It is related from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah, who said: “The soundest of all chains of transmission is: al-Zuhrī, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, from his father, from ʿAlī.” (1)

ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-ʿUmari reports—on the authority of al-Zuhrī—who said: “I once narrated a ḥadīth to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn. When I finished, he said, ‘Excellent! That is exactly how it was conveyed to us.’ I replied, ‘It seems I have just told you a report of which you (2) are more knowledgeable than I am.’ He said, ‘Do not say that. Knowledge is not what remains unknown; true knowledge is what is recognized and upon which tongues concur.’ (3)

It is also said that a man remarked to Ibn al-Musayyib, ‘I have never seen anyone more scrupulous than so-and-so!’ He asked, ‘Have you seen ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn?’ The man replied, ‘No.’ Ibn al-Musayyib said, ‘Then you have never seen anyone more scrupulous than he is.’ (4)

Juwairiyah ibn Asmāʾ said, ‘ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn never accepted a single dirham on account of his kinship to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’ (5)

Ibn Saʿd narrates—through ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad, Saʿīd ibn Khālid, and al-Maqburī—who said: ‘Al-Mukhtār sent ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn one hundred thousand. He was reluctant to accept it, yet feared to return it, so he kept the money with him. When al-Mukhtār was killed, he wrote to inform ʿAbd al-Malik, saying, “Send someone to take it back.” ʿAbd al-Malik sent word, “Cousin, keep it; I have made it lawful for you.” So he accepted it. (6)

Muḥammad ibn Abī Maʿshar al-Sindī—through Abū Nūḥ al-Anṣārī—said: ‘A fire once broke out in the house where ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn was prostrating in prayer. People cried out, “Grandson of the Messenger of Allah, the fire!” Yet he did not raise his head until the flames were extinguished. When asked about this, he said, “It distracted me from it….”’