Some people came to `Ali (رضي الله عنه) and complained about `Uthman`s tax collector. My father said to me: take this letter to `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and tell him: The people are complaining about your tax collector, and this is the instruction of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about collecting zakah, tell them to follow it. So I went to `Uthman and told him about that, He (the narrator) said: If he [`Ali] had wanted to say anything about `Uthman, he would have said it on that occasion - i.e., saying something bad.
Yazeed bin Salih told us that Abul-Wadi told him that he said:
We were heading towards Koofah with `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه)... and he mentioned the hadeeth about the man with the deformity. `Ali said: By Allah, I did not lie and I was not lied to - three times. Then ‘Ali said: My close friend told me that there are three brothers of the jinn; this is the oldest of them, the second has a lot of followers around him and the third is somewhat weak.
It was narrated that ‘Abd Khair said. We Prayed Fajr, then we sat with ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه). He called for water for wudoo’, then he washed his hands three times, rinsed his mouth twice from one handful, then he washed his face three times, then he washed his forearms, then he washed his feet three times. Then he said:
This is the wudoo’ of your Prophet (ﷺ), so learn it.
We came to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) when he had prayed. He called for a jug, then he rinsed his mouth three times, and rinsed his nose three times. He rinsed his mouth from the hand that held the water. And he washed his face three times, his right arm three times and his left arm three times. Then he said: Whoever would like to know how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did wudoo’, this is it.
We were with ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) when a funeral passed by him and some people stood up for it. ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: Who told you to do this? They said: Abu Moosa, He said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) only did that once, following the example of the People of the Book, but when he was forbidden to do it, he stopped.
It was narrated that ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:
I got an old she camel as booty on the day of Badr, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave me another she-camel. One day, I made them kneel at the door of a man from among the Ansar, intending to carry idhkhir (a kind of grass) on them to sell it - and there was a goldsmith of Banu Qainuqa` with me - so that I could use the money to give a wedding feast for my marriage to Fatimah. Hamzah bin Abdul-Muttalib was drinking in that house. Hamzah attacked them with his sword, cutting off their humps and cutting open their flanks, then he took out their livers. I said to Ibn Shihab. Did he take out anything from their humps? He said: He cut off their humps and took them away. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: I looked at a sight that shocked me. I went to the Prophet (ﷺ), and Zaid bin Harithah was with him, and I told him what had happened. He went out, accompanied by Zaid, and I went with him. He entered upon Hamzah and expressed his anger to him. Hamzah looked up and said: Are you anything more than the slaves of my father? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) backed off until he departed from them. That was before the prohibition on alcohol.
Some of the companions of `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: Why don`t you tell us about the voluntary prayers that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered during the day? `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: By Allah, you cannot do it. They said to him; Tell us about it and we will take whatever we are able to do... then he quoted the hadeeth at length. It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that He was asked about the (voluntary) prayers of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the day. He said: He used to pray sixteen rak`ahs, When the sun was as high there as it is at the time of ‘Asr there, he would pray two rak’ahs. When the sun was as high there as it is at the time of Zuhr there, he would pray two rak`ahs, He would pray four rak`ahs before Zuhr and two rak`ahs after Zuhr, and he would pray four rak`ahs before ʻAsr.
It was narrated from al-Hasan and ‘Abdullah, the sons of Muhammad bin `Ali, from their father Muhammad bin `Ali that he heard his father, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه), say to Ibn `Abbas, when he heard that he had permitted mut`ah marriage with women - `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said to him:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade it on the day of Khaibar and [he also forbade] the flesh of donkeys.
It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that He did wudoo’ washing each part three times, then he wiped his head, then he drank the water left over from his wudoo’. Then he said:
Whoever would like to see the wudoo’ of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), let him look at this.
I heard `Ali (رضي الله عنه) say: Each Prophet (ﷺ) was given seven advisers from his nation and the Prophet (ﷺ) was given fourteen advisers from his ummah, among them Abu Bakr and `Umar (رضي الله عنهما).
We were with `Ali (رضي الله عنه) and when he saw any event or reached the top of a hill or went down in a valley, he said: Glory be to Allah; Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. I said to a man of Banu Yashkur: Let us go to Ameer al-Mu`mineen and ask him why he says, Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. So we went to him and we said: O Ameer al-Mu`mineen, when you see any event or reach the top of a hill or go down into a valley, you say: Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) instruct you exclusively to say that? He turned away from us but we persisted in asking. When he realised that, he said: By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not tell me anything exclusively that he did not tell to other people, but the people attacked ‘Uthman bin `Affan (رضي الله عنه) and killed him, and there were people who were worse than me in action and attitude concerning him. Then I thought that I was most deserving of this position, so I accepted it. And Allah knows best whether we are right or wrong.
We asked ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) about the voluntary prayers of the Prophet (ﷺ) during the day. `Ali said: That was sixteen voluntary rak`ahs that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did during the day, and it is very rare for anyone to persist in doing that. Wakee told us: And my father said: Habeeb bin Abi Thabit said: O Abu Ishaq, I would not like to have gold as much as would fill this mosque in return for this hadeeth of yours.
Shurahah became pregnant and her husband was absent. Her former master took her to ‘Ali, and ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said to her: Perhaps your husband came to you or perhaps someone forced you against your will? She said: No. And she admitted zina. So `Ali (رضي الله عنه) flogged her on Thursday and I was present, and he stoned her on Friday and I was present. He ordered that a hole be dug for her up to her navel, then he said: Stoning is the way of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The verse of stoning was revealed but those who used to read it and other verses of the Qur`an died in al-Yamamah.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “If two men come to you for judgement, do not rule in favour of the first one until you listen to what the other one says, then you will know how to judge.” He said: Since then I became a good judge.
It was narrated from ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) that The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“whoever would like his lifespan to be extended, his provision to be increased and a bad death to be warded off from him, let him fear Allah and uphold his ties of kinship”
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is One and loves that which is odd-numbered, so pray Witr, O people of the Qur`an.`
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed Witr at all times of the night, at the beginning, in the middle and at the end, then in the end he settled on praying Witr at the end of the night
It was narrated from `Ali (رضي الله عنه) that The sun was eclipsed, and `Ali (رضي الله عنه) led the people in prayer. He recited Ya-Seen or something similar, then he bowed for as long as a soorah, then he raised his head and said:
Allah hears the one who praises Him. Then he stood for as long as the soorah, calling upon Allah and magnifying Him. Then he bowed again, for as long as his recitation. Then he said: Allah hears the one who praises him, and he stood up again for as long as the Soorah. Then he bowed for a similar length of time again, until he had bowed four times. Then he said: Allah hears the one who praises Him. Then he prostrated. Then he stood up for the second rak`ah, in which he did the same as he had done in the first rak`ah. Then he sat, calling upon Allah and beseeching Him, until the eclipse ended, then he told them that this is what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray Witr at the beginning of the night, in the middle and at the end, then he settled on praying Witr at the end of the night.
I heard ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When a person sits in the place where he prayed after praying the angels send blessings upon him, and their blessings upon him are: O Allah, forgive him. O Allah have mercy on him. And if he sits waiting for the prayer, the angels send blessings upon him, and their blessings upon him are: O Allah, forgive him, O Allah have mercy on him.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said on the day of al-Khandaq: `What is wrong with them? May Allah fill their houses and graves with fire as they distracted us from the middle prayer until the sun set.”