Ahsan (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a man asked Hazrat Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with him): "Tell me, if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from this world loving a certain person, would that person be a righteous man?" He replied, "Why not?" The man said, "Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from this world loving you, and he used to assign you various responsibilities?" He replied, "This is indeed true, but shall I tell you something? By Allah! I do not know whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) treated me in this way out of love or for the purpose of winning my heart. However, I can testify to this: until he departed from this world, he loved two men—one was Ammar, the son of Sumayyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and the other was Abdullah bin Mas'ud, the son of Umm Abd (may Allah be pleased with him)."