Imām Aḥmad said: ʽAffān related to us; Abū ʽAwanah related to us, from al-Mughīrah, from Abū ʽUbayd, from Maymūn Abū ʽAbd Allāh, who said:

Zayd ibn Arqam—while I was listening—said: “We halted with the Messenger of Allah at a place called Wādī Khumm. He ordered that the prayer be performed, and he led it in the heat of midday. Then he addressed us, while a cloth had been hung over a samurah tree to shade the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from the sun, and said:

‘Do you not know—or do you not testify—that I have a greater claim over every believer than he has over himself?’

They replied, ‘Indeed.’ He said,

‘So whoever’s patron I am, ʽAlī is his patron. O Allah, befriend those who befriend him and oppose those who oppose him.’”

Imām Aḥmad also transmitted it through Ghundar, from Shuʽbah, from Maymūn Abū ʽAbd Allāh, from Zayd ibn Arqam up to the words: “Whoever’s patron I am, ʽAlī is his patron.” Maymūn added: Some of the people informed me, on Zayd’s authority, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “O Allah, befriend those who befriend him and oppose those who oppose him.”

This chain is sound; its transmitters are reliable according to the standards of the Sunan. Al-Tirmidhī even declared a ḥadīth concerning olive oil authentic on the strength of this very chain.

Imām Aḥmad further said: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us; Ḥanash ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Laqīṭ al-Ashjaʽī related to us, from Riyāḥ ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: A group came to ʽAlī in the Rahbah and greeted him, saying, “Peace be upon you, O our patron.” He replied, “How can I be your patron when you are Arabs?” They answered, “We heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Ghadīr Khumm say, ‘Whoever’s patron I am, this man is his patron.’” Riyāḥ added, “When they left, I followed them and asked, ‘Who are these people?’ They said, ‘A number of the Anṣār, among them Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī.’”

Imām Aḥmad also said: Abū Aḥmad related to us; Ḥanash related to us, from Riyāḥ ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: I saw a group of the Anṣār come to ʽAlī in the Rahbah. He asked, “Who are the people?” They replied, “Your patrons, O Commander of the Believers,” and he related the same purport. This is his exact wording, and it is a report unique to him.

Ibn Jarīr said: Aḥmad ibn ʽUthmān Abū al-Jawzāʾ related to us; Muḥammad ibn Khālid ibn ʽAthmah related to us; Mūsā ibn Yaʽqūb al-Zamʽī—who is trustworthy—related to us, saying: Muḥājir ibn Mismār told me, from ʽĀʾishah bint Saʽd, who said: I heard my father say: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Day of al-Juhfah. He took ʽAlī by the hand, delivered a sermon, and then declared, “O people, I am your guardian.” They answered, “You have spoken the truth.” He then raised ʽAlī’s hand and said, “This is my guardian and the one who will discharge my obligations. Allah befriends whoever befriends him and opposes whoever opposes him …”