It was recorded by Aḥmad (5/218–219) and al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr (3300 and 3301), through Hishām ibn Saʿd, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, from Abū Wāqid al-Laythī, who said: “Whenever revelation came down to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we would come to him and he would speak to us. One day he said to us …” and then related it.

I say: This is a good chain of transmission and meets the criteria of Muslim. There is some criticism of Hishām ibn Saʿd, but it does not harm it. He was corroborated in this by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mujabbir, from Zayd ibn Aslam. Al-Ṭabarānī recorded it (3302). However, Ibn Mujabbir is abandoned, as al-Nasāʾī and others said, so his corroboration should not be relied upon.

Rabīʿah ibn ʿUthmān differed from them, reporting it from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Abū Marāwiḥ, from Abū Wāqid al-Laythī. Thus, he mentioned Abū Marāwiḥ in place of ʿAṭāʾ. It was recorded by al-Ṭabarānī (3303) and Ibn Mandah in Knowledge (2/264/1). Rabīʿah’s standing is similar to that of Hishām. If each of them preserved it correctly, then ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār would have two teachers in this hadith, both of whom are trustworthy. Allah knows best. The hadith has many well-known supporting reports, so it is authentic. See Fatḥ al-Bārī (11/253–258, al-Khaṭīb edition).

1640 — Allah, Exalted is He, said: “Whoever shows enmity to a devoted servant of Mine, I have declared war upon him. My servant draws near to Me with nothing more beloved to Me than that which I have made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him. When I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I shall surely give him; and if he seeks My protection, I shall surely protect him. I do not hesitate over anything that I do as I hesitate over taking the soul of the believer: he dislikes death, and I dislike causing him distress.”