Chapter 1: Admonition to Kinsmen and Nomination of Imam ‘Alī (‘a)

Ahmad bin Hanbal says:

Aswad bin ‘Amir has related to us from Sharīk from A‘mash from Minhal from ‘Abdullāh bin Asadi, that (Imam) ‘Alī (‘a) said:

When the āyah “And warn your relatives of nearest kin” (26:214) was revealed, the Prophet gathered his family around him and treated 30 of them to a meal and then said:

“Who is willing to guarantee my debts and commitments so that he should be with me in paradise and should be my successor from among my family.”

   A person whom Shurayk did not name, answered:

O Messenger of Allah you are like a sea,[26] who can take charge of this responsibility.

The Prophet repeated his statement to his relatives, and (Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)] replied:

“I will undertake this responsibility.”[27]

Ahmad Muhammad Shākir the annotator of the Musnad has enumerated the isnād of this hadīth as hasan or fair. The same event has been narrated in greater detail in the words of Imam ‘Alī (‘a) in hadīth no. 1371 of the Musnad (vol. 2, pp. 352-353) and the annotator has termed its isnād as sahīh (authoritative).

Chapter 2 : Hadith al-Manzilah

In 9 AH the Prophet prepared to march for the expedition against the Romans, and according to Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Tusī since he was concerned of the evil intentions of the enemies, he told Imam ‘Alī (‘a): “It is not advisable to leave Medina without me or you.” He subsequently placed Imam ‘Alī (‘a) in charge of Medina before departing for the expedition to Tabuk, and in order to quell the hypocrites’ ill-speaking of his cousin, he said the latter’s position to him was like that of Aaron to Prophet Moses (‘a). This saying is known as Hadīth al-Manzilah and has been reported by all scholars. Ibn Hanbal has recorded it in the Musnad twenty times through different chains of isnād on the authority of several companions of the Prophet including Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh al-Ansārī, Asmā’ bint ‘Umays, ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Abbās, Abī Sa‘īd al-Khidrī and Sa‘d bin Abī Waqqās.[28] The last named has related it ten times and one of the versions reads as follows:

Abī Ahmad Zubayri quotes ‘Abdullāh bin Habīb bin Abī Thābit from Hamzah bin ‘Abdullāh from his father and from Sa‘d (bin Abī Waqqās) who narrating this hadīth for us, said:

When the Messenger of Allah left Medina for Tabuk he placed (Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)] as his vicegerent in Medina. (Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)] asked the Prophet:

“Are you making me your vicegerent?”

The Prophet replied:

“Are you not happy that your position to me is that of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no Prophet after me?”[29]

Ahmad Shākir has termed the isnād of this hadīth as fair.

Chapter 3 : Abū Bakr’s Dismissal from leading the Hajj and the Entrustment to Imam ‘Alī (‘a) to Convey Surah al-Barā’ah

Ibn Hanbal says of the event which occurred in the month of Dhī al-Hijjah, 9 AH:

Wakī‘ has related to us from Isrā’īl from Abī Ishāq from Zayd bin Yuthay‘ from Abū Bakr:

The Prophet sent him (Abū Bakr) with Surah al-Barā’ah to the people of Mecca (to proclaim) that after this year no polytheist will be allowed at the Hajj, neither should the nude circumambulate the Ka‘bah, none will enter paradise except the person who has become Muslim, whoever has a pact between him and the Messenger of Allah it is valid until the specified period, and Allah and His Messenger are free from any obligation to the polytheists. After a while, he told (Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)], may Allah be pleased with him:

Overtake Abū Bakr and send him back to me and you proclaim (the Surah to the Meccans).

(Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)] acted as per the instructions and when Abū Bakr returned to the Prophet he cried and said:

O Messenger of Allah, did anything happen?

He replied:

Nothing has happened concerning you except good, but I have been commanded (by Allah) that these (commandments) should either be conveyed by my or by a man who is from me.[30]

Ahmad Shākir, the annotator of the Musnad has considered the isnād of this hadīth as sahīh (authoritative) and has said that Zayd bin Yuthay‘ was a trustworthy person of the first generation of Muslims after the Prophet and the name of his father has also been mentioned as Uthay‘.

Habashī bin Junādah al-Sulukī who took part in the Farewell Pilgrimage of the Prophet, has recorded four hadīth with a similiar text in his own Musnad which confirms Ibn Hanbal’s narration of the above hadīth. Habashī quotes Abū Bakr that the Messenger of Allah (S) said:

‘Alī is from me and I am from him. My words will not be conveyed except by me or by ‘Alī.[31]

Chapter 4 : The Prophet’s Declaration of Imam ‘Alī’s (‘a) Vicegerency

Ahmad bin Hanbal says:

Burayrah (Aslamī) has related:

The Prophet (S) dispatched two regiments towards Yemen, one under the command of (Imam) ‘Alī bin Abī Tālib [(‘a)] and the other led by Khālid bin Walīd with instructions that when the two regiments are with each other they should be under the sole command of (Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)], and when they are separate they will remain under different commanders. We the Muslim forces, encountered the Yemeni tribe of Banī Zayd and fought and defeated these infidels. When their men had died fighting, the families surrendered and from among the captives, (Imam) ‘Alī [(‘a)] chose a maid for himself.

Burayrah continues:

Khālid bin Walīd sent me to the Prophet with a letter informing him of this matter. I submitted the letter to the Prophet and when he had read it I saw signs of anger appear on his face. I said:

O Messenger of Allah (S), you sent me with a man instructing me to obey him, and accordingly I performed whatever duty I was ordered to do.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

Lā taqa‘ fī ‘Alīyyin fa innahu minnī wa ana minhu wa huwa waliyyukum ba‘dī wa innahu minnī wa ana minhu wa huwa waliyyukum ba‘dī (Don't try to find faults with ‘Alī, he is indeed from me and I am from him, he is your leader after me. He is from me and I am from him, he is your leader after me).[32]

Chapter 5 : Hadith al-Thaqalayn

Ahmad bin Hanbal says:

Aswad bin ‘Amir has related from Abī Isrā’īl, i.e. Ismā‘īl bin Abī Ishāq Malaie, from ‘Atiyyah from Abī Sa‘īd who quotes the Prophet as saying:

“Innī tārikun fīkum al-thaqalayn, ahaduhumā akbaru min al-akhar, Kitaballāh hablun mamdudun min al-samā’-i ilā al-arz wa ‘itratī Ahl-i Baytī, wa annahumā lan yaftaraqā hattā yaridā ‘alayya al-hawz” (I am leaving among you two precious things, one of which is greater than the other. The Book of Allah which is the rope extending from the sky to the earth and my progeny my Ahl al-Bayt. And the two will never part with each other until they return to me at the pool (of kawthar in paradise).[33]