Narrated from Sayyiduna Qais bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us, we placed water for his bath, he (peace and blessings be upon him) bathed, then we brought a yellowish-reddish sheet and he (peace and blessings be upon him) wrapped it around his body, as if even now I am seeing the marks of the wars herb on the folds of his (peace and blessings be upon him) stomach, then we brought a donkey to him (peace and blessings be upon him) for riding, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The owner of the donkey has more right to ride on its front part. He said: O Messenger of Allah! This donkey is only for you.

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah Almighty says; Whoever insults My friend—in another narration: Whoever causes pain to My friend—has declared war against Me, and My servant can only attain My closeness through the fulfillment of obligations, but the servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary acts until I make him My beloved. Then, when he asks of Me, I grant him, and when he calls upon Me, I answer him. And I am not as hesitant about anything as I am about taking the soul of a believer, because he dislikes death and I dislike causing him grief.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We were sitting with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Which link (i.e., good deed) of Islam is the most distinguished and exalted? The people said: Prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Prayer is also a good deed, and after that, which deed is it? The people said: Zakat. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Zakat is also good, and after that, which deed is it? They said: Fasting in Ramadan. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This deed is also good, and after that, which deed is it? They said: Hajj. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Hajj is also a good deed, and after that, which deed is it? The people said: Jihad. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jihad is also a good deed, after that, which deed is it? Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) himself said: The most distinguished and exalted link (i.e., good deed) of faith is that you love for the sake of Allah Almighty and hate for the sake of Allah Almighty.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us and said: Do you know which deed is most beloved to Allah Almighty? One man said: Prayer and zakat, and another said that it is jihad. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, the most beloved deed to Allah Almighty is that love is shown for the sake of Allah and hatred is held for His sake.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Tufail ‘Amir bin Wathilah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man passed by some people, he greeted them with salam and they replied to his salam. When he had gone ahead, one man said: By Allah! I bear enmity towards this man for the sake of Allah Almighty. The people of the gathering said: By Allah! You have said a bad thing. By Allah! We will certainly inform him. O so-and-so! Stand up and go inform him. So their messenger caught up with that person and told him the whole matter. That man turned back and went straight to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! I passed by a gathering of Muslims, so-and-so was also sitting among them. I greeted them with salam and they replied to my salam. When I had passed them, one of them came up behind me and said that so-and-so is saying, by Allah, he bears enmity towards you for the sake of Allah Almighty. O Messenger of Allah! Now you call him and ask him for what reason he bears enmity towards me? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called him and asked about what the man had reported. He admitted and said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! I said this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Well, tell me, why do you bear enmity towards him? He said: Yes, I am his neighbor and I am well aware of him. By Allah! I have seen him, he only performs the obligatory prayers, which every good and bad person performs. But that man said: O Messenger of Allah! Ask him also whether I have ever delayed these prayers from their times, or ever been deficient in ablution, or performed bowing and prostration incompletely? When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him these questions, he replied in the negative (i.e., it is true that he performs the prayers on time and with complete ablution). Then the objector said: By Allah! I have seen him that he only fasts in the month of Ramadan, which every good and bad person fasts. But that man said: O Messenger of Allah! Ask him also whether I have ever missed a fast in Ramadan, or been deficient in fulfilling the rights of fasting? When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him about this, he replied in the negative (i.e., it is true that this man fasts properly). The objector then said: By Allah! I have not seen him ever give anything to a beggar, or spend any wealth in the way of Allah, except for the zakat which every good and bad person pays. But that man said: O Messenger of Allah! Ask him also whether I have ever concealed anything from zakat, or caused any deficiency for the zakat recipient. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him about this, he replied in the negative. Now the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Stand up, I do not know, perhaps he is better than you.

Syedna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Souls are like gathered armies; those who became acquainted with one another there, become familiar with each other here, and those among them who became strangers and unfamiliar there, do not become familiar here.

It is also narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Whoever likes the taste of faith or is pleased by this thing, let him love a person solely for the sake of Allah Almighty.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, Allah the Exalted will say: Where are those who loved one another for the sake of My Majesty? Today I will shelter them in My shade, on a day when there is no shade except My shade.

Syedna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You will not enter Paradise until you have faith, and you will not have faith until you love one another. Shall I not guide you to something which is the root and essence of this love? Spread salam (greetings of peace) among yourselves. In another narration: Shall I not guide you to something that if you do it, you will begin to love one another? Spread salam among yourselves.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Jamuh (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A servant cannot fulfill the right of explicit faith until he loves for the sake of Allah Almighty and harbors enmity for His sake. So when he loves for the sake of Allah Almighty and harbors enmity for His sake, then he becomes deserving of love and friendship from Allah Almighty. And indeed, My friends are from among My servants, and among My creation, those people are the most beloved to Me who are remembered because of My remembrance, and I am remembered because of their remembrance.