He then went back with me to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “This is Saʿd ibn Mālik, the son of the martyr.” The Prophet replied, “Allow him in.” I entered, greeted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he returned my greeting, asking after my own condition and that of my family while avoiding any mention of the matter. I said, “Messenger of Allah, we experienced from ʿAlī harshness, poor companionship, and tightness.” I began listing what we had faced from him, and while I was in the middle of my speech the Messenger of Allah ﷺ tapped my thigh—​I was sitting close to him—​and said, “Saʿd ibn Mālik, son of the martyr, curtail some of what you are saying about your brother ʿAlī. By Allah, I know full well that he fights in the cause of Allah.” I said to myself, “May your mother lose you, Saʿd ibn Mālik! I have been engaged in something disliked since today without realizing it. Never, by Allah, will I speak ill of him again, whether openly or in secret.”

Yūnus ibn Bukayr narrated from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq who said: ʿAbān ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār al-Aslamī, from his maternal uncle ʿAmr ibn Shāsh al-Aslamī—one of those who pledged at Ḥudaybiyah—who said:

“I was with ʿAlī in the cavalry contingent that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent to Yemen. ʿAlī showed me some severity, so I felt resentment toward him. When I reached Madinah I complained about him in the city gatherings and to everyone I met. One day I came while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting in the mosque. When he saw me and I looked him in the eye, he kept looking at me until I sat beside him. Once I had sat down he said, ‘By Allah, O ʿAmr, you have hurt me.’ I said, ‘We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return; I seek refuge in Allah and in Islam from ever hurting the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’ He replied, ‘Whoever harms ʿAlī has harmed me.’ ”

Imām Aḥmad (1) likewise transmitted it through Yaʿqūb, from his father Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd, from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, from ʿAbān ibn Ṣāliḥ, from al-Faḍl ibn Muʿqil, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Niyāz (2), from his maternal uncle ʿAmr ibn Shāsh, and he mentioned it. Several others also reported it from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq through ʿAbān ibn al-Faḍl. Sīf ibn ʿUmar narrated it from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd, from ʿAbān ibn Ṣāliḥ with this chain, and his wording was: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Whoever harms a Muslim has harmed me, and whoever harms me has harmed Allah.’ ”

ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb al-Rawājīnī related—​through Mūsā ibn ʿUmayr, from ʿAqīl ibn Najdah ibn Hubayrah, from ʿAmr ibn Shāsh—​that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“O ʿAmr, whoever harms ʿAlī has harmed me.”

Abū Yaʿlā (3) reported: Maḥmūd ibn Khaddāsh narrated to us; Marwān ibn Muʿāwiyah narrated to us; Qanān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Nahmī narrated to us; Muṣʿab ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ narrated from his father, who said:

“I was sitting in the mosque with two men and we spoke ill of ʿAlī. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ approached, anger clearly visible on his face. I sought refuge with Allah from his anger, and he said, ‘What is the matter with you and me? Whoever harms ʿAlī has harmed me.’ ”