The Messenger of Allah,
The Holy Prophet
Mohammad (s)
Said:

• "This (Ali) is the Imam of the righteous, the slayer of the debauchees; victorious is whoever supports him, forsaken (by Allah) is whoever abandons him."

• "It has been revealed to me that Ali has three exclusive merits: that he is the chief of the Muslims, the Imam of the righteous, and the leader of those whose foreheads radiate with the mark of faith."

• "It has been revealed to me that Ali is the chief of the Muslims, the wali of the pious, and the leader of those whose foreheads radiate with the mark of faith."

• "(O Ali) Welcome, chief of the Muslims, Imam of the pious!"

• "The first to enter through this door is the Imam of the pious, the chief of Muslims, the head of the religion, the seal of the wasis, and the leader of those whose foreheads radiate with the mark of faith," whereupon Ali entered and he (s) stood up happily excited, hugged him and wiped his sweat saying:"You shall fulfill my covenant, convey my message, and after me clarify whatever seems to be ambiguous."

• "Allah has promised me that Ali is the standard of guidance, the Imam of whoever accepts my wilayat, the light for whoever obeys me, and the word which I have mandanted unto the pious."

• "This (Ali) is the first to have believed in me, the first to shake hands with me on the Day of Resurrection; he is the foremost friend, and he is the faruq of this nation who distinguishes between right and wrong; he is the chief of the believers."

• "O you group of the Ansars! Shall I lead you to that which, as long as you adhere to it, you shall never go astray? It is Ali; love him as you love me, and respect him as you respect me, for Gabriel has commanded me to say so to you on behalf of Allah, the Almighty, the Omniscient."

• "I am the city of knowledge, and Ali is its gate; whoever aspires to attain knowledge, let him approach through the gate."

• "I am the house of wisdom and Ali is its gate."

• "Ali is the gateway of my knowledge, the one who is to explain to my nation after me what I have been sent with; loving him is a mark of genuine faith, and hating him is hypocrisy."

• "You (Ali) shall clarify to my nation all matters wherein they differ."

• "Ali's status to me is similar unto that of mine to my Lord."

• "Ali ibn Abu Talib is (like) the gate of salvation to the Israelites; whoever enters through it becomes a true believer (mu'min), and whoever gets out of it becomes infidel."

• "Ali is of me, and I am of Ali, and nobody pays my debts other than I or Ali."

• "Whoever obeys me obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me disobeys Him; and whoever obeys Ali obeys me, too; and whoever disobeys Ali also disobeys me."

• "O Ali! Whoever abandons me abandons Allah; and whoever abandons you abandons me, too."

• "Whoever denounces Ali denounces me, too."

• "Whoever harms Ali harms me, too."

• "Whoever loves Ali loves me, too; and whoever despises Ali despises me, too."

• Imam Ali said: "I swear by the One Who has cleft the seed (so that a plant may grow therefrom) and created the breeze from nothing, the Ummi Prophet (s) has promised me that nobody loves me except a true believer (mu'min), and nobody hates me except a hypocrite."

• "O Ali! You are a leader in this life and the life hereafter; whoever loves you loves me, too, and whoever loves me is loved by Allah; your foe is my foe, and my foe is Allah's foe; woe unto whoever despises you after me."

• "O Ali! Glad tidings to whoever loves and believes in you, and woe unto whoever hates you and tells lies about you."

• "Whoever wishes to live the way that I have lived and die the way that I shall die and reside in the Eternal Garden, which is promised to me by my Lord, let him accept Ali as his/her wali, for surely he never gets you out of guidance, nor will he ever hurl you into misguidance."

• "I enjoin whoever believes and trusts in me to be mindful of the wilayat of Ali ibn Abu Talib, for whoever accepts him as the wali accepts me as such, and whoever accepts me as the wali has indeed accepted Allah as such; and whoever loves him loves me, and whoever loves me loves Allah; and whoever hates him hates me, too, and whoever hates me hates Allah, the Almighty, the Omniscient."

• "Whoever is pleased to live my life and die my death, and then reside in the Garden of Eden, planted for me by my Lord, then let him take Ali as the wali after me, and let him accept the authority of whoever Ali places in charge, and let him follow the examples of my progeny after me, for they are my offspring: they are created out of my own mould and blessed with my understanding and knowledge; therefore, woe unto those who deny their favours from among my nation, who cut their ties with them; may Allah never grant them my intercession."

