As for his ﷺ words, “You are of me and I am of you” (61), this wording he also addressed to other believers. He—upon him be peace—said it to Julaybīb (63), who had slain a number of the idolaters: “He is of me and I am of him” (64).
In both Ṣaḥīḥs it is recorded: “Whenever the Ashʿarīs (65) are travelling and their provisions fall short for their families in Madinah, they gather whatever they have into a single cloth and then divide it equally among themselves; they are of me and I am of them” (66). Thus he counted the Ashʿarīs—Abū Mūsā (67), Abū ʿĀmir (68), and the rest—as belonging to him and he to them, just as he said to ʿAlī, “You are of me and I am of you” (69).
Allah, Exalted is He, says: “And those who believed afterwards, emigrated, and strove along with you—such are of you” (Al-Anfāl 75); and He says: “Have you not seen those who befriend a people upon whom Allah is angry? They are neither of you nor of them” (Al-Mujādalah 14); and He says: “They swear by Allah that they are indeed of you, yet they are not of you” (Al-Tawbah 56).
The Prophet ﷺ also said: “Whoever cheats us is not of us, and whoever raises a weapon against us is not of us” (70), and the like. This indicates that whoever is free of such grave offences is of us. The phrase is applied to those of the same kind: one says, ‘This is of that,’ when it belongs to it by nature. Every believer whose faith is complete is of the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet is of him.
Likewise, in the incident involving Ḥamzah’s daughter he ﷺ said, “You are of me and I am of you” (71); and to Zayd ibn Ḥārithah (72) he said, “You are our brother and our client” (73). It is clear that this was not restricted to Zayd alone; rather, anyone who belonged to his household of freedmen could be addressed in this manner, for Allah says: “If you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in faith and your protégés” (Al-Aḥzāb 5). In the same way, his saying to ʿAlī, “You are of me and I am of you” (74) is not an exclusive distinction; rather, everyone who shares with the Prophet ﷺ the perfection of faith is of the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet is of him.
(61) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Book of Reconciliation, 2/960, no. 2552; already cited, see p. 19.
(62) The passage between brackets is missing in the base manuscript.
(63) Ibn Hajar notes that the person’s lineage is unrecorded; al-Isaba 1/253, no. 1175.
(64) Muslim, Sahih, Book of the Merits of the Companions, chapter on the merits of Julaybib, 4/1918, no. 2472, with the wording: “He killed seven and then they killed him. He is from me and I am from him….” Also recorded in the Sunan al-Nasa i al-Kubra.
(65) The Ash‘aris descend from al-Ash‘ar, son of Nabit b. Udud b. Rayd b. Yashjub b. Arib b. Zayd b. Kahlan b. Saba; see Jumhurat Ansab al-Arab, p. 397.
(66) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Book of Partnership, chapter “Partnership in food and goods,” 5/153, no. 2486. Muslim, Sahih, Book of the Merits of the Companions, chapter on the merits of the Ash‘aris, 4/1944, no. 2500, with the wording: “When the Ash‘aris run out of provisions during a campaign, or their families’ food becomes scarce, they gather what they have into a single cloth, then divide it equally among themselves in a single vessel; they are of me and I am of them.”
(67) ‘Abd Allah b. Qays, Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari: a well-known Companion, appointed governor first by ‘Umar and then by ‘Uthman, and one of the two arbiters at Siffin; died 50 AH/670 CE. Al-Taqrib, p. 318.
(68) Abu ‘Amir al-Ash‘ari, Companion; his name was ‘Ubayd, uncle of Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari; martyred at Hunayn. Al-Taqrib, p. 653.
(69) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Book of Reconciliation, 2/960, no. 2552; already cited, see p. 19.
(70) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Book of Trials, chapter “Whoever raises arms against us is not of us.” The clause “Whoever cheats us…” is not found in his Sahih. Muslim, Sahih, Book of Faith, 1/98, no. 98, where the second clause precedes the first.
(71) See its documentation above, p. 19.
(72) Zayd b. Harithah al-Kalbi: fought at Badr and subsequent battles; killed at Mu’tah while commanding the army. Al-Isaba 3/25–26.
(73) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Book of Reconciliation, chapter “How to write: ‘This is what so-and-so agreed upon…’,” 2/960, no. 2552.
(74) Previously documented at p. 1246, note 39.