They replied, “By Allah, nothing but that has made us sit.” He said, “I did not make you swear out of any suspicion toward you; rather, Gabriel came to me and told me that Allah is proud of you before the angels.” Muslim narrated it.

[Explanation]
This ḥadith is one of the reports that establish the virtue of gathering for the remembrance of Allah (dhikr). It is the narration transmitted by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī from Muʿāwiyah (may Allah be pleased with them both): Muʿāwiyah once passed by a circle in the mosque, asked them what had brought them together, and they said, “We are remembering Allah.” He then made them swear that they intended nothing but that, and they took the oath. He said, “I did not make you swear because I distrusted you; rather, I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) come out to some people and say the same.”

This shows the excellence of assembling for the remembrance of Allah and that Allah boasts of such gatherings to the angels, saying, for example, “Look at My servants who have gathered to remember Me,” and the like.

As we clarified earlier, the gathering in question is not that people chant dhikr in unison. Instead, they recall Allah’s favors upon them—such as the blessing of Islam, bodily health, security, and similar bounties—for mentioning Allah’s favors is itself a form of remembering Him. Hence, this ḥadith proves the merit of people’s sitting together to reflect on Allah’s blessings.

For that reason, some of the early generations, when one of them passed by his brother or when a brother visited him, would say, “Sit with us so that we may believe for a while,” meaning: “Come, let us recall Allah’s blessings upon us so that our faith may increase.” This demonstrates the virtue of such gatherings. We ask Allah to unite our hearts upon His remembrance, gratitude to Him, and the sound performance of His worship.