When we left Makkah, Hamza's daughter followed us calling out, "Uncle! Uncle!"Ali said, I took her by the hand and passed her to Fatimah, saying, "Take your cousin." When we arrived in Madinah, Jafar, Zayd bin Haritha, and I disputed over her custody.Jafar said, "She is my cousin, and her maternal aunt is my wife," meaning Asma bint Umays.Zayd said, "She is my brother's daughter."I said, "I am the one who took her, and she is my cousin."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, "As for you, Jafar, you resemble me in appearance and character. As for you, Ali, you are from me and I am from you. And as for you, Zayd, you are our brother and our freed servant. The girl will go to her maternal aunt, for the maternal aunt holds the place of a mother."I said, "Messenger of Allah, will you not marry her yourself?"He replied, "She is the daughter of my brother through milk-kinship."
لما خرجنا من مكة اتبعتنا ابنة حمزة تنادي: يا عم يا عم قال: فتناولتها بيدها، فدفعتها إلى فاطمة، فقلت: دونك ابنة عمك. قال: فلما قدمنا المدينة اختصمنا فيها أنا وجعفر وزيد بن حارثة. فقال جعفر: ابنة عمي، وخالتها عندي، يعني أسماء بنت عميس، وقال زيد: ابنة أخي، وقلت: أنا أخذتها وهي ابنة عمي. فقال رسول الله ﷺ: أما أنت يا جعفر: أشبهت خلقي وخلقي، وأما أنت يا علي فمني وأنا منك، وأما أنت يا زيد فأخونا ومولانا، والجارية عند خالتها فإن الخالة والدة. قلت يا رسول الله: ألا تتزوجها؟ قال: إنها ابنة أخي من الرضاعة.
Reported by Abu Dawud (2280), and Ahmad (770), this being his wording, and Hakim graded it sahih (3/120), all of them via Abu Ishaq, from Hani bin Hani and Hubayra bin Yarim, from Ali bin Abu Talib, who related it.Its chain is hasan because of Hani bin Hani and Hubayra, for the two of them are acceptable, since each strengthens the other.