He said: Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. Al-Husain b. Babawayh, may ALLAH (SWT) bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father who reported from Muhammad b. al- Hasan al-Saffar, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, from Ali b. al-No'man, from Amir b. Ma'qal, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, that ABU JA'FAR MUHAMMAD B. ALI AL-BAQIR (peace be upon him) said:
"O Abu Hamza, do not place Ali (ASWS) below the level to which ALLAH (SWT) has raised him, and do not elevate him above the level where ALLAH (SWT) has kept him. It is enough (excellence) for ALI (ASWS) that he is the one who fought the apostates and he is the one who will pair off the inmates of Paradise."
(Ref: Al-Amali Shaikh Mufeed: The First Assembly: Hadees No 6)