My father narrated to us. He said: `Abdullah b. al-Hasan al-Mu'addab narrated to us from Ahmad b. `Ali al-Isfahani from Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Thaqafi. He said: `Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Hashim narrated to us. He said: Yahya b. al-Husayn narrated to us from Sa`d b. Turayf from al-Asbagh b. Nubata from Salman al-Farisi . He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say:

O Muhajirin and Ansar! Shall I not guide you to that by which, if you held onto it, you would never go astray after me? They said: Of course, O Messenger of Allah. He said: This `Ali is my brother, my deputy, my vizier, my inheritor, my vicegerent (khalifa), and your Imam. So, greet him as you greet me and honour him as you honour me, for Gabriel commanded me to say this to you.