Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib 155
upon him) was brought to 'Ubaydullah ibn ~ i ~ and 2 placed d ~ ~ ~
on a platter. He started hitting the ground with a stick and saying
how handsome he was." Anas said: "He was the one who most
resembled the Messenger of Allah (s), and his hair was dyed
with wa~irnah."~~~
(c) According to another report from Anas: "When the head of al-
Husayn was brought to 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziya, he started
touching the teeth with a stick. He (the narrator) said: 'I think he
said that he was handsome.' I (Anas) said: 'I shall annoy you. I
saw the Messenger of AUah (g) kissing what you are touchg
with your stick.' So he stopped doing it."357 These two hadiths
point to the virtue of al-Husayn (&) and show that he most
resembled the Prophet among Ahl al-Bayt. But there may be
some problem with that suggestion, especially in light of what
we have quoted above concerning the virtues of al-Hasan, which
say that no one resembled the Messenger of Allah (g) more
closely than al-Hasan ibn 'Ali, which would imply a conflict
between the reports. This confusion was dispelled by Ibn Hajar
(may Allah have mercy on him); he reconciled the reports by
saying: "These reports may be reconciled by noting that what
Anas said, according to the report of az-Zuhri, was spoken when
al-Hasan was still alive, because at that time he was the one who
resembled the Prophet (g) more closely than his brother al-
Husayn. As for what is mentioned in the report of Ibn Sireen,
that took place after that (after al-Hasan had died), as is clear
from the context; or else what may be meant is that al-Husayn
resembled him more closely than anyone apart from al-Hasan.
Or it may be that each of them resembled him more closely in
some features. At-Tirmidhi and Ibn IJibbih narrated from Hki'
ibn Hihi from 'Ali that be said: 'al-Hasan resembled the Prophet
(B) from head to navel, and al-Husayn resembled the Prophet
from the navel downwards. ,93358 These are some of the
(g)