• "Whoever loves to live my life and die my death and enter the Garden my Lord has promised me, the Garden of Eternity, then let him take Ali and his descendants after him as his walis, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor shall they ever drag you into misguidance."

• "O Ammar! If you see Ali walking on one path while other people walk on another, walk with Ali and leave the people, for he shall never lead you to destruction, nor shall he ever take you out of right guidance."

• "My hand and Ali's are equal when it comes to justice."

• "O Fatima! Are you not pleased that Allah, the Unique, the Sublime, has looked unto the inhabitants of the earth and chose from among them two men: one of them is your father and the other is your husband?"

• "I am the Warner, and Ali is the Guide; through you, O Ali, shall guidance be attained after me."

• "O Ali! Nobody is permitted to remain in the state of janaba other than I and you."

• "I and this (Ali) are the Proofs unto my nation on the Day of Judgement."

• "It is written on the gate of Paradise: 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Ali is the Brother of the Messenger of Allah.'"

• "It is written on the Throne's leg: 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I (God) have supported him (Muhammad) through Ali, and I have aided him through Ali.'"

• "Whoever wishes to discern Noah's determination, Adam's knowledge, Ibrahim's clemency, Moses' discretion, Christ's asceticism, then let him look unto Ali." T

• "O Ali! There is a resemblance in you to Jesus (p) who was hated by the Jews to the extent that the latter even cast doubts about his mother's honour, and loved by the Christians to the extent that they attributed to him a status which is not his."

• "The foremost (among believers) are three: Joshua son of Nun who was the foremost to believe in Moses, the believer implied in Surat Yasin who was the foremost to believe in Jesus, and Ali ibn Abu Talib who was the foremost in believing in Muhammad (s)."

• "The foremost in testifying (to the Prophets' truth) are three: Habib al-Najjar, the believer implied in Surat Yasin, who said: O my people! Follow the Messengers (of God);' Izekiel, the believer from the family of Pharaoh, who said: Do you intend to kill a man just for saying that his Lord is Allah?,' and Ali ibn Abu Talib, who is superior to all of them.

• "The nation will turn treacherous to you (Ali); you shall live adhering to my faith and will be murdered for safeguarding it; whoever loves you loves me, too, and whoever hates you hates me, too, and this (Ali's beard) will be drenched with blood from this (Ali's head)."

• "You will certainly encounter a great deal of hardship after me".

• "Among you is one who will fight for its (Quran's) interpretation just as I fought for its revelation." The audience was very excited. Among them were Abu Bakr and Umer. Abu Bakr asked:"Am I the one?" and the Prophet's answer was negative. Umer inquired:"Is it I?" and the Prophet (s) answered:"No; but it is the one who is mending the shoes," meaning thereby Ali.

• "O Ali! The oppressive gang will fight you; but you are on the right track; whoever refrains from supporting you is not of me."

• "I swear by the One in whose hands my life is placed that among you is a man who shall fight after me for the interpretation of the Quran just as I fought the polytheists for its revelation."

• "O Abu Rafi! A group of people shall fight Ali after me; Allah has made mandated that they should be fought. Whoever is unable to fight them with his hands, let him fight them with his tongue; if he still is unable to do so, then by his heart."

• "I fight for the revelation of the Qur'an, while Ali fights for its interpretation."

• "O Ali! I am superior to you due to my being a Prophet, while you are superior to all other people due to seven merits: You are the foremost among them to believe in Allah, the most just in fulfilling Allah's Promise, the most obedient to the Commandments of Allah, the most equitable, the most fair in dealing with the public, the most far-sighted in all issues, and the one who enjoys the highest status in the sight of Allah."

• "O Ali! You possess seven qualities about which nobody can dispute with you: You are the first to truly believe in Allah, the most just in fulfilling Allah's Promise, the most obedient to Allah's Commandments, the most compassionate to the public, the most informed of all issues, and the highest among them in status."

References

• "Allah, the Praised One and the Sublime, cast a scrutinizing look at the inhabitants of the earth and chose me from among them to be the Prophet, then he cast another look and chose Ali as the Imam and commanded me to take him as my brother, and appoint him as the wali and vizier."

