and poison him, this would have been possible.

In short, an incumbent must inevitably ward off anyone whom he knows will challenge him and claim to have a greater right to the office. This may take various forms: humiliation, harm, imprisonment, killing, or banishment.

Yet the two of them always accorded Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—the utmost honor in every way, giving him—[indeed] (1), all the other members of Banū Hāshim as well—precedence over others in stipends. They gave him precedence in rank, respect, affection, loyalty, praise, and veneration, as they did with his peers, while recognizing the superiority Allah Almighty had granted him over those who were not his equals. No disparaging word about Ali was ever known to have come from them (2)—[indeed] (3), nor about any member of Banū Hāshim.

It is well known that hostility harbored in the heart gives rise to the desire to harm the person toward whom it is directed. When a person has the power to do so, that power is joined by a resolute will, which necessarily brings about what lies within his power. Thus, had they intended any harm toward Ali, their ability to inflict it would necessarily have caused that intention to become manifest. How could that be, when nothing but affection and loyalty ever appeared from them?

Likewise, so many reports have been transmitted from Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—of his affection and loyalty toward them, his veneration of them, and his placing them above the rest of the ummah (4), that his position on this matter is known. No disparaging word about them was ever reported from him, nor any claim that he had a greater right to the office than they did.

This is known to anyone familiar (5) with the established reports that were widely transmitted among the elite and the common people alike and conveyed through trustworthy narrators.