mercy envelops them, tranquillity descends upon them, the angels surround them, and God mentions them among those who are with Him.”
A further report speaks of the angels who roam about seeking out gatherings of remembrance: when they come upon a group engaged in remembering God they cry, “Come to what you have been looking for!”—and so forth.
As for establishing a fixed gathering that repeats every week, month, or year—other than the gatherings laid down by the Sacred Law—this imitates the congregations for the five daily prayers, Friday prayer, the two Eids, and the pilgrimage. Such a practice is a newly-introduced innovation.
One must therefore differentiate between something adopted as a standing custom—thereby resembling the prescribed acts—and an occasional, unplanned gathering. This distinction is the very point explicitly stated by Imām Aḥmad and other leading scholars. Abū Bakr al-Khallāl relates in his Book of Manners that Isḥāq ibn Manṣūr al-Kawsaj asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh, “Do you disapprove of people assembling to supplicate to God and raising their hands?” He replied, “I do not dislike it for the brethren so long as they do not—”
(1) Manuscript B reads: wa-yunzilu ("and He sends down"), whereas manuscripts C, D, and T read: wa-tanazzalat ("and it descended").
(2) Muslim transmits this ḥadīth from Abū Hurayra in an extended version that includes the words, "No people gather …," with slight differences and additional material beyond what the author has cited. See: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Remembrance, chapter “The merit of gathering to recite the Qur’an and to remember Allah,” ḥadīth no. 2699 (4:2074). A similar but abridged report from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī appears in the same book, ḥadīth no. 2700 (4:2074).
(3) Manuscripts A, B, and T read: halumma ("come").
(4) The same wording occurs in a ḥadīth recorded by al-Bukhārī from Abū Hurayra: the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah has angels who roam the roads seeking the people of remembrance; when they find a group remembering Allah, they call out, ‘Come to what you seek …,’” continuing in a lengthy narration. It is found in the Book of Supplications, chapter “The virtue of remembering Allah,” ḥadīth no. 6408, Fath al-Bārī 11:208–209. Muslim also records it with a different wording, ḥadīth no. 2689 (4:2069).
(5) The phrase yatakarrar ("is repeated") is not present in manuscript T.