[The narration of the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him)]

Abū Bakr al-Bazzār said: “Muḥammad ibn Zubdā al-Madhārī narrated to us (1); ʿAmr ibn ʿĀṣim narrated to us; Ḥarb ibn Surayj al-Bazzār narrated to us (2). He said:

I asked Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, ‘What do you say about this intercession the people of Iraq talk about— is it really true?’
He replied, ‘Intercession for what?’
I said, ‘The intercession of Muḥammad ﷺ.’
He said, ‘By Allah, it is true—yes, by Allah! My uncle Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah told me, on the authority of ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Indeed I shall go on interceding for my community until my Lord—Exalted is He—calls out to me, saying, ‘Are you satisfied, O Muḥammad?’ and I will reply, ‘My Lord, I am satisfied.’”’

Al-Bazzār then commented: “We know of this ḥadīth only through this chain.” (3)

[The narration of ʿAwf ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him)]

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: “Khālid ibn Khidāsh and Khalaf ibn Hishām narrated to us; they said: Abū ʿAwānah narrated to us, from Qatādah, from Abū al-Malīḥ, from ʿAwf ibn Mālik al-Ashjaʿī, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

‘Last night a messenger came to me from my Lord and offered me the choice between half of my community entering Paradise and the intercession; I chose the intercession.’

They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we adjure you by Allah and by the bond of companionship: make us among those included in your intercession.’
He replied, ‘I testify before those present that my intercession is for whoever of my community dies without associating anything with Allah.’

Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān also narrated it, from Yaḥyā ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Wuḥāẓī, from Jābir ibn Ghānim (4), from Sulaym ibn ʿĀmir, from Maʿdīkarib ibn ʿAbd Kulāl, from ʿAwf ibn Mālik, [who reported that the Prophet ﷺ said]: ‘Jibrīl came to me—upon him be peace—and my Lord gave me the choice between two things: that He admit half of my community into Paradise, or the intercession; and I chose the intercession.’

Al-Bayhaqī likewise transmitted it through al-Ḥākim, from al-Aṣamm, from Baḥr ibn Naṣr, from Bishr ibn Bakr, from [Ibn] Jābir, from Sulaym ibn ʿĀmir: ‘I heard ʿAwf ibn Mālik…,’ and he cited the ḥadīth at length, including an additional story. Ḥammād ibn Zayd also reported it, from Ayyūb, from Abū Qilābah, attributing the ḥadīth to ʿAwf ibn Mālik. (5)