The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: When Allah the Mighty and Majestic sent Musa ibn Imran (peace be upon him) as a prophet, spoke with him in intimate discourse, split the sea for him, saved the Children of Israel, and gave him the Torah and the Tablets, Musa (peace be upon him) beheld his rank and station before his Lord and said: 'O Lord! You have honored me with such honor as You have not bestowed upon anyone before me.' Allah, Great and Majestic, said: 'O Musa (peace be upon him)! Do you not know that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), in My sight, is more excellent and more honored than all My angels and all My creation?' Musa (peace be upon him) said: 'O Lord! If Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is more honored in Your sight than all Your creation, is there among the families of the prophets a family more honored than my family?' Allah, Great and Majestic, said: 'O Musa (peace be upon him)! Do you not know that the excellence of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) over the families of all the prophets is like the excellence of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) over all the messengers?' Musa (peace be upon him) said: 'O Lord! If the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) are such, then among the nations of the prophets is there any more honored in Your sight than my nation — over whom You shaded the clouds and upon whom You sent down the manna and the quails and for whom You split the sea?' Allah, Great and Majestic, said: 'O Musa (peace be upon him)! Do you not know that the excellence of the nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) over all the nations is like his own excellence over all My creation?' Musa (peace be upon him) said: 'O Lord! Would that I could see them!' Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to him: 'O Musa (peace be upon him)! You shall not see them; for this is not the time of their appearance. But soon you shall see them in the Gardens of Eden and Firdaws, in the presence of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), reveling in its blessings and reposing in its bounties. O Musa (peace be upon him)! Would you like Me to make you hear their speech?' Musa (peace be upon him) said: 'Yes, O my Lord!' Allah, Great and Majestic, said: 'Then stand before Me like a lowly servant standing in the court of a mighty king, and gird up your waist.' Musa (peace be upon him) did so. Then a call rose from our Lord, Mighty and Majestic: 'O nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)!' Whereupon all of them, while still in the loins of their fathers and the wombs of their mothers, answered: "لَبَّیْکَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّیْکَ، لَبَّیْکَ لَا شَرِیکَ لَکَ لَبَّیْکَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَ النِّعْمَةَ لَکَ وَ الْمُلْکَ، لَا شَرِیکَ لَکَ" [Here I am, O Allah, here I am; here I am, You have no partner, here I am; indeed all praise, blessing and sovereignty belong to You, You have no partner]. He (peace be upon him) said: 'So Allah made this response the slogan of the Hajj.' Then our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, called out: 'O nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! My decree and judgment for you is this: that My mercy precedes My wrath and My forgiveness precedes My punishment. Before you call upon Me, I answer you; and before you ask anything of Me, I grant it to you. Whoever of you meets Me and bears witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, having no partner, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is His servant and messenger, truthful in his sayings and right in his deeds, and that Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) is his brother and his successor and his heir after him, obedience to whom is obligatory just as obedience to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is obligatory, and that his chosen and pure friends, who bring the wondrous signs of Allah and the proofs of Allah's arguments, are His friends after those two — I shall admit him into My Paradise, even if his sins be like the foam of the sea.' Then Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: When Allah the Mighty and Majestic sent our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), He said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! You were not on the side of the Mount when We called (Al-Qasas/46) your nation with this honor.' Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic said to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family): 'Say: الْحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِینَ [All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds], for singling me out with this excellence.' And He said to his nation: 'You too, say: الْحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِینَ [All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds], for singling us out with these excellences.'