If you claim that you are the most rightful in holding this...

If you claim that you are the most rightful in holding this position for your kinship to the Holy Prophet or claim your being the foremost, his Household are, of course, closer to him than you are and more advanced than you are.

You should then avoid turning on your backs for then you will turn back losers.”[^21] In addition, he is narrated to have reported the merits of the Five Individuals of the [^22] in general and Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Husayn in particular.[^23] According to al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah and other reference books of Hadith, Abu-Musa (al-Ash`ariy) said: “When my brother and I came (to al-Madinah) from the Yemen, we though that `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud had been one of the family members of the Holy Prophet for we used to see his mother and him always visiting the Holy Prophet.”[^24] `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud also quoted the Holy Prophet as saying, “The leaders (caliphs) coming after me will be twelve in number, which is the number of the Israelite Chieftains.”[^25] Al-Khazzaz, in Kifayat al-Athar , has quoted `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud as saying, “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: The…