Habbah ‘Urani says: I saw Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) on the pulpit laughing heartily; I had never seen him laugh so much before. He laughed so hard that his molar teeth became visible, and then he said: I remembered the words of Abu Talib. I was performing prayer with Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the valley of Nakhlah when Abu Talib came. He said: Nephew! What are you both doing? Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) invited him to Islam. He said: There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, but by Allah! My buttocks will never be raised above me. Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) laughed in amazement at his father’s words. After that, he said: O Allah, I do not know that, in this Ummah, before Your Prophet, any of Your servants worshipped You before me. He repeated this statement three times. Long before people started praying, I performed prayers. He repeated this statement seven times.1

! Or it means that before people started praying, I performed prayers for seven days, after which others became Muslim. (Abdullah Rafiq)