carry him. This therefore counts among the virtues of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
(* And the merit of one who carries the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is greater than the merit of one whom the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—carries. *) (1)
Such was the case with the Companions who carried him on the day of Uhud, including Talhah ibn Ubayd Allah (2). This benefited the Prophet (3)—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—whereas in the other instance the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—benefited Alī. It is well known that benefiting the Prophet with one’s life and wealth is greater than the benefit a person receives from the Prophet’s person and wealth.
[Chapter Seven: Another Fabricated Hadith Cited by the Rāfidī concerning the Virtues of Alī, and Its Refutation]
Chapter Seven (4)
The Rāfidī (5) said: “It is also related from Ibn Abī Laylā that he said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
‘The Truthful Ones are three: Habīb al-Najjār, the believer from the people of
(1) The text between the two asterisks is omitted from (أ).
(2) This hadith is narrated from al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwām—may Allah be pleased with him—in Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 5:307, Kitāb al-Manāqib (Book of Virtues), chapter “The Virtues of Abū Muhammad Talha ibn Ubayd Allāh—may Allah be pleased with him.” He reported: “On the day of Uhud, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was wearing two coats of mail. He tried to climb onto a rock but was unable to do so, so he had Talha crouch beneath him. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then climbed until he stood atop the rock. I heard the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say: ‘Talha has earned Paradise.’” Al-Tirmidhī said: “This is a hasan, sahīh, gharīb hadith.” The hadith is also found in al-Musnad, al-Maārif ed., 3:12; Ahmad Shākir—may Allah have mercy on him—graded it authentic. See also Sīrat Ibn Hishām, 3:91–92.
(3) (ن), (م), (ح): “more beneficial to the Prophet”; (و), (ر): “a benefit to the Prophet.”
(4) (ن), (م), (و): “Chapter.”
(5) “Al-Rāfidī” is omitted from (و). The ensuing text appears in (ك), p. 121 (م). Before it, (ك) contains two lines not found in any of the other manuscripts: “It is narrated from Maqil ibn Yasār that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—said to Fātima—peace be upon her: ‘Are you not content that your husband was the earliest of my community to embrace Islam, the most knowledgeable among them, and the most forbearing?’”