from al-Suddī, from Anas, who said:

A bird was once with the Prophet ﷺ, so he prayed: “O Allah, bring to me the most beloved of Your creation to You so that he may eat this bird with me.” ʿAlī then came and ate with him.

Al-Tirmidhī then commented: “It is gharīb; we do not know it from al-Suddī except by this route. It has, however, been transmitted from Anas through other chains.”

Abū Yaʿlā likewise recorded it (1): through al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥammād, from Mishhar ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, from ʿĪsā ibn ʿUmar, with the same wording.

Abū Yaʿlā also said: “Qaṭan ibn Bashīr narrated to us; Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān al-Ḍubbīʿī narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn Muthannā narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn Anas narrated to us, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

A roasted partridge together with its bread and garnish was presented to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said, ‘O Allah, bring to me the most beloved of Your creation to You so that he may eat this food with me.’ ʿĀʾishah said, ‘O Allah, make it my father.’ Ḥafṣah said, ‘O Allah, make it my father.’ And I—Anas—said, ‘O Allah, make it Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah.’

Anas continued: I heard a movement at the door, so I said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is occupied,’ and the visitor left. Then I heard another movement at the door and found ʿAlī standing there. I said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is occupied,’ and he turned back. A third time I heard a noise at the door and ʿAlī gave the greeting of salām. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard his voice and said, ‘See who that is.’ I went out—there he was—so I returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him. He said, ‘Allow him to enter.’ I gave him leave and he entered. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, ‘O Allah, befriend whoever befriends him.’

Al-Ḥākim also narrated it in his Mustadrak (2): through Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥāfiẓ; through Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Ṣaffār and Ḥumayd ibn Yūnus al-Zayyāt, both from Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn Abī Ṭaybah; who said that Yaḥyā ibn Ḥassān narrated to them; from Sulaymān ibn Bilāl; from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd; from Anas—he related the same story. This isnād is unusual.

Al-Ḥākim said: “This ḥadith meets the criteria of Bukhārī and Muslim.”

This claim is questionable, for Abū ʿAlāthah Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿIyāḍ is unknown. Nevertheless, a group has reported this ḥadith from him through his father; among them is Abū al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī (3), who remarked: “He alone narrated it from his father.” Allah knows best.

Al-Ḥākim went on: “More than thirty people have narrated it from Anas.” Our shaykh, the eminent ḥāfiẓ Abū ʿAbd Allah al-Dhahabī, commented: “If they were all linked by trustworthy transmitters, the chain to Anas would be sound.”

Al-Ḥākim further stated: “The report is also authentically established from ʿAlī, Abū Saʿīd, and Safīnah.” Our shaykh Abū ʿAbd Allah responded: “By Allah, not a single one of those versions is authentic.”

Al-Ḥākim (4) also cited it through Ibrāhīm ibn Thābit al-Qaṣṣār—who is unknown—via Thābit al-Bunānī, from Anas, who said: “Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥajjāj entered and began reviling ʿAlī. Anas said, ‘Be quiet; stop reviling ʿAlī,’ and he then mentioned