. J '-Ɵ 

.r-.JJ / . Y J» . ; r-t-f" J. i.S.J / r '-.1,Jఢ "Do not extol me like the Christians have [wrongfully] extolled the son of Mary. Verily, I am but His [Allah's] servant. Therefore, say, 'The servant of Allah and His Messenger."' Then Al-Nawawi describes the Prophet (peace be upon him) with two very special characteristics. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is both the habeeb ("the loved one") and the khaleel ("most dear friend") of Allah. There is a difference of opinion concerning which one of these two characteristics is the most praiseworthy position. Understanding the differences between the two concepts leads to the resolution of this dispute. Ibn Abu al-Izz in his famous commentary to the Creed of al-Tahaawi has discussed the concepts of khullah2 and muhabbah, 1 Some Sufis go so