…and al-ʿAbbās will stand between us, a believer placed between two intimate friends.
This report is rare, and its chain of transmission is open to objection (1). With it ends what Abū Nuʿaym (may Allah have mercy on him) cited.
Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj said in his Ṣaḥīḥ: “Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah and Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; they said: Zakariyyā ibn ʿAdī related to us; ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAmr related to us; Zayd ibn Abī Unaysah from ʿAmr ibn Murrah from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allāh narrated to me:
I heard the Prophet ﷺ five days before his death saying, ‘I declare before Allah—exalted is He—that I should not take anyone among you as an intimate friend, for Allah has taken me as an intimate friend just as He took Abraham as an intimate friend. Had I been able to choose an intimate friend from my community, I would certainly have taken Abū Bakr. Beware! Those who came before you used to turn the graves of their prophets and their righteous men into places of worship; so do not turn graves into places of worship. I forbid you to do that.’” (2)
As for the wording in which he is called both “beloved” and “intimate friend,” Abū Nuʿaym did not examine its chain. Hishām ibn ʿAmmār, however, said in his book al-Mabʿath: “Yaḥyā ibn Ḥamzah al-Ḥaḍramī and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAllān al-Qurashī related to us; they said: ʿUrwah ibn Ruwaym al-Lakhmī related to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
‘Allah has allowed the ordained term to come through me; He has drawn me close to Himself and has summoned me in my final presence. We are the last (of the communities in this world) yet we will be the foremost on the Day of Resurrection. I now make a statement—without boasting: Abraham is the intimate friend of Allah; Moses is the one whom Allah chose; and I am the beloved of Allah. On the Day of Resurrection I shall be the leader of the children of Adam, and the Banner of Praise will be in my hand. Allah has granted me, on your behalf, protection from three things: that He will not destroy you through a sweeping famine, that He will not permit your enemy to overrun you completely, and that you will never agree unanimously upon misguidance.’” (3)
The jurist Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥāmid discussed the station of khulla (intimate friendship) at length, until he said:
“Some say that the khalīl is the one who worships his Lord between hope and fear, as in Allah’s words about Abraham: ‘Indeed Abraham was most tender-hearted, forbearing’ (Al-Tawbah 9:114), because of how often he said ‘Āh! Āh!’ (awwāh). The ḥabīb (beloved), on the other hand, worships his Lord through vision and love.
It is also said: the khalīl worships while awaiting gifts, whereas the ḥabīb worships while awaiting the meeting.
And it is said: the khalīl attains his station by means of an intermediary, as in ‘Thus We showed Abraham the dominion of the heavens and the earth so that he might be of those who are certain’ (Al-Anʿām 6:75); while the ḥabīb reaches it without intermediary, as in ‘then he drew near and came down till he was two bow-lengths away—or even closer’ (An-Najm 53:9).
The khalīl said, ‘and forgive my sin on the Day of Judgment’ (Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:82), whereas Allah said to the Beloved Muḥammad ﷺ, ‘that Allah may forgive you your earlier and later sins’ (Al-Fatḥ 48:2).
The khalīl said, ‘and do not disgrace me on the Day they are resurrected’ (Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:87); while Allah said to the Prophet, ‘on the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believe with him’ (Al-Taḥrīm 66:8).
When the khalīl was cast into the fire he said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs’ (Āl ʿImrān 3:173); and Allah said to Muḥammad, ‘O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you and for the believers who follow you’ (Al-Anfāl 8:64).
The khalīl said, ‘I am going to my Lord; He will guide me’ (Al-Ṣāffāt 37:99), whereas Allah said to Muḥammad, ‘Did He not find you seeking, and then guide you?’ (Al-Ḍuḥā 93:7).
And he also said…