Ahmad bin Hanbal sums it up for Imam Ali when he said...

Ahmad bin Hanbal sums it up for Imam Ali when he said, ‘No one of the Prophet’s had virtues like that of Ali bin Abu Talib.’ This saying has been mentioned in many books; al- Mustadrak, al-Isti’aab, al-Kamil of ibn ul-Athir, Kifayat ut-Talib, ar-Riyazun-Nazira, Tahthib ut-Tahthib, Fat- hul-Bari fi Sharh il-Bukhari, Tarikh ul-Khulafa’, as-Sira al-Halabiyah, ar-Rawzul-Azhar, Is’aaf ur-Raaghibin and others.

There is a tradition, which was agreed upon by the Sunnis showing the preference of Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, (peace be upon her) over all others. The Prophet said: Fatima is the chief of women of Paradise. This hadith has been narrated by some : Hudhayfa bin al-Yamaan as in Sahih ut-Tirmidhi vol. 13 p.197, Aa’isha as in Sahih ul-Bukhari vol. 4 p. 203, and Umm Salama in Sahih ut-Tirmidhi vol. 13 p. 250.

There is also an agreed upon tradition among Sunnis showing the preference of Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn. The Prophet (s) said: Hasan and Husayn are the masters of the young men of Paradise. This hadith was narrated by some of the prophet: Abu Sa’id al-Khudri as in Sahih ut-Tirmidhi vol. 13 p. 190, Musnad of Ahmad vol. 3 p. 3., Hudhayfa as in Sahih ut-Tirmidhi vol. 13 p. 197, and by Abdullah bin Umar in the Sunan of ibn Maja vol. 1 p. 56.

The Sura Al-Insaan (76) was revealed concerning Imam Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn. In addition, the Qur’anic Verse of purification: Allah only desires to keep away uncleanness from you, O People of the House, and to purify you with a thorough purification. (Quran 33:33), was revealed concerning them.

This has been narrated by many of the Prophet’s such as Wathila bin al- Asqa’, Amr bin Abu Salama, Aa’isha, Umm Salama , Sa’d bin Abu Waqqas, Abu Sa’id, Imam Ali, Ja’far bin Abu Talib, Abu Barza, Sabih, ibn Abbas, Anas, Abul-Hamra’, Atiyah, Sahl bin Sa’d, Abu Hurayra, Burayda, Abdullah bin Umar, Imran bin al-Husayn, Salama bin al-Aqua’ , Ma’qil bin Yasaar, and Abdullah bin az-Zubeir.

This has been mentioned by al-Heythami in his book Majma’uz-Zawa’id and as-Suyuti in his book al-Jami’us-Saghir narrated by al-Bazzaz p. 113 and by ibn Hajar in his as-Sawa’iq ul- Muhriqa p. 184 and Miftah un-Naja p. 9, Yanabi’ul- Mawaddah p. 187, al-Fat-hul-Kabir p. 133, Arjahul- Matalib p. 330, as-Sayf ul-Yamani al-Maslul p. 9. And it has also been narrated by Aamir bin Wathila, which was mentioned by al-Hafiz ad-Dulabi in his book al-Kuna wa al-Asma’ vol. 1 p. 76.