Amr bin Maymoon (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once I was sitting with Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) when a delegation of nine men came and said, "O Abu al-Abbas! Either you come with us or let these people give us privacy, we want to ask you some questions." Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, "I will go with you." This was before Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) lost his eyesight. Those people began their conversation and kept talking, but we do not know what they said. After a while, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) came back, dusting off his clothes, and said, "Uff, tuf! These people are finding faults in a man who possessed ten virtues and qualities. These people are after the honor of a man about whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Now I will send a man whom Allah will never disgrace, and he loves Allah and His Messenger.' The onlookers began peeking to see who would receive this honor, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Where is Ali?' People said he must be grinding flour at the mill. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Why does none of you grind the flour?' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to him and found that he had an eye ailment, as if he could not see anything. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) applied his saliva to his eyes, shook the flag three times, and handed it over to him, and he became the cause of bringing Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her).

Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) to Makkah to announce Surah Tawbah, and later sent Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) after him. He took over this responsibility, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'This message can only be delivered by someone who has a close relationship with me, and I have a relationship with him.'

Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his cousins, 'Who among you will be my ally in this world and the Hereafter?' At that time, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was also present. All the others refused, but Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'I will establish alliance with you in this world and the Hereafter.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'You are my friend in this world and the Hereafter.' After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) again turned to one of them, and the same situation occurred again.

After Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), among all people, the honor of being the first to accept Islam among children belongs to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took a cloth and covered Sayyiduna Ali, Sayyidah Fatimah, Sayyiduna Hasan, and Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them all) and said, 'O People of the House! Allah only wishes to remove impurity from you and purify you thoroughly.'

Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sold himself; he wore the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) clothes on the night of migration and slept in his place. The polytheists were showering arrows at the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at that time. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) came there and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was sleeping, but Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that it was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lying there, so he said, 'O Messenger of Allah!' Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) opened his mouth and said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has gone towards Bir Maymoon, you should meet him there. So Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went and entered the cave with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was being showered with arrows just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was, and he was in pain. He had wrapped his head in a cloth and did not uncover his head until morning. When he removed the cloth from his head, the people of Quraysh said, 'You are very mean; we were showering arrows at your companion, and instead you were harmed in his place, and we found this strange.'

Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out with the people for the Battle of Tabuk. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, 'Will I also go with you?' He replied, 'No.' At this, he began to cry. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Are you not pleased that your relation to me is like that of Harun (peace be upon him) to Musa (peace be upon him), except that there is no prophet after me? And it is not appropriate for me to go unless you become my deputy.' Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'After me, you are my friend regarding every believer.' Also, all the doors of the Prophet's Mosque were closed except the door of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), so he would enter the mosque even in a state of major ritual impurity, because he had no other way in. Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Whoever I am the master of, Ali is also his master.'

Also, Allah has told us in the Noble Qur'an that He is pleased with them, meaning the People of the Tree (those who pledged allegiance at Ridwan), and Allah knows what is in their hearts. Has Allah ever told us later that He became displeased with them? Also, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding Sayyiduna Hatib bin Abi Balta'ah (may Allah be pleased with him), 'Give me permission, I will strike off his neck.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, 'Can you really do that? Do you not know that Allah looked at the people of Badr and said, "Do whatever you wish, I have forgiven you" (and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was also among the people of Badr).'