the mosque, whereupon Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh exclaimed:

“Whoever wishes to look at the lord of the young men of Paradise, let him look at this one. I heard it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.” Aḥmad alone related this report. (1)

Al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasāʾī likewise transmitted—through Israʾīl, from Maysarah ibn Ḥabīb, from al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, from Zirr ibn Hubaysh, from Ḥudhayfah—that Ḥudhayfah said:

“My mother sent me to ask the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to seek forgiveness for her and for me. I came to him and prayed the sunset prayer with him; he then continued praying until he performed the night prayer. When he finished and turned away, I followed him, and he heard my steps.

He asked, ‘Who is that—Ḥudhayfah?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’

He said, ‘What is your need? May Allah forgive you and your mother. Tonight an angel has descended who had never before come down to the earth. He sought his Lord’s leave to greet me and to give me the glad tidings that Fāṭimah is the foremost of the women of Paradise, and that al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn are the foremost of the young men of Paradise.’”

Al-Tirmidhī commented, (2) “This ḥadīth is ḥasan gharīb; it is known only through the narration of Israʾīl.”

Reports with a similar meaning are also related from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, from al-Ḥusayn himself, from ʿUmar, from his son ʿAbd Allāh, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from Ibn Masʿūd, and from others, yet all of their chains are weak—Allah knows best.

Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī said:
Mūsā ibn Muṭayr (3) narrated to us, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say concerning al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn: ‘Whoever loves me, let him love these two.’” (4)

Imām Aḥmad said:
Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd narrated to us; Ismāʿīl—meaning Ibn Jaʿfar—narrated to us; Muḥammad—meaning Ibn [Abī] (5) Ḥarmalah—informed me, from ʿAṭāʾ:

A man told him that he saw the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, embracing al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn while saying, “O Allah, indeed I love them, so love them.” (6)

Something similar is reported from Usāmah ibn Zayd and Salmān al-Fārisī, but its chain is weak and flawed—Allah knows best.

Imām Aḥmad also said:
Aswad ibn ʿĀmir narrated to us; Kāmil narrated to us—and Abū al-Munadhir likewise related from Kāmil.

Aswad said: Al-Maʿnī narrated to us, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

“We used to perform the night prayer with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. When he went into prostration, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn would climb onto his back. When he raised his head, he would gently take them off and place them on the ground; then, when he prostrated again, they would do the same. When he finished his prayer, he seated them on his thighs.

I approached him and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, shall I return them to their place?’ A flash of lightning lit up, and he said to them, ‘Go back to your mother.’ The light remained until they had entered.” (7)