Both Muslim and al-Nasāʾī relate the report through Qutaybah with this same chain (1).

In Saḥiḥ Muslim and in al-Bayhaqī (2), by way of Suhayl ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah, it is narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Tomorrow I shall most certainly give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love; through him Allah will grant victory.”

ʿUmar said, “Never did I desire leadership except on that day.” The Prophet ﷺ then summoned ʿAlī and dispatched him, saying, “Go forth and fight until Allah grants you conquest, and do not look back.” ʿAlī asked, “Against what shall I fight the people?” He replied, “Fight them until they bear witness that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. When they do that, their blood and their wealth are protected from you, save for what is due, and their reckoning is with Allah.” This is the wording recorded by al-Bayhaqī.

Imām Aḥmad (3) reported: Muṣʿab ibn al-Miqdām and Ḥujayn ibn al-Muthannā told us, saying, “Isrāʾīl related to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿIṣmah al-ʿAjlī, who said: I heard Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī say:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took the banner and shook it, then said, ‘Who will take it with its due right?’ A man came forward and said, ‘I will.’ He said, ‘Step back.’ Another man came and he said, ‘Step back.’ Then the Prophet ﷺ declared, ‘By Him who honored the countenance of Muhammad, I shall surely give it to a man who will not flee—take it, O ʿAlī!’ ʿAlī went on until Allah granted him the conquest of Khaybar and Fadak, and he returned with their dates and their dried meat.”

Aḥmad alone transmitted this report; its chain is acceptable, though the narration is unusual. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿIṣmah—also called Ibn ʿUṣam—was known as Abū ʿAlwān al-ʿAjlī. Originally from al-Yamāmah, he settled in Kūfah. Ibn Maʿīn deemed him reliable; Abū Zurʿah said, “There is no harm in him,” while Abū Ḥātim said, “He is a shaykh.” Ibn Ḥibbān listed him among the trustworthy narrators in al-Thiqāt (4), noting that he often erred, and also mentioned him in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ, saying (5): “He reports from dependable authorities what does not resemble the ḥadīths of trustworthy transmitters, so that one’s heart inclines to think them mistaken or fabricated.”

Yūnus ibn Bukayr (6) narrated from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, who said: Buraydah ibn Sufyān ibn Farwah al-Aslamī related to me, from his father, from Salamah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Akwāʿ:

The Prophet ﷺ sent Abū Bakr to one of the forts of Khaybar; he fought and came back without having gained a conquest, though he had exerted himself greatly. Then he sent ʿUmar; he fought and returned, likewise without a victory. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, “Tomorrow I shall certainly give the banner to a man whom Allah and His Messenger love and who loves Allah and His Messenger; victory will be granted at his hands; he is not one who turns his back.” Salamah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ summoned ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib while his eyes were inflamed that day; he spat into his eyes and said, “Take the banner and proceed with it until Allah grants…"