62 – Khalaf ibn Hisham narrated to us; Abu Shihab related; from Sufyan; from a man; from Ibn Munabbih, who said:

When Allah sent Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them) to Pharaoh, He said:

“Let not the worldly attire with which he has clothed himself alarm you, for his forelock is in My hand; ⦗47⦘ he neither speaks, nor blinks, nor draws breath except by My permission. And do not be impressed by the enjoyment he has been given; it is but the bloom of this worldly life and the ornament of the pampered. Had I willed, I could have decked you both in such finery of the world that, the moment Pharaoh saw it, he would realize that his power is helpless before what you have been granted; yet I have chosen to turn you away from that and to withhold it from you. Such is My way with My friends. From of old I have sifted the affairs of this world on their behalf: I drive them from its luxuries as a compassionate shepherd drives his flock from pastures of ruin, and I steer them clear of its consolations as a caring herdsman steers his camels from a resting-place befouled with dung. This is not because they are insignificant to Me; rather, it is so they may receive their full share of My honor—safe, complete, unscarred by greed, and undiminished by the world’s deceit.

My friends adorn themselves for Me with humility and submissiveness, with fear and piety. These qualities take root in their hearts and surface upon their bodies: they are the garments they wear, the cloaks they display, the inner feeling they carry, the salvation by which they succeed, the hope through which they aspire, the glory in which they take pride, and the mark by which they are recognized. So when you meet them, lower your wing to them, humble your heart and your tongue, and know that whoever strikes terror into one of My friends has declared war on Me—and I will be his avenger on the Day of Resurrection.”