114 – Al-Ḥusayn narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn Bashār narrated to us; Nuʿaym ibn Mūriʿ narrated to us; Hishām ibn Ḥassān said:

While we were sitting with al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, a man approached and said, “Abū Saʿīd, people are saying that you belittle ʿAlī.”

He replied, “May Allah have mercy on ʿAlī. ʿAlī was an arrow of Allah loosed against His enemies; and he was ⦗95⦘, in the encampment of knowledge, its most honored station and the closest to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He was the ascetic of this community: never did he embezzle a penny of Allah’s wealth, nor was he ever drowsy when it came to Allah’s commands. He subjected both what was for him and what was against him to the decisive rulings of the Qur’an, so that—through it—he roamed lush meadows and unmistakable signposts of guidance. That is ʿAlī, you wretch.”