Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. Ahmad b. al-Walid رضي الله عنه narrated to us. He said: Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar narrated to us from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa from Muhammad b. Sinan from Abi Malik al-Hadrami from Ismail b. Jabir from Abi Ja`far al-Baqir عليه السلام. He said in a long hadith: Surely, when Allah made His Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم ascend, He said to him: O Muhammad! Your prophethood has been completed and you have been cut away from food, so who will be for your Nation after you? So, I said: O Lord! I have tested Your creation, and I did not find anyone who loved me more intensely than `Ali b. Abi Talib. So, He said: Me too, O Muhammad, so inform him that he is the Banner of Guidance, the Imam of My friends, and a light for whoever obeys Me.