Shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? [It is] Abu Bakr, and the best of it after Abu Bakr is `Umar (رضي الله عنهما) . Then Allah puts goodness wherever He wills.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) issued a judgement on the basis of one being the neighbour of the other.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade me to wear gold rings, to wear a blend of linen and silk, to recite Qur`an when bowing and prostrating and to wear clothes dyed with safflower.

Three people came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and one of them said: I had one hundred Ooqiyyahs and I spent one Ooqiyyah (in charity). The next one said: I had one hundred dinars and i spent ten dinars (in charity). The next one said: I had ten dinars and I spent one dinar (in charity). The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “You are equal in reward, for each of you gave one tenth of his wealth in charity.”

‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) stood up and said: The best of this ummah after its Prophet are Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, then we got involved in matters which Allah will judge as He wills.

Witr is not a must like the obligatory prayers, but it is a Sunnah established by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

It was narrated from ‘Ali that The Prophet () did wudoo’ washing each part three times.

It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that The Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray Witr at the time of the adhan.

`Abdur-Razzaq said. Someone who saw `Ali when he rode told me: When he put his foot in the stirrup, he said: Bismillah (in the Name of Allah). When he got on it, he said: Al-Hamdu Lillah (praise be to Allah). Then he said: `Glory be to the One Who has placed this (transport) at our service and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny [az-Zukhruf 43:13-14]`. Then he said Al-hamdu Lillah three times and Allahu Akbar three times, then he said: O Allah, there is no god but You. I have wronged myself, so forgive me; no one forgives sins but You. Then he smiled, and it was said: What made you smile, O Ameer al-Mu`mineen? He said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) do what I have done and say what I have said, then he smiled and we said: What made you smile, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? He said: `I was amazed at the slave when he said there is no god but You. I have wronged myself, so forgive me; no one forgives sins but You,” and he knows that no one forgives sins but He.”

O uncle, O uncle. ‘Ali took her by the hand and said to Fatimah (رضي الله عنها), Here is your cousin, look after her. ‘Ali, Zaid and Ja`far disputed concerning her. Ali said: I took her and she is the daughter of my paternal uncle. Ja`far said: She is the daughter of my paternal uncle and her maternal aunt is married to me, Zaid said:She is the daughter of my brother. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ruled that she be given to her maternal aunt and said: `The maternal aunt is like the mother.` Then he said to ‘Ali: `You are of me and I am of you.” And he said to Ja’far: `You resemble me in appearance and attitude.” And he said to Zaid: `You are our brother and our freed slave.` ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said to him. O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), why don`t you marry the daughter of Hamzah? He said: `She is the daughter of my brother through breastfeeding.`

The best of this ummah after its Prophet (ﷺ) are Abu Bakr and ʼUmar (رضي الله عنهما).

Shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? [It is] Abu Bakr, then ʻUmar.

Shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? [It is] Abu Bakr, and the second is ʼUmar (رضي الله عنهما). And if you wish, I shall name the third, Abu Ishaq said: `Abd Khair made it clear so that you would not have any doubts concerning what `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said.

The Prophet (ﷺ) took some silk in his right hand and some gold in his left hand, then he said: `These two are forbidden for the males of my ummah.”

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and when we were in the Harrah, at as-Suqya (a halting place between Makkah and Madinah) which belonged to Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Bring me some water for wudoo’.” When he had done wudoo he stood up and turned to face the qiblah, then he said takbeer, then he said: O Allah, Ibrahim was Your slave and Your close friend; he prayed for blessing for the people of Makkah. I am Muhammad, Your slave and Your Messenger; I am praying to You for the people of Madinah - bless their mudd and sa` [weights and measures] as You blessed the people of Makkah, double the blessing You bestowed upon the people of Makkah, a twofold blessing.”

`Ali (رضي الله عنه) addressed us - or he said: ‘Ali said: There will come a difficult time when the rich man will hold fast to that which is in his hand although he was not enjoined to do that. Allah says: `And do not forget liberality between yourselves` [Al-Baqarah 2:237]. The evil [people] will be elevated and good people will be humiliated. And those who are under compulsion (of force or necessity) will be bought from. The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade forced sales, transactions based on ambiguity and selling crops before they have ripened.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `The best woman (of her time) was Khadeejah and the best woman (of her time) was Maryam.”

