449 - 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad informed us, saying: My father narrated to me, saying: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Razi—meaning the son-in-law of Salamah—narrated to us, saying: Salamah ibn al-Fadl narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ishaq narrated to me, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith, from Khalid ibn Salamah, from Sa'id ibn 'Amr ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As, who said: I said to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah: "Will you not tell me about Abu Bakr and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib?" He replied: "Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, possessed both age and precedence with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away when he was sixty years old, and 'Ali was thirty-four years old." I said: "The people are inclined towards 'Ali." He replied: "O son of my brother, by Allah, he possessed whatever he willed of decisive qualities ('teeth'); middle-ground in lineage, his kinship to the Messenger of Allah, his marital bond [to him], his precedence in Islam, his knowledge of the Qur'an, his understanding of the Sunnah, his courage in war, and his generosity in providing neighborly aid. By Allah, he possessed whatever he willed of decisive qualities."