• "Gabriel has told me that the Lord of Power, exalted is His Greatness, has said: Whoever comes to know that I am the Lord without any partner, and that Muhammad is my Servant and Messenger, that Ali ibn Abu Talib is Muhammad's successor, and that the Imams from his descendants are My Arguments, then I would let him enter Paradise through My Mercy."

• "The Imams after me are twelve: The first is Ali and the last is al-Qa'im (al-Mahdi); they are my successors and the executors of my will."

• "The best of creation after me, and their master, is this brother (Ali) of mine who is the Imam of every Muslim, the prince of every believer after me."

• "Whoever likes to uphold my religion and embark upon the Ark of Salvation after me, let him follow the example of Ali ibn Abu Talib, for he is the executor of my will, and my vicegerent over my nation during my lifetime and after my demise."

• "I and Ali are the fathers of this nation; whoever knows us very well also knows Allah, and whoever denies us also denies Allah, the Unique, the Mighty. And from Ali's descendants are my grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husain, who are the masters of the youths of Paradise, and from al-Husain's descendants shall be nine: whoever obeys them obeys me, and whoever disobeys them also disobeys me; the ninth among them is their Qa'im and Mahdi."

• "O Ibn Masud! Ali ibn Abu Talib is your Imam after me; he is my successor over you."

• "You (Husain) are a master, son of a master, an Imam and son of an Imam, brother of an Imam, father of Imams, and you are Allah's Argument, the son of His Argument (Hujjah), and father of nine Arguments from your loins, the ninth of them is their Qa'im."

• "O Fatima! Have you not come to know that we are Ahlul-Bayt? Allah has made the Hereafter dearer to us than this life, and Allah the Exalted, Praised is His Name, cast a look at the inhabitants of the earth and chose me from among His creation; then he cast a second look and chose your husband and inspired me to marry you to him and take him as wali and vizier, and to make him my successor over my nation. So, your father is the best of prophets, your husband is the best of wasis, and you are the first to join me."

• "Ali is my brother, vizier, heir, executor of my will, successor over my nation, and the wali of every believer after me; so, admit all of this about him."

• "I have more authority over the believers than the believers themselves have; my brother Ali has after me more authority over the believers than the believers themselves have."

• "I, Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husain, and nine from the progeny of Husain are Purified."

• "I am the master of the Prophets, while Ali is the master of the wasis."

• "Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty, favoured me over all other prophets, and favoured Ali over all other wasis, and favoured from Ali's descendants al-Hasan and al-Husain, and chose from al-Husain's progeny the wasis who safeguard the faith against the distortion of extermists, the adulteration of liars, and the misinterpretations of those who have strayed."

• "The Imams after me are twelve: the first of them is Ali, and the last is al-Qa'im through whom Allah, the Exalted and the Mighty, shall open the east of the earth as well as the west."

• "Ali is of me, and I am of Ali who is created of my own mould; he solves people's disputes regarding my Sunnah; he is the Commander of the Faithful, the leader of the foremost among all men, and the best of wasis."

• "Ali is the Commander of the Faithful according to the Wilayat of Allah, the Exalted and the Mighty, which He tied in a knot upon His Throne and required the angels to witness; Ali is Allah's Vicegerent and Proof (Hujjatullah); he is the Imam of the Muslims."

• "O Ali! You are the Imam of the Muslims, the Commander of the Faithful, the leader of the foremost renown of all men, Allah's Proof after me, and the master of all wasis."

• "O Ali! You are my successor over my nation, and you are to me like Seth to Adam."

• "A man will enter through this door who is the Commander of the Faithful and the Imam of the Muslims, whereupon Ali ibn Abu Talib came in, and the Messenger of Allah (s) welcomed him, turned his glorious face to us and said: This is your Imam after me."

• "Ali ibn Abu Talib is the foremost among them in accepting Islam, and he is the most learned. He is the Imam and successor after me."

• "O people! Whose words are better than Allah's? Your Lord, Mighty is His Grace, has commanded me to assign Ali over you as the most outstanding Imam, as my own successor and executor of my will, and that you should regard him as my brother and vizier."