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade me to wear gold rings and red garments, and to recite Qur`an when bowing and prostrating.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: `The Pen has been lifted from three: from the child until he reaches puberty, from the sleeper until he wakes up and from the insane until he regains his sanity.”

A married adulterer was brought to ‘Ali. He gave him one hundred lashes on Thursday and he stoned him on Friday. It was said to him: You gave him two hadd punishments? He said: I flogged him in accordance with the Book of Allah and I stoned him in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

A freed slave woman of Sa’eed bin Qais, who was married and had committed an immoral action, was brought to `Ali, he gave her one hundred lashes then he stoned her. Then he said: I flogged her in accordance with the Book of Allah and I stoned her in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

I saw ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) call for water for wudoo’. Then he wiped himself thoroughly with it and wiped the tops of his feet, then he said: This is the wudoo’ of one who has not broken his wudoo’. Then he said: Were it not that I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wipe the tops of his feet, I would have thought that the bottom of the feet were more deserving of being wiped. Then he drank the leftover wudoo’ water whilst standing then he said: Where are those who claim that no one should drink whilst standing?

He had a large head, a reddish white complexion, a large beard, large joints and large hands and feet. He had a long line of hair running from his chest to his navel and the hair on his head was thick and slightly wavy. He used to lean forward when walking as if he was walking uphill, and he was neither tall nor short, I have never seen anyone like him (ﷺ) before or since. ‘Ali bin Hakeem said in his hadeeth: ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) described the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to us. He said: He had a large head and beautiful, slightly wavy hair.

It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that The Prophet (ﷺ) did wudoo’ washing each part three time.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was neither short nor tall; he had a large head, wavy hair, a big beard and a reddish complexion. There was a long line of hair running from his chest to his navel. He had large joints and large hands and feet. When he walked, he walked energetically as if walking downhill, I have never seen anyone like him before or since.

He was not short and not tall, and he had a reddish colour and beautiful, slightly wavy hair. He had large joints and large hands, a large head and a long line of hair running from his chest to his navel. When he walked, he walked energetically as if he was walking downhill, I have never seen anyone like him (ﷺ) before or after.

When we came to Madinah we ate from its fruits and did not feel comfortable in it, and we became ill. The Prophet (ﷺ) was trying to find out about the well of Badr, and when we heard that the mushrikeen had come, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) marched to Badr, and Badr was a well. We got there before the mushrikeen and we found two of their men, a man from Quraish and a freed slave of “Uqbah bin Abi Mu`ait. As for the Qurashi, he managed to escape, but we caught the freed slave of ‘Uqbah and started asking him: How many are the people? He said: By Allah, they are great in number and powerful. When he said that, the Muslims began to beat him and they brought him to the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: How many are the people? He said: By Allah, they are great in number and powerful. The Prophet (ﷺ) tried hard to make him tell him how many they were, but he refused. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) asked him: How many camels do they slaughter? He said: Ten each day. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: They are one thousand; each camel is for one hundred men. Then a shower of rain fell on us at night and we rushed to seek shelter beneath the trees and leather shields, sheltering from the rain. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spent the night calling upon his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, saying: “O Allah, if You cause this band to be destroyed, You will never be worshipped.” When dawn came, he called out: `Prayer, O slaves of Allah!” And the people came from beneath the trees and shields and the Messenger of Allah led us in prayer and encouraged us to fight. Then he said: `The army of Quraish is beneath this red outcrop of the mountain.` When the people drew close to us, and we stood in ranks facing one another, we saw one of their men, riding a red camel of his, going around among the people. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `O `Ali, call Hamzah for me` - as he was the closest of them to the mushrikeen - and said `Who is the one on the red camel and what is he saying to them?` Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `If there is anyone among the people who is enjoining good, then perhaps it is the one on the red camel.` Hamzah came and said: He is `Utbah bin Rabee`ah, and he is telling them not to fight; he is saying to them: O people, I can see people who are going to fight to the death and you will never be able to harm them, because it will cost you too dear to do so. O people, put the blame on me ...

I asked `A’ishah: Tell me about a man among the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) whom I can ask about wiping over the khuffain. She said: Go to ‘Ali and ask him, for he stayed close to the Prophet (ﷺ). So I went to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) and asked him, and he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told us to wipe over our khifaf when we travelled.

‘Ali adjured the people at ar-Rahbah, saying: Whoever heard the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) speak on the day of Ghadeer Khumm, let him stand up. And (of the people) around Sa’eed, six men stood up, and (of the people) around Zaid, six men stood up, and they testified that they had heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) on the day of Ghadeer Khumm. “Isn`t it Allah Who is closer to the believers?” They said: Yes. He said: `O Allah, if I am a person`s mawla (friend and supporter) then ‘Ali is also his mawla; O Allah, take as friends those who take him as a friend, and take as enemies those who take him as an enemy.” A hadeeth like that of Abu Ishaq was narrated from `Amr Dhi Murr, i.e., from Sa`eed and Zaid, and he added to it: `and support those who support him, and forsake those who forsake him.` A similar report was narrated from Abut-Tufail from Zaid bin Arqam from the Prophet (ﷺ).

When al-Hasan was born, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came and said: “Show me my son; what did you name him?` I said: I named him Harb [which means `war`]. He said: `Rather he is Hasan.” When al-Husain was born, he said: `Show me my son; what did you name him?` I said: I named him Harb, He said: `Rather he is Husain.” When the third one was born, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: `Show me my son; what did you name him?` I said: Harb, He said: “Rather. he is Muhassin.” Then he said: “I have named them after the fashion of the sons of Haroon, Shabbar and Shabeer and Mushabbir.”

‘Ali was asked: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) tell you anything that was only for you? He said. He did not tell us anything that was only for us without telling all other people, except that which is in the sheath of this sword of mine. He brought out a document on which it was written: `May Allah curse the one who slaughters in the name of something other than Allah, may Allah curse the one who steals the boundary markers, may Allah curse the one who curses his father and may Allah curse the one who gives refuge to an offender.”

Are you visiting Hasan [during his sickness] when you feel what you feel? He said to him. Yes; you are not the Lord of my heart, to direct it as you wili. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: That does not prevent me from giving you advice, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “There is no Muslim who visits a [sick] Muslim, but Allah will send to him seventy thousand angels who will send blessings upon him from whatever hour of the day it is until evening comes, and from whatever hour of the night it is until morning comes.`

`The Pen has been lifted from three; from the sleeper until he wakes up, from the crazy - or insane- one until he comes back to his senses, and from the minor until he grows up.”

`O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath; I seek refuge in Your pardon from Your punishment; I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself.”

I heard `Ali (رضي الله عنه) say: A suit made of silk was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ). He sent it to me and I put it on, then I saw displeasure in his face, and he told me to divide it between the women as head covers.

We did such and such. And he would say: Allah and his Messenger spoke the truth. Al-Ashtar said to him: What you say is becoming widespread among the people. Is it something that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) advised you to say? ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not advise me to say anything to the exclusion of other people, except something I heard from him and it is written in a document in the sheath of my sword. They kept on at him until he took out a document, in which it said: `Whoever commits an offence or gives refuge to an offender, upon him be the curse of Allah and the angels and all the people; no nafl or obligatory act of worship will be accepted from him.” And in it was said. Ibraheem declared Makkah to be a sanctuary and I declare Madinah to be a sanctuary; the area between its two lava fields and all of its territory is sacred. It`s grasses are not to be cut, and its game is not to be disturbed, and its lost property is not to be picked up except by the one who announces it, and no tree is to be cut in it, except what a man needs to feed his camel. And no weapon is to be carried in it for fighting.` And in it was said: `All the believers are equal in respect of blood [i.e., their lives are of equal value] . The protection offered by the least among them is to be honoured. They should be united as one against their enemies. A believer is not to be killed (in retaliation) for a disbeliever, nor one who has a covenant during the covenant.

`O Allah, to You I have bowed, in You I have believed and to You I have submitted. You are my Lord. My hearing my sight, my brain, my bones and my sinews submit to You. Whatever my feet carry is for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.”

l saw ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) in ar-Rahbah, adjuring the people, (saying): I adjure by Allah anyone who heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say on the day of Ghadeer Khumm:`If I am a person`s mowla (friend and supporter) then ‘Ali is also his mawla”, to stand up and testify. ‘Abdur-Rahman said: And twelve men who had been at Badr stood up. It is as if I can see one of them. And they said: We bear witness that we heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say on the day of Ghadeer Khumm; `Am I not closer to the believers than their own selves and my wives are their mothers?` We said: Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: `If I am a person`s mawla (friend and supporter) then `Ali is also his mawla; O Allah, take as friends those who take him as a friend, and take as enemies those who take him as an enemy.”

I saw ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) on the minbar, delivering a speech, wearing a sword that had an adornment of iron, and l heard him say: By Allah, we do not have any book that we recite to you except the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, and this document that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave to me. In it are the rates of zakah. He said: [This was] a document that was attached to his sword.

I was sitting with `Ali (رضي الله عنه) and Sa`sa`ah bin Soohan came in and greeted him, then he said: O Ameer al-Mu`mineen, forbid to us that which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade you. He said: He forbade us to use gourds, green glazed pitchers, varnished jars and hollowed-out stumps, and he forbade us to wear a blend of linen and silk, to use red saddle cloths, silk and gold jewellery. Then he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave me a suit of silk and I went out wearing it so that people would see me wearing a garment that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had given to me. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw me and told me to take it off, so I sent one piece to Fatimah and I tore the other and shared it out among his wives.

I entered upon `Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Laila, who told me that he heard `Ali (رضي الله عنه) say in ar-Rahbah: I adjure by Allah any man who heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and was present on the day of Ghadeer Khumm to stand up, and no one is to stand up except those who saw him. Twelve men stood up and said: We saw and heard him when he took him by the hand and said, `O Allah, take as friends those who take him as a friend, and take as enemies those who take him as an enemy, support those who support him and forsake those who forsake him.` Everyone stood up except three. He prayed against them and his supplication against them was fulfilled.

When `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) heard the mu`addhin giving the adhan, he used to repeat after him. When he said, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), `Ali (رضي الله عنه) would say: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and that those who deny Muhammad are the liars.

I asked `A’ishah about wiping over the khuffain (leather slippers) and she said: Ask `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه), for he used to travel with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). So I asked him and he said: For the traveller (the khuffain in may be wiped over) for three days and nights and for the one who is not travelling one day and night. Yahya said: He - meaning Shu`bah - used to attribute it to the Prophet (ﷺ), then he stopped doing that.

It is not like the obligatory prayer, but it is a Sunnah that was done by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his Companions, and they continued doing it until the end of their lives.

Where are those who say that they dislike drinking whilst standing? He took it and drank whilst standing then he did a light wudoo` and wiped over his shoes, then he said: This is the wudoo’ of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for one who is pure and has not broken his wudoo’.

This is what I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) do.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “If one of you sneezes, let him say, Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds, and let those who are around him say: May Allah have mercy on you, and let him say, May Allah guide you and rectify your condition.”

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `If one of you sneezes, let him say, Praise be to Allah in all situations, and let those who are around him say: May Allah have mercy on you, and let him reply, May Allah guide you and rectify your condition.`

`Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) came out to us when we were in the mosque and said: Where is the one who was asking about Witr? Those among us who had started the first rak`ah added a second to it so as to make it even, then we gathered around him and he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray Witr at the beginning of the night, then he prayed Witr in the middle of the night, then he settled on praying Witr at this time. He said: That was when dawn was breaking.

Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari visited al-Hasan bin ‘Ali when he was sick. ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said to him: Are you visiting him because he is sick, or is this a social visit? Abu Moosa said: Rather I have come to visit him because he is sick. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “Whoever visits a sick person in the morning, seventy thousand angels will go out with him, all of them praying for forgiveness for him, until evening comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise. And whoever visits a sick person in the evening, seventy thousand angels will go out with him, all of them praying for forgiveness for him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.