and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O ʿĀʾisha, this man is the leader of the Arabs.”
I asked, “Messenger of Allah, are you not the leader of the Arabs?”
He replied, “I am the leader of the children of Adam, and he is the leader of the Arabs.”
A report with the same meaning is transmitted through two other chains from ʿĀʾisha; it is a singular (gharīb) narration.

Abū al-Jaḥḥāf narrated from Jumayʿ ibn ʿUmayr al-Taymī: “I entered with my aunt to visit ʿĀʾisha, and she was asked, ‘Who was dearest to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?’ She answered, ‘Fāṭima.’ They then asked, ‘And among the men?’ She said, ‘Her husband—and, so far as I know, he fasted often and spent the nights in prayer.’ Al-Tirmidhī recorded this and said, ‘It is fair and singular.’
I (the author) remark: More than one critic has branded Jumayʿ a liar.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl narrated from Jābir: “We went out with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to the palm grove of a woman from the Anṣār. He said, ‘A man from the people of Paradise will now appear before you,’ and Abū Bakr came forth, so we congratulated him. Then he said, ‘A man from the people of Paradise will now appear,’ and ʿUmar came, so we congratulated him. Then he said, ‘A man from the people of Paradise will now appear,’ and he kept looking among the palms, saying, ‘O Allah, if You will, make him ʿAlī.’ Then ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—appeared.” This is a good ḥadīth.

It is also related from Saʿīd ibn Zayd that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Steady yourself, Ḥirāʾ, for upon you are only a prophet, a truthful one, or a martyr,” and with him were Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī; he also mentioned the remaining members of the Ten Companions promised Paradise.

Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazī said: ʿAlī recounted, “I once saw myself with the Messenger of Allah …”