I am to precede you...

I am to precede you, and you shall join me, at the Pool [of Kawthar] which is wider than the distance from Basra to San’a; it contains as many silver cups as the stars; and I shall ask you when you join me about the Two Weighty Things, how you shall succeed me in faring with them; the Greatest Weighty Thing is the Book of Allah, the Omniscient, the Sublime, one end of which is in Allah's hand and the other in yours; so, uphold it so that you may not go astray, and your faith shall not suffer any alteration; and the other are my , for the most Gracious and Knowing has informed me that they both shall never part from each other till they join me at the Pool.'"[^7] In a section dealing with ‘Ali's virtues in Al-Mustadrak , the author indicates that Zayd ibn Arqam[^8] is quoted through two sources both of which are held reliable by both Shaykhs: al-Hakim [one of such sources] says that when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, returned from his Farewell Pilgrimage, he camped at Ghadir Khumm and ordered the believers to sweep the area under a few huge trees where a pulpit of camel litters was made for him.

He stood and said: "It seems as if I have been called upon and responded to the call, and I enjoin you to look after both the Book of Allah and my Progeny; see how you fare with them after me, for they shall never part from each other till they join me at the Pool." Then he added: "Allah, the Dear and Mighty, is my Master, and I am the master of every believer," then he took ‘Ali by the hand and said: "To whomsoever I have been a master, this ‘Ali is [henceforth] his master; O Lord!

Befriend whoever befriends him, and be the enemy to whoever antagonizes him." The author quotes this lengthy hadith in its entirity. In his Talkhis, al-Thahbi quotes it without commenting on it. Al-Hakim, too, quotes it as narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam in his Al-Mustadrak , admitting its authenticity. In spite of his intolerance, al-Thahbi admits the same in his Talkhis , to which you may refer.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal has quoted the same hadith as narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam thus: "We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, when he camped in a valley called Wadi Khumm, and he ordered everyone to gather for prayers in midday heat. He then delivered a sermon to us under the shade of a robe over a rush tree [Juncus spinosus] to protect him from the heat of the sun.