Yet whoever says, “Muhammad is the beloved of Allah,” his wording is open to objection, for khillah—intimate friendship—is a higher rank than ordinary love. To say merely, “Muhammad is the beloved of Allah,” thus entails a measure of deficiency in acknowledging the Messenger’s due, because Allah has many beloved ones: He loves the believers, the doers of good, and the just; in short, His beloved servants are numerous. By contrast, khillah is not known to have been affirmed for anyone except Muhammad and Abraham, peace be upon them both. Therefore the correct formulation is: “Abraham is the khalīl of Allah, Muhammad is the khalīl of Allah, and Moses is the kalīm of Allah,” peace be upon them all. Indeed, Allah—glorified and exalted—also spoke to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) directly and without any intermediary when he was taken up through the seven heavens.

The phrase hasbunallahu wa niʿmal-wakīl (Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best trustee) was uttered by Abraham when he was cast into the fire. Abraham (peace be upon him) had called his people to worship Allah alone with no partner, but they refused and persisted in disbelief and polytheism. One day he went to their idols, smashed them to pieces, and left nothing intact except the largest of them. When they returned and found their gods destroyed, they—may Allah protect us—sought revenge. They said, “What shall we do with you, Abraham?” Allah relates: “They said, ‘Burn him’ ” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:68), and He also says, “and support your gods, if you are going to act” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:68). Consequently they kindled an immense fire and hurled Abraham into it. It is said that the blaze was so fierce they could not draw near, so they catapulted him from a distance. As they flung him in, he proclaimed, hasbunallahu wa niʿmal-wakīl. What, then, took place?