• "My cousin Ali is also my brother, vizier, successor, and the one who pays my dues on my own behalf."

• "O people! The month of Allah has approached, and he continued his sermon recounting the attributes of the month of Ramadan. Ali asked: O Messenger of Allah! What is the best of deeds in this month? He replied: It is staying away from whatever Allah has forbidden you, then he burst weeping, so I inquired: What grieves you, O Messenger of Allah? and he answered: O Ali! I am grieving at what horrible forbidden things that will happen to you in the same month, adding, You are my wasi, the father of my descendants, and my successor over my nation during my lifetime and after my death; your bidding is as good as mine, and so is your forbidding.'"

• "O Ali! You are my brother and I am yours; I have been chosen to be the Prophet while you have been chosen to be the Imam; I take charge of the revelation (of the Holy Quran) while you take charge of its implementation; you are the father of this nation. O Ali! You are my wasi and vicegerent, my vizier and heir, and the father of my offspring."

• "O Ali! You are my brother and I am yours; you are the executor of my will and my own successor, and the Imam of my nation after me: Allah will assist whoever assists you, and He will be the enemy of whoever antagonizes you."

• "O Ummu Salamah! Listen and bear witness: This Ali ibn Abu Tlib is the executor of my will; he is my successor, the one who tries my enemies, and the one who safeguards my Pool (of al-Kawthar)."

• "O Muhajirun and Ansar! Shall I lead you to that which, as long as you adhere to, shall never let you stray after me? They said: O yes, Messenger of Allah! He (s) said: This Ali is my brother and the executor of my will, my vizier, heir and successor; he is your Imam; therefore, love him as much as I love him, and respect him as much as I respect him, for Gabriel has enjoined me to say so to you."

• "Shall I lead you to that which, as long as you adhere to, will protect you against annihilation and straying? Your Imam and wali is Ali ibn Abu Talib; therefore, do support him, listen to his counsel, and believe in him, for Gabriel has ordered me to say so to you."

• "Allah, the Praised, the Sublime, has inspired to me: I have selected from your nation a brother and heir for you, a successor and executor of your will. I inquired: O Lord! Who is he? He replied: It is he who loves me and I love him..., till He said in His divine statement: It is Ali ibn Abu Talib."

• "During my isra' (night journey), my Lord, Exalted is His Might, promised me that Ali is the Imam of the pious, the leader of the foremost among renown men, the religion's chief."

• "Ali is of me, and I am of Ali; may Allah wage war against those who fight Ali; Ali, indeed, is the Imam of creation after me."

• "Allah has decorated you (Ali) in a way that is most dear to Him: through asceticism to the extent that you do not feel deprived of any of this life's pleasures, and none of them feels deprived of you, and He has endowed you with the love for the destitute, making their fellowship welcomed by you, and they welcome you as their Imam; therefore, congratulations to whoever loves you and believes in you, and woe unto whoever hates you and tells lies about you."

• Imam Ali said while preaching from Kufa's pulpit: "O people! The Messenger of Allah (s) granted me ten attributes that are dearer to me than anything upon which the sun shines: He (s) has said to me: O Ali! You are my brother in this life and the life hereafter, and you are the closest to me among all creation on the Day of Resurrection; your residence in Paradise faces mine; you are my heir, the executor of my will after me, faring with both my foes and family; you protect my family on my own behalf during my absence; you are my nation's Imam; you execute justice among my followers; you are my friend, and my friend is the friend of Allah; your enemy is my enemy, and my enemy is surely the enemy of Allah."

• "And you (Ali) are the inheritor of my knowledge, the substance of my own judgment, and the Imam after me."

• "You (Ali) are the Imam and successor after me."

• "O Ali! You are the wasi over those who have died among my household, and the caliph of those who are alive among my nation."

• Imam Husain said: "When Allah revealed the verse: And those who are kin of each other are more worthy of each other in the Book of Allah, I asked the Messenger of Allah to interpret it, and he said: You are the kin; when I die, your father Ali is the most worthy of me and my station; when your father dies, your brother al-Hasan is most worthy of it; and if al-Hasan dies, then you are most worthy of his station."

• "O Abu Samrah! If views differ and opinions vary, then refer to Ali ibn Abu Talib, for he is my nation's Imam, and my successor over them after me."

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