ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; ʿAbd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Shuʿbah, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, who related that Abu al-Dardaʾ—may Allah be pleased with him—wrote to Salamah ibn Makhlad:

“To proceed: when a servant acts in obedience to Allah, Allah loves him; and when Allah loves him, He places love for him in the hearts of His creation. But when a servant acts in disobedience to Allah, Allah detests him; and when Allah detests him, He causes His creation to detest him as well.”