who engaged in trade and earned his livelihood, neither out of desire for his wealth nor fear (1) of his clan and followers. Woe to you! Would anyone with even a shred of reason commit such an act?

If it could be imagined from a single person, it could never be imagined from an entire group; and if it were imaginable from a group, it would be utterly impossible—under the circumstances—to attribute it to the thousands of nobles among the Emigrants and Helpers, the cavaliers of the ummah and the champions of Islam. Yet there is no cure for the malady of rejectionism; it is a chronic disease. Guidance is a light that Allah casts into the heart of whom He wills, and there is no power except with Allah.

A jointly transmitted report, and it is extremely unreliable (munkar).

It was narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr: “Al-Ḥusayn ibn Isḥāq al-Tustarī told us….” Abū ʿAmr ibn Ḥamdān said: “Al-Ḥasan ibn Sufyān related to us in his Musnad.” They both said:

Naṣr ibn ʿAlī narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ibn ʿAbbād al-ʿAbdī narrated to us; Yazīd ibn Maʿn narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn Shuraḥbīl told me, from a man of Quraysh, from Zayd ibn Abī Awfā—may Allah be pleased with him—who said:

“I entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the mosque of Medina, and he began saying, ‘Where is So-and-so? Where is So-and-so?’ He kept inquiring after them and sending for them until they had gathered.

He then said, ‘I am about to relate something to you, so preserve it and understand it: Allah has chosen from His creation a people whom He will admit into Paradise, and from among you I am selecting and pairing you just as Allah paired the angels. Stand up, Abū Bakr!’

He stood, and the Prophet said, ‘You have a favor with me for which Allah will reward you. Were I to take an intimate friend, I would have taken you. You are to me like my shirt is to my body.

Draw near, ʿUmar.’

So he drew near, and the Prophet said, ‘You used to be vehement in your opposition to us, so I asked Allah to strengthen the religion through you or through Abū Jahl, and Allah did so through you. You will be with me in Paradise as the third of three.’ He then paired him with Abū Bakr.

Next he called ʿUthmān, and he kept bringing him closer until he placed his knee against his own. Then he looked toward the sky, pronounced tasbīḥ three times, and said, ‘You hold a special rank among the dwellers of heaven. You are among those who will come to me at the Basin while blood is streaming from their jugular veins.

And I will say:"