Another report
Imam Aḥmad (1) said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Jarīr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd narrated to us; from Mughīrah; from Umm Mūsā; from Umm Salamah, who said:
“By the One by whom I swear, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was indeed the last of the people to be with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. We used to visit the Messenger of Allah morning after morning, and he would say repeatedly, ‘Has ʿAlī come?’—and I think he had sent him on an errand. Later ʿAlī arrived, and I presumed the Prophet had some private need with him. We therefore left the house and sat at the door; I was the nearest of them to the doorway. ʿAlī leaned over him, speaking to him in a low voice and confiding in him. The Prophet passed away that very day, and ʿAlī was the last of the people to be with him.”
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad and Abū Yaʿlā (2) likewise transmitted it from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah with this same chain (3).
Another report conveying the same meaning
Abū Yaʿlā (4) said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us; Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated to us; from Ṣadaqah; from Jumayʿ ibn ʿUmayr:
His mother and his maternal aunt entered upon ʿĀʾishah and said, “Mother of the Believers, tell us about ʿAlī.”
She replied, “What are you asking about? You are asking about a man who placed his hand beneath the Messenger of Allah so that the Prophet’s soul departed while resting in his hand; then he wiped that hand over his own face. When they differed about where to bury him he said, ‘The place most beloved to Allah is the spot where His Prophet ﷺ was taken.’ ”
They said, “Then why did you march out against him?” She answered, “It was a matter that had already been decreed; I wish I could ransom it with everything on earth.” (5)
This report is extremely munkar, and what is soundly established contradicts it; Allah knows best.
Another report
Imam Aḥmad (6) said: Aswad ibn ʿĀmir narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Abī Jaʿfar—meaning al-Farrāʾ—narrated to me; from Isrāʾīl; from Abū Isḥāq; from Zayd ibn Yuthayʿ,
from ʿAlī who said:
It was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, whom shall we appoint as leader after you?”
He replied:
“If you appoint Abū Bakr you will find him trustworthy, detached from the world, and eager for the Hereafter. If you appoint ʿUmar you will find him strong and trustworthy, one who does not fear (7) the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah. And if you appoint ʿAlī—and I do not think you will do so—you will find him a guide, himself guided, who will set you upon the straight path.”
This ḥadīth has likewise been reported through the route of ʿAbd al-Razzāq, from al-Nuʿmān ibn Abī Shaybah, and from Yaḥyā ibn al-ʿAlāʾ, from al-Thawrī, from Abū Isḥāq, from Zayd ibn Yuthayʿ, from Ḥudhayfah, from the Prophet ﷺ with similar wording.