It was narrated that `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:
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.”
It was narrated from al-Musayyab bin ‘Abd Khair that his father said :
‘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.
`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.”
It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that the daughter of Hamzah followed them, crying:
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.`
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.
It was narrated from `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) that he said:
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.
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?
It was narrated from `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) that He described the Prophet (ﷺ) and said:
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.
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.
It was narrated that Nafi’ bin Jubair bin Mut`im said. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) was asked about how the Prophet (ﷺ) looked. He said:
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 and say: `Utbah bin Rabee`ah is a coward, although you know that I am not the most cowardly among you. Abu Jahl heard that and said: Are you saying this? By Allah, if anyone else said this I would have insulted him; you are filled with fear, ‘Utbah said: Do you mean me, O you with the whistling rear end (i.e., one who breaks wind a great deal because of fear)? Today you will know which of us is the coward. Then ‘Utbah and his brother Shaibah and his son al-Waleed stepped forward in a display of courage and said: Who will come out to fight in single combat? Six young men of the Ansar stepped forward, but `Utbah said: We do not want these; let some of our cousins of Banu ‘Abdul-Muttalib come out. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Get up, O Ali, get up, O Hamzah, get up, O `Ubaidah bin al-Harith bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib.` Allah caused `Utbah and Shaibah, the two sons of Rabee`ah, and al-Waleed bin ‘Utbah to be killed and ‘Ubaidah was wounded. We killed seventy of them and captured seventy. A short Ansari man brought al-Abbas bin `Abdul-Muttalib as a captive, and al-`Abbas said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), by Allah, this is not the one who captured me; I was captured by a bold man who was one of the most handsome of people, who was riding a piebald horse, but I do not see him among the people. The Ansari said: I captured him, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: `Be quiet! Allah, may He be exalted, supported you with a noble angel.` `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: We took prisoners, and from among Banu `Abdul-Muttalib, we captured al-`Abbas, ‘Aqeel and Nawfal bin al-Harith.