Hadith No: 3
Ibn Abd al-Barr - Al-Isti'ab fi Ma'rifat al-Ashab - Continuation of the Chapter on the Letter 'Ayn - Chapter on Ali
1855 - Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy al-Qurashi al-Hashimi
Volume: (3) Page Number: (1095 > 1097)
[The text is lengthy, so only the relevant excerpt is provided here]
- .... And Abdul Razzaq mentioned from Ma'mar in his Jami' about Qatadah
from al-Hasan and others who said: "The first to embrace Islam after Khadijah was Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra), who was fifteen or sixteen years old."- .... And Ma'mar narrated to us from Uthman al-Khawzi from Muqsim
from Ibn Abbas (ra) who said: "The first to embrace Islam was Ali (ra)."- .... And Abu Zayd Umar ibn Shabba mentioned, saying: Umar ibn al-Nu'man narrated to us, saying: Al-Furat ibn al-Sa'ib narrated to us from Maymun ibn Mahran
from Ibn Umar (ra) who said: "Ali ibn Abi Talib embraced Islam when he was thirteen years old and died when he was sixty-three years old." Abu Umar, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is the most reliable account regarding that, and it has been narrated from Ibn Umar through two good channels.
- .... And it was narrated from Ibn Fudayl from al-Ajlah from Salamah ibn Kuhayl
from Hubab ibn al-Juwain al-'Arani who said: "I heard Ali (ra) say: 'I worshiped Allah five years before anyone in this ummah worshiped Him.'"- .... And Shu'bah narrated from Salamah ibn Kuhayl
from Hubab al-'Arani who said: "I heard Ali say: 'I am the first to pray with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny).'"- ....
And Salim ibn Abi al-Ja'd said: "I asked Ibn al-Hanifiyah if Abu Bakr was the first to embrace Islam. He replied: 'No.'"- .... And Muslim al-Malai narrated
from Anas ibn Malik who said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) was informed (of his prophethood) on a Monday and prayed on Tuesday."- ....
And Zayd ibn Arqam said: "The first to believe in Allah after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) was Ali ibn Abi Talib."- .... And the hadith of Zayd ibn Arqam was narrated from various sources mentioned by Nasai, Asad ibn Musa, and others. Among them, Abd al-Warith narrated to us, saying: Qasim narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Zuhair narrated to us, Ibn al-Ja'd
narrated to us from Shu'bah who said: "Amr ibn Murrah informed me, saying: I heard Abu Hamzah al-Ansari say: I heard Zayd ibn Arqam say: 'The first to pray with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) was Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).'"- .... And Abd al-Warith narrated to us, saying: Qasim narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Zuhair ibn Harb narrated to us, from his father who said: Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd narrated to us, from his father, from Ibn Ishaq, who said: Yahya ibn al-Ash'ath narrated to us from Isma'il ibn Iyās from Afif al-Kindi, from his father and grandfather, who said to me: "I was a merchant and came to perform Hajj. I visited Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib to buy some merchandise from him, for he was a merchant. By Allah, I was with him at Mina when a man emerged from a nearby encampment, looked at the sun, and, seeing it had moved, stood up to pray. Then a woman came out from the same encampment and stood behind him to pray.
Afterward, a boy who was approaching puberty came out from that encampment and stood with them to pray. I said to Abbas: 'Who is this?' Abbas replied: 'This is Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, my nephew.' I asked: 'Who is this woman?' He said: 'This is his wife, Khadijah bint Khuwailid.' I asked: 'Who is this boy?' He said: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin.' I said: 'What is this they are doing?' He said: 'Praying, and he claims to be a prophet. Only his wife and this boy, his cousin, follow him in what he claims. He believes that the treasures of Kisra and Qaiser will be opened to him.'" Afif would say: "He could have embraced Islam later, and his Islam was good. If Allah had granted me Islam that day, I would have been the second with Ali." We have mentioned this hadith through various chains in the chapter on Afif al-Kindi in this book, and all praise is due to Allah.
- ....
And Ali (ra) said: "I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) many times, and no one prayed with him except me and Khadijah." They all agreed that he prayed in both qiblahs, emigrated, and witnessed Badr, al-Hudaybiyyah, and all other significant events, and that he showed great valor at Badr, Uhud, the Trench, and Khaybar. He was a source of strength in those events and held a position of great honor among them."