they all held back, and I—though the youngest of them in years, the bleariest-eyed, the most stout-bellied, and the spindliest-legged—said, “O Prophet of Allah, I will be your minister regarding this.”
He took me by the neck and declared, “This is my brother – and so-and-so – so listen to him and obey him.”
The company rose laughing and said to Abū Ṭālib, “He has ordered you to obey your own son!”
This report is transmitted solely by ʿAbd al-Ghaffār ibn al-Qāsim Abū Maryam, a lying Shīʿī whom ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī and others accused of fabricating ḥadīth; the remaining critics likewise deemed him weak.
Yet Ibn Abī Ḥātim records in his Tafsīr—through his father, al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿĪsā ibn Maysarah al-Ḥārithī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs, al-Aʿmash, al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith—that ʿAlī said:
When the verse, “And warn your nearest kinsfolk” (26:214) was revealed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me, “Prepare for me a leg of sheep with a sāʿ of food and a bowl of milk, then summon the Banū Hāshim for me.”
I invited them; on that day they were forty men minus one, or forty men and one. He related the story much as has already been mentioned, until he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ opened the discussion and said,
“Which of you will settle my debts and be my successor among my household?”
They remained silent, and al-ʿAbbās stayed silent, fearing that the matter would consume his wealth. I too kept quiet on account of al-ʿAbbās’s seniority. He repeated the question a second time, yet al-ʿAbbās was still silent. When I saw that, I said, “I will, O Messenger of Allah.” He asked, “You will?” I replied, “Yes,” even though, on that day, I was the least comely among them—bleary-eyed, large-bellied, and thin-legged.
This chain furnishes corroboration for what has preceded, save that it does not mention Ibn ʿAbbās. Allah knows best.
Imām Aḥmad has likewise narrated in his Musnad, through ʿAbbād ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Asadī and Rabīʿah ibn Nājedh, a report from ʿAlī similar to what has been cited here—or at least supporting it. Allah knows best.
As for his statement in this ḥadīth, “Who will pay off my debt and be my deputy among my family,” he meant after my death; it appears that the Prophet ﷺ feared that, once he openly delivered the message to the idolaters of Arabia, they might kill him, so he sought assurance that someone would care for his family and discharge his debts after him. Allah later guaranteed his safety in His words:
“O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord; if you do not, you will not have delivered His message. Allah will protect you from the people.” (5:67)