Likewise, anyone who loves a shaykh on the assumption that he possesses qualities which, in reality, he does not possess—such as someone who believes that a shaykh will intercede for his disciples (1) on the Day of Resurrection, and that he (2) provides for him, supports him, relieves him of hardships (3), and responds to him in times of dire need; (such as someone who believes that he possesses Allah’s treasuries, knows the unseen, or is an angel, when none of this is true of him in reality) (4)—has loved something that has no reality.
Alī’s statement—may Allah be pleased with him—in this hadith,
“None but a believer loves me, and none but a hypocrite hates me,”
is not exclusive to him. Rather, it is established in the two Sahīh collections that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
“Love of the Ansār is a sign of faith, and hatred of the Ansār is a sign of hypocrisy.” (5)
He also said: “No one loves the Ansār except a believer, and no one hates them except a
(1) N and M read: “with regard to his disciples.”
(2) R, H, S, W, and A read: “or that he.”
(3) B alone reads: *wa-yufarriju kurbānahu* (“and relieves his distress”).
(4) (**) The text between the two asterisks is omitted from W.
(5) The hadith narrated by Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—is found in al-Bukhārī, 5/23 (*Book of the Virtues of the Ansār*, chapter “Love of the Ansār”); Muslim, 1/85 (*Book of Faith*, chapter “Evidence That Loving the Ansār…”); and *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 3/130, 134, 249. He also said: “No man who believes in Allah and the Last Day hates the Ansār.” A and B read: “No believer hates the Ansār.” The hadith narrated by Abū Hurayra, Abū Saīd al-Khudrī, and Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them—is found in Muslim, 1/86 (*Book of Faith*, chapter “Evidence That Loving the Ansār…”); *Sunan al-Tirmidhī*, 5/373 (*Book of Virtues*, chapter “The Virtues of the Ansār and Quraysh”); and *al-Musnad* (al-Maārif ed.), 4/293, 18/114, as well as elsewhere in *al-Musnad*.