Ismaʿil ibn Jaʿfar and Ibn ʿUyaynah transmitted—on the authority of ʿAbd Allah ibn Dinar, who heard Ibn ʿUmar—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed Usamah in command of a contingent, whereupon the people criticized his leadership. The Prophet said, “If you find fault with his command, you have already found fault with his father’s command. By Allah, he was certainly qualified to lead, and he was among the dearest of people to me; and this son of his is the most beloved of people to me after him.⦗1⦘”

Ismaʿil’s wording states: “and indeed his son is among the most beloved….”

Ibrahim ibn Tahman reported—from Musa ibn ʿUqbah, from Salim, from his father—a similar account, in which he says: “His father was surely fit for leadership, and he was, of all people, the one I loved most.”

Salim added, “I never heard my father narrate this hadith without saying, ‘By Allah, except for Fatimah.’⦗2⦘”

Ibrahim ibn Yahya ibn Haniʾ al-Shajari⦗3⦘ said: My father related to me, from Ibn Ishaq, from al-Zuhri, from ʿUrwah, from ʿAishah, who said: “Zayd ibn Harithah came to us, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose to meet him…”