those who fight in His cause in ranks as though they were a firmly joined structure. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, expressed his love for several people, as recorded from him in the Sahīh concerning al-Hasan and Usāmah:

“O Allah, I love them both, so love them both, and love whoever loves them.”

‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās asked him, “Whom do you love most?”

He replied, “‘Ā’ishah.”

He asked, “And among men?”

He replied, “Her father.”

He also said:

“By Allah, I love you.”

People vary in their love for Allah, ranging from the best of creation, Muhammad and Abraham, to those of the lowest rank, such as someone whose heart contains an atom’s weight of faith. Only the Lord of the earth and the heavens can enumerate the degrees between these two extremes. No other kind of created beings differs in excellence as greatly as the descendants of Adam. A single horse, for example, cannot equal a million horses.

It is established in the two Sahīh collections, in a hadith narrated by Abū Dharr, that he was sitting with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when a man of high social standing passed by. The Prophet asked, “Abū Dharr, do you know this man?”

I replied, “Yes, Messenger of Allah. This is a man whose marriage proposal would likely be accepted, whose words would be heeded, and whose absence would prompt people to ask after him.”

Then a man of low standing among the Muslims passed by, and he asked, “Abū Dharr, do you know this man?”

I replied, “Yes, Messenger of Allah. This is a man of low standing. His marriage proposal would likely be rejected, his words would go unheeded, and his absence would not prompt anyone to ask after him.”

He said, “Abū Dharr, this man is better than an earth full of men like the other.”

Thus the truthful one, who never exaggerates in what he says, has told us that a single descendant of Adam