunnah
كتاب المقدمة
Chapter 21: The Virtue of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud (ra)
"The Messenger of Allah said to me: 'The sign that you have been permitted to come in is that you raise the curtain and that you hear me speaking quietly, until I forbid you.' (i.e. unless I forbid you)."
Chapter 22: The Virtue of `Abbas ibn `Abdul Muttalib (ra)
"We used to come across groups of Quraish who would be talking, but they would stop talking (when we approached). We mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah and he said: 'What is the matter with people who talk, then when they see a man from my family they stop talking? By Allah, faith will not enter a person's heart until he loves them for the sake of Allah and because of their closeness to me.'"
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Allah has taken me as a close friend (Khalil) as He took Ibrahim as a close friend. So my house and the house of Ibrahim will be opposite to one another on the Day of Resurrection, and 'Abbas will be in between us, a believer between two close friends.'" (Maudu')
Chapter 23: The Virtue of al-Hasan and al-Husain, the two sons of `Ali ibn Abi Talib (raa)
The Prophet said to Hasan: "O Allah, I love him, so love him and love those who love him." He said: "And he hugged him to his chest."
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever loves Hasan and Husain, loves me; and whoever hates them, hates me.'"
They had gone out with the Prophet to a meal to which they had been invited, and Husain was there playing in the street. The Prophet came in front of the people and stretched out his hands, and the child started to run here and there. The Prophet made him laugh until he caught him, then he put one hand under his chin and the other on his head and kissed him, and said, "Husain is part of me and I am part of him. May Allah love those who love Husain. Husain is a tribe among tribes." (Hasan)(Another chain with similar meaning)
"The Messenger of Allah said to 'Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husain: 'I am peace for those with whom you make peace, and I am war for those with whom you make war.'"
Chapter 24: The Virtue of `Ammar ibn Yasir (ra)
"I was sitting with the Prophet, and 'Ammar bin Yasir asked permission to enter. The Prophet said: 'Let him in, welcome to the good and the purified.'"
'Ammar entered upon 'Ali and he said: "Welcome to the good and the purified. I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Ammar's heart overflows with faith (Literally, up to the top of his bones).'"
'The Messenger of Allah said: ''Ammar- no two things were shown to him but he chose the better of the two.''
Chapter 25: The Virtue of Salman, Abu Dharr, and Miqdad
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Allah has commanded me to love four people, and He told me that He also loves them.' He was asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, who are they?' He said: ''Ali is one of them,' and he said that three times, 'and Abu Dharr, Salman and Miqdad.'"
Chapter 26: The Virtues of Bilal
"The first people to declare their Islam publicly were seven: The Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr, 'Ammar and his mother Sumayyah, Suhaib, Bilal and Miqdad. With regard to the Messenger of Allah, Allah protected him through his paternal uncle Abu Talib. With regard to Abu Bakr, Allah protected him through his people. As for the rest, the idolators seized them and made them wear coats of chain-mail and exposed them to the intense heat of the sun. There was none of them who did not do what they wanted them to do, except for Bilal. He did not care what happened to him for the sake of Allah, and his people did not care what happened to him. Then they gave him to the children who took him around in the streets of Makkah while he was saying, 'Ahad, Ahad (One, One).'"
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'I have been tortured for the sake of Allah as no one else has, and I have suffered fear for the sake of Allah as no one else has. I have spent three days when Bilal and I had no food that any living being could eat but that which could be concealed in the armpit of Bilal.'"
A poet praised Bilal bin 'Abdullah and said: "Bilal bin 'Abdullah is better than any other Bilal." Ibn 'Umar said: 'You are lying. The Bilal of the Messenger of Allah is better than any other Bilal.'"
Chapter 27: The Virtues of Khabbab
"Khabbab came to `Umar and said: 'Come close, for no one deserves this meeting more than you, except `Ammar.' Then Khabbab started to show him the marks on his back where the idolaters had tortured him."
The Messenger of Allah said: The most merciful of my Ummah towards my Ummah is Abu Bakr; the one who adheres most sternly to the religion of Allah is 'Umar; the most sincere of them in shyness and modesty is 'Uthman; the best judge is 'Ali bin Abu Talib; the best in reciting the Book of Allah is Ubayy bin Ka'b; the most knowledgeable of what is lawful and unlawful is Mu'adh bin Jabal; and the most knowledgeable of the rules of inheritance (Fara'id) is Zaid bin Thabit. And every nation has a trustworthy guardian, and the trustworthy guardian of this Ummah is Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah."
Zaid was: "The most knowledgeable of them concerning the rules of inheritance."
Chapter 28: The Virtue of Abu Dharr
"I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'There is no one on earth, or under the sky, who speaks more truthfully than Abu Dharr.'"
Chapter 29: The Virtue of Sa`d ibn Mu`adh
"The Messenger of Allah was given a gift of a length of silk fabric. The people started passing it around to one another. The Messenger of Allah said: 'Are you admiring this?' They said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! The handkerchief of Sa'd bin Mu'adh in Paradise is better than this.'"
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'The Throne of The Most Merciful trembled upon the death of Sa'd bin Mu'adh.'"