It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: When this verse {وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِیرَتَکَ الْأَقْرَبِینَ} … "And warn your nearest relatives" was revealed, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gathered the people of his family, thirty people gathered, they ate and drank, after that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: Who among you will guarantee the repayment of my debts and the fulfillment of my promises, as a result of which he will be with me in Paradise and will be my successor among my family? One man replied: O Messenger of Allah! You are like an ocean, who can fulfill these responsibilities? Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this to someone else as well. Then when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) presented this matter to his household, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes, I guarantee it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that after Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), the first person to perform prayer with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), or after her, the first to accept Islam, was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: In the time of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we used to say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most virtuous of all people, after him is Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and after him is Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). And Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was granted three such distinctions that if I had received even one of them, it would have been dearer to me than red camels: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married his daughter to him, his offspring came from him, and the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered all the doors opening into the mosque to be closed except his door, and on the day of Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted him the flag.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Raqeem Kanani, he says: During the days of the Battle of Jamal, we set out towards Madinah Munawwarah and met Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him). He said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had ordered that all the doors opening towards the mosque should be closed, except for the door of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), which was allowed to remain open.

It is narrated from Abu Hassan that when Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) would order someone to do a task, after completing it, people would come and say,“We have done that task.”Upon hearing this, he would say:“Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have spoken the truth.”Ashtar said to him:“This statement of yours has now become common among the people. If Allah’s Messenger has said something to you, then please state it.”Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say anything to me specifically, apart from the general people, except for one thing which I heard from him, and it is written and present in the sheath of my sword.”The people insisted on it until he took out that writing. It was written in it:“Whoever initiates a bid’ah (innovation) or gives refuge to an innovator, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. Neither his obligatory nor his voluntary worship will be accepted.”And it was also written in it:“Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) declared Makkah as sacred, and I declare Madinah Munawwarah as a sanctuary; the entire area between its two fields is sacred. Its pasture grass should not be cut, its game should not be chased away, and its lost property should not be picked up except by one who will announce it. (He may pick it up.) None of its trees should be cut, except that a man may feed leaves to his camel. Weapons should not be raised in it for fighting.”In that document, it was also written:“The blood of the Muslims is equal. Even the lowest among them can grant protection. They are united and a single group against the disbelievers. A believer will not be killed in exchange for a disbeliever, nor will a dhimmi be killed during his covenant.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We descended with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a valley, which was called the valley of Khumm. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered for prayer and led us in the Zuhr prayer in the intense heat. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon to us, and to protect him from the sun, a cloth was placed over an acacia tree to provide shade for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do you not know, or do you not bear witness, that I am closer to every believer than his own self? The companions said: Yes, indeed. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whomever I am a friend to, Ali is also his friend. O Allah! Show enmity to the one who shows enmity to Ali, and befriend the one who befriends Ali.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the people for testimony and said: I beseech by Allah the one who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: O Allah! Whosoever I am his friend, Ali is also his friend. O Allah! Befriend whoever befriends Ali, and show enmity to whoever shows enmity to Ali. Upon hearing this, sixteen men stood up and testified (that indeed they had heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Riyah bin Harith that a group of people came to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) at the place of Rahbah and they said: O our master! Peace be upon you. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: How can I be your master, when you are an Arab people? Those people said: We heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say at the occasion of Ghadir Khumm: "Whoever I am the master of, Ali is also his master." Riyah says: When those people left, I followed them and asked: Who are these people? The people informed me that they are Ansar, and among them was Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him).

(Second chain) Riyah says: I saw a group of Ansar, they came to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) at Rahbah. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Who are you people? They said, O Commander of the Faithful! We are your friends, then he mentioned a hadith with the same meaning as mentioned above.

It is narrated from Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila, he says: I was present in Rahbah in the service of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was urging the people by the name of Allah, saying: I ask that person by Allah, who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say on the day of Ghadir Khumm: "Whoever's friend I am, Ali is also his friend." He should stand up and bear witness. Upon hearing this, twelve Badrī Companions stood up—I can see that scene before my eyes, as if I am seeing each one of them—they all said: We bear witness that we heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say on the day of Ghadir Khumm: "Do I not have more right over the believers than their own selves? And are my wives not their mothers?" We said: O Messenger of Allah! Certainly, it is so. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever's friend I am, Ali is also his friend. O Allah! Befriend the one who befriends Ali, and be the enemy of the one who is hostile to him."

(Second chain) It is narrated from Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila, he says: I was present with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in Rahbah, and he said: I beseech that man by Allah who was present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of Ghadir Khumm and heard him say this, let him stand up. Upon hearing this, twelve men stood up, all of them said: We saw the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and heard him say this, while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was also holding his (Ali’s) hand: O Allah! Befriend whoever befriends this Ali, and be the enemy of whoever is hostile to him, help whoever helps him, and forsake whoever forsakes him. Only three men did not stand up; Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) invoked a curse upon them, and his curse befell them.