“To Fatimah he said: “Thou art the highest of the women of the people of Paradise, excepting only the Virgin Mary, daughter of ‘Imran.” In prediction of the great part to be played by ‘Ali as one of the chief transmitters of his wisdom to future generations, he said: “I am the city of knowledge, and ‘Ali is its gate”; and he said in general: “My Companions are even as the stars: whichsoever of them ye follow, ye shall be rightly guided.”
