Once, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Shall I not tell you the most virtuous verse of the Noble Qur'an which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us?" That verse is «مااصابكم من مصيبة فبما كسبت ايديكم و يعفو عن كثير» . And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Ali! I will explain its interpretation to you. The meaning of this verse is that whatever illness, hardship, or trial befalls you in this world, it is because of your own actions and deeds, and Allah is so Generous that He will not punish you again for it in the Hereafter. And whatever Allah has pardoned in this world, it is far from His forbearance that He would retract His forgiveness."

Asim bin Damrah says that once we asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer voluntary prayers during the day. He replied: "You do not have the strength to pray as he did." We said: "Please tell us, we will try to act upon it according to our strength and ability." He said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would offer the Fajr prayer and then wait for a while. When the sun would rise in the east to the extent that it is in the west after the Asr prayer, he would stand and offer two rak'ahs of prayer. Then he would wait for a while, and when the sun would rise in the east to the extent that it is in the west after the Zuhr prayer, he would stand and offer four rak'ahs of prayer. Then, after the sun had declined, he would offer four rak'ahs before Zuhr, two rak'ahs after Zuhr, and four rak'ahs before Asr. In every two rak'ahs, he would recite words of peace (the tashahhud) for the close angels, the noble prophets (peace be upon them), and the Muslims and believers who follow them. In this way, the voluntary prayers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during the whole day amounted to sixteen rak'ahs, but very few are those who are consistent in them." After narrating this hadith, Habib bin Abi Thabit said: "O Abu Ishaq! This hadith of yours is equal to this mosque being filled with gold."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer Witr in the early, middle, and last parts of the night, however, in the end, he (peace and blessings be upon him) became regular in offering it in the last part of the night.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Witr does not have definitive proof from the Noble Qur’an like the obligatory prayers, but its obligation is established from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer Witr in the early, middle, and last parts of the night, however, in the end, he (peace and blessings be upon him) became consistent in offering it in the last part of the night.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that on the day of the Battle of Badr, we would seek refuge with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was closer to the enemy than any of us, and on that day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fought the fiercest battle.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that once a Bedouin came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked: "O Messenger of Allah! We live in the countryside, tell us, if any of us passes wind, what should he do?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah is not shy of the truth (therefore I say to you without hesitation that in such a case) he should perform ablution. And remember! Do not have intercourse with a woman in her anus."

Ubaidullah bin Iyaz says that a few days after the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) returned from Iraq and presented himself before Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and at that time we were sitting with Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to him: "Abdullah! Will you answer truthfully whatever I ask you? Can you tell me about those people who martyred Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?" He replied, "Why would I not speak the truth to you?" She said, "Then tell me their story." Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) began: "When Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) started correspondence with Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and both arbitrators gave their respective decisions, eight thousand people, who were called Qurra (reciters), left and went to a place called Harura on one side of Kufa. These people were displeased with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said that the shirt Allah had clothed you with, you have taken off, and the name Allah had given you, you have distanced from yourself. Then you accepted arbitration in the matter of religion, whereas the command belongs only to Allah."

"When Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) learned that these people had separated from him in anger, he ordered the announcer to call out that only those who have the Noble Qur'an with them should come to the Commander of the Faithful. When his house was filled with those who recited the Qur'an, he had a large copy of the Qur'an brought and placed it before him, and shaking it with his hand, he said, 'O Qur'an! Inform the people.' Seeing this, the people said, 'O Commander of the Faithful! What are you asking from this copy? This is only ink on paper. Yes, the rulings that have reached us through it, we narrate to each other. What is your purpose with this?' He said, 'These companions of yours who have separated from us, the Qur'an will decide between me and them. Allah Almighty Himself says in the Qur'an regarding husband and wife that if you fear discord between them, then send an arbitrator from his side and an arbitrator from her family. If their intention is reconciliation, Allah will create harmony between them. I think that the blood and sanctity of the entire Ummah is more important than that of a man and a woman (so if I accepted arbitration in this matter, what sin did I commit?) And as for their anger that I corresponded with Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) (then Sayyiduna Muawiyah is a Muslim and a Companion), when we were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at Hudaybiyyah and Suhail bin Amr came to us and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made peace with his people, the Quraysh, at that time the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had me write, «بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم» . At this, Suhail said: 'Do not write like this.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Then how should I write?' He said: 'Write «باسمك اللهم» .' After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had his name written as «محمد رسول الله» , so he said: 'If I considered you the Messenger of Allah, I would never oppose you.' Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had these words written: «هذا ما صالح محمد بن عبدالله قريشا» . And Allah says that in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) you have the best example (I have only followed that example)."

"After this, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) to explain to them. The narrator says: I also went with him. When we reached the middle of their army, a man named Ibn al-Kawwa stood up to address the people and said: 'O bearers of the Qur'an! This is Abdullah bin Abbas who has come. Whoever does not know him, I will introduce him from the Qur'an. He is the one about whom and his people the Qur'an says «قوم خصمون» , meaning the word "quarrelsome people" has been used, so send him back to his companion, i.e., Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and do not present the Book of Allah before him.' Hearing this, their orators stood up and said: 'By Allah! We will present the Book of Allah before him. If he brings the truth, we will follow him, and if he brings falsehood, we will silence that falsehood.' Thus, for three days, they debated with Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with the Book of Allah before them, as a result of which four thousand of them repented from their beliefs and returned, including Ibn al-Kawwa himself, and all of them presented themselves before Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in Kufa."

"After this, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message through a messenger to the remaining people that you have seen what happened between us and those people. Now stay wherever you wish until the Muslim Ummah is united. There is an agreement between us and you that you will not shed anyone's blood unjustly, will not commit robbery, and will not oppress the dhimmis. If you do so, we will wage war against you, for Allah does not like the treacherous."

"After hearing this entire account, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: 'Ibn Shaddad! Did they then fight those people?' He replied: 'By Allah! Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) did not send any army against them until they broke the aforementioned agreement. They committed robbery, shed innocent blood, and considered it lawful to attack the dhimmis.' Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: 'By Allah! Is that really what happened?' He said: 'Yes, by the One besides whom there is no deity, that is what happened.'"

"Then Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: 'What is the reality of what has reached me through the people of Iraq, that there was a person called Dhu al-Thadi?' Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'I myself saw that person and stood with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) over his corpse among the slain. On that occasion, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called the people and asked: "Do you know this person?" Most people said: "I saw him praying in such-and-such neighborhood's mosque, I saw him praying in such-and-such neighborhood's mosque." No one could say anything definite by which he could be identified.'"

"Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: 'When Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing by his corpse, did he say the same thing that the people of Iraq narrate?' He said: 'I heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: "Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth."' Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: 'Did you hear anything else from his mouth?' He said: 'By Allah! No.' She said: 'Alright, that's fine. May Allah have mercy on Ali. This was his habitual phrase. That is why whenever something good or astonishing appeared to him, he would say: "Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth," and the people of Iraq began to attribute false things to him and exaggerate and present things from themselves.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was present at a funeral. On that occasion, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who among you will go to Madinah Munawwarah and not leave any idol there without breaking it, not leave any grave without leveling it, and not see any picture without smearing it with mud and clay?" A man said, "O Messenger of Allah! I will do this task." So that man set out, but when he reached Madinah Munawwarah, he became overawed by the people of Madinah and returned. Seeing this, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O Messenger of Allah! I will go." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him permission. When he returned, he said, "O Messenger of Allah! Wherever I found any kind of idol, I broke it; every grave I saw, I leveled it; and every picture I saw, I smeared it with mud." After this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Now, whoever does any of these things again, it is as if he denies the revelation sent down to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." He also said: "Do not become those who put people into trial or boastful ones; be only traders of goodness, for these are the people who can only surpass others through action."

The previous hadith is also narrated through this second chain of transmission.