Al-Tirmidhi (1) said: “Yusuf ibn Musa al-Qattan al-Baghdadi narrated to us, ʿAli ibn Qadim narrated to us, ʿAli ibn Salih ibn Hayy narrated to us, from Hakim ibn Jubayr (2), from Jamiʿ ibn ʿUmayr al-Taymi, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ established bonds of brotherhood among his Companions. ʿAli came with tears in his eyes and said, “O Messenger of Allah, you have paired your Companions with one another, yet you have not paired me with anyone.” He ﷺ replied, “You are my brother in this world and the Hereafter.”’” Al-Tirmidhi then remarked, “This ḥadith is ḥasan gharīb. There is also a report on this subject from Zayd ibn Abī Awfā.”

ʿAli was present at Badr. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to ʿUmar, “What makes you know? Perhaps Allah has already looked upon the people of Badr and said, ‘Do as you wish, for I have forgiven you.’” (3)

On that day, as mentioned earlier, ʿAli entered into single combat and gained the upper hand. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entrusted him with the banner, and, according to al-Ḥakam—who reports from Miqsam from Ibn ʿAbbās—he was twenty years old at the time.

Ibn ʿAbbās added, “The banner of the Muhājirīn was always with him in every engagement,” a point likewise affirmed by Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib and Qatādah.

Khaythama ibn Sulaymān al-Aṭrābulusī the ḥāfiẓ said: “Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim narrated to us, from Ibn Abī Ghurza; Ismāʿīl ibn Abān narrated to us; Nāṣiḥ ibn ʿAbd-Allāh al-Maḥmalī (4) narrated to us, from Simāk ibn Ḥarb, from Jābir ibn Samurah, who said: ‘They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, who will carry your banner on the Day of Resurrection?” He replied, “And who else would carry it on that Day except the one who carried it in this world—ʿAli ibn Abī Ṭālib?”’” This chain is weak.

Ibn ʿAsākir (5) also transmitted the report from Anas ibn Mālik, but it is likewise unsound.

Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafah said: “ʿAmmār ibn Muḥammad narrated to me, from Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥanẓalī, from Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAli, who said: ‘A herald called out from the sky on the Day of Badr: “There is no sword but Dhū al-Faqār, and there is no youth but ʿAli.”’” Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir (6) commented, “This is mursal. The Prophet ﷺ merely selected the sword Dhū al-Faqār (7) for himself on the Day of Badr and later presented it to ʿAli.”