the descendants of Ishmael, He chose Kinānah from among the descendants of Ishmael, He chose Quraysh from Kinānah, and He chose the Banū Hāshim from Quraysh.”

• In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim it is related from him that on the day of Ghadīr Khumm he said: “I remind you by Allah concerning the members of my household, I remind you by Allah concerning the members of my household.”
• In the Sunan collections it is reported that al-ʿAbbās complained to him that some of Quraysh belittled them, whereupon he said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, they will not enter Paradise until they love you for Allah’s sake and because of my kinship.”
• And since they are the best of all created beings, there is no doubt that their deeds are the best of deeds (1).
• The best of them was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), for no human being is his equal (2); accordingly, the most virtuous among them surpasses every other eminent figure from the remaining clans of Quraysh and of the Arabs, indeed even of the Children of Israel and others besides them.
• Then come ʿAlī, Ḥamzah, Jaʿfar, and ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith: they are among the earliest forerunners from the Emigrants.
  They are therefore superior to the second tier among the rest of the tribes.
  Hence, on the Day of Badr the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to engage in single combat when ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah, Shaybah ibn Rabīʿah, and al-Walīd ibn ʿUtbah stepped forward.
  The Prophet said, “Stand up, Ḥamzah. Stand up, ʿUbaydah. Stand up, ʿAlī,” so three men of Hāshim advanced against the three.
• It is established in the sound collections that regarding them the verse was revealed: “These two adversaries have disputed about their Lord” (3), even though the verse has a broader application.
• And whereas al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn are the two leaders of the youth of Paradise and were born after the Hijrah, in the zenith of Islam, without having endured the harm and trials that befell their righteous predecessors,