Hadith Reflections: A Friend of Mine

 Abū Hurayrah narrates that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ  said: “Allah ﷻ said: ‘I declare war on anyone who opposes a friend of Mine. My servant does not draw close to Me with anything that I love more than by fulfilling whatever I made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw closer to me through optional deeds until I love him. Once I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hands with which he holds and his legs with which he walks. If he were to ask Me, I would grant him and if he were to seek refuge in Me, I would grant him refuge.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6502)

The chapter this hadith is placed in Riyad-ad-Saliheem comprises ahadith that made it known that in the Court of Allah, appearances and worldly status are not seen, rather one’s good deeds are seen. This hadith in particular is connected to that chapter because it mentions the Friends of Allah, who are people who remember Him in the mornings and in the evenings. 

‘I declare war on anyone who opposes a friend of Mine…Someone’s outward appearance, dusty or disheveled state should not give us a free pass to treat them in a wrong way. We know from another hadith that the mushrikeen refused to approach the Messenger ﷺ when he was sitting amongst the poorer of the sahaba, and so the Messenger ﷺ for the sake of creating a situation where the mushrikeen may be open to the deen wanted to set a special day for them to approach him, and he ﷺ also knew that his followers won’t mind, but before he could do so, Allah revealed the ayah in surah kahf that the pious ones are those who remember in the mornings and in the evenings, referring to those same poor, disheveled sahaba. We know from an incident that once Abu Bakr heard the poor sahaba comment on Abu Sufyan, and so he rebuked them. Later when he related this to the Messenger ﷺ, he ﷺ told him to apologize because it is wrong to hurt the hearts of those who Allah holds in high decree. Similarly, we know of many sahaba who were poor, helpless on dunya, but have high ranks in the Hereafter, like Bilal, whose footsteps were heard in the Heavens when the Messenger ﷺ went on his Isra wal miraj journey. 

…My servant does not draw close to Me with anything that I love more than by fulfilling whatever I made obligatory upon him…Fulfilling our obligations, our fardh is more virtuous than supplementary or nafl acts, therefore we should be moderate in our voluntary worship, keeping in mind that it doesn’t take away from our obligations. On the day of judgement we will be held accountable for our fardh, whether it be in our worship or in the rights we had to fulfill of others. We know that Allah may forgive us for our failings in His rights, but He won’t forgive us unless the people whose rights we couldn’t fulfill will forgive us. 

…My servant continues to draw closer to me through optional deeds until I love him…We are instructed to hasten to do good deeds before we are afflicted with poverty, enter old age, lose our health, or reach death, therefore we should be doing as many good deeds as we can to attain Allah’s love. We know from a hadith that every good act is a good deed, even if it is as simple as helping our brother with carrying a load. 

…Once I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hands with which he holds and his legs with which he walks…When a slave of Allah strives to know the deen better through beneficial knowledge of the Quran, the Names of Allah, and the Sunnah, they find themselves embodying the Sunnah, having a better grasp of right and wrong through the teachings of the Quran, and increasing in their tawakul through knowing Allah better through His names, he lives a more virtuous life on the right path. 

…If he were to ask Me, I would grant him and if he were to seek refuge in Me, I would grant him refuge.’ The dua of the weak, needy, and oppressed is readily accepted because they don't have resources or connections to rely on, so they purely rely on the help of Allah. A sincere dua made from the bottom of one’s heart is always accepted, and when one has no one but Al-Wali, their duas are bound to be full of ikhlas. Furthermore, when one knows the Names of Allah, the slave supplicates with His names, and such supplications are readily accepted.