Aḥmad (1) narrated: Ibn Numayr told us, al-Ḥajjāj—meaning Ibn Dīnār—told us, from Jaʿfar ibn Iyās, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Masʿūd, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—came out to us with al-Hasan and al-Ḥusayn: this one on his shoulder and that one on his other shoulder. He kept kissing first one and then the other until he reached us. A man then said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you truly love them!’ He replied:

‘Whoever loves them has loved me, and whoever hates them has hated me.’”

This wording is unique to Aḥmad.

Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related, from ʿĀṣim, from Zirr, from ʿAbdullāh, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was praying when al-Hasan and al-Ḥusayn came and began jumping onto his back whenever he prostrated. The people wanted to stop them, but when he concluded the prayer he said to them:

‘These two are my grandsons; whoever loves them has loved me.’”

Al-Nasāʾī also transmitted it through ʿUbayd (2) Allah ibn Mūsā, from ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ, from ʿĀṣim, with this wording.

It is additionally reported from ʿĀʾishah and Umm Salamah, the Mothers of the Believers, that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—wrapped al-Hasan, al-Ḥusayn, their mother, and their father in his cloak and said:

“O Allah, these are the people of my household; so remove defilement from them and purify them completely.” (3)

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Asadī told us; Shurayk told us, from Jābir, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sābiṭ, from Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘Whoever wishes to behold the leader of the youth of Paradise, let him look at al-Hasan ibn ʿAlī.’”

Wakīʿ also narrated it, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Saʿd, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sābiṭ, from Jābir, with the same wording. Its chain is sound, though neither al-Bukhārī nor Muslim included it (4).

It is likewise reported from ʿAlī, Abū Saʿīd, and Buraydah— and [Ḥudhayfah] (5)—that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Al-Hasan and al-Ḥusayn are the leaders of the youth of Paradise” (6), and through another chain: “and their father is better than they are.” (7)

Abū al-Qāsim al-Baghawī said: Dāwūd ibn ʿAmr told us; Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh told us; ʿAbdullāh ibn