- “They are obsessed”: that is, they are passionately devoted to it. Ibn al-Athir said: “It is said that a person is obsessed with something and infatuated with it; he is then one who is obsessed and infatuated with it—that is, he is passionately attached to it, speaking of nothing else and doing nothing else.
Note: One reason I was prompted to trace this hadith was that this word appeared in al-Shuʿab (The Branches of Faith) as “they sway,” with the letter z, so that it was read as “they sway.” I therefore hastened to trace the hadith and establish the correct wording, fearing that some Sufis who engage in ritual dancing might rush to cite it as evidence for the permissibility of what they do in their remembrance of Allah—dancing and swaying to the right and left—ignorant, or feigning ignorance, that it is a corrupted wording.
What occurs in al-Nawawi’s commentary on Muslim may also lend support to them: “In one narration it occurs: ‘They are those who sway in the remembrance of Allah’—that is, their tongues are constantly occupied with it.” The same likewise appears in the marginal notes of the Istanbul edition of Muslim, cited from al-Nawawi! Even if it were authentic, however, its meaning would be that they rejoice and find comfort in the remembrance of Allah, exalted is He, as may be inferred from the root of the word in al-Nihayah. It would then be akin to his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “Give us comfort through it, Bilal!” (1)—that is, through the prayer. This is close to the meaning stated by al-Nawawi. And Allah knows best.
On this occasion, it is necessary, as sincere counsel to the Ummah, to point out that some Sufis attribute to Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, the following statement, describing the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “Whenever they remembered Allah, they would sway as a tree sways on a windy day.” You should know that this is not authentically reported from him, may Allah be pleased with him. Abu Nuʿaym transmitted it in al-Ḥilyah (1, 76), through the chain: Muhammad ibn Yazid Abu Hisham narrated to us; al-Muharibi narrated from Malik ibn Mighwal, from a man of the Juʿfi tribe, from al-Suddi, from Abu Arakah, from Ali.
I say: This is a weak chain of transmission, shrouded in obscurity.
- I do not know Abu Arakah, nor have I found anyone who mentioned him. Al-Dulabi did, however, mention Abu Arak in al-Kuna (Agnomens), and he belonged to this same generation. He cited a report from Abdullah ibn Amr through him, but did not mention any narrator criticism or accreditation concerning him, as was his usual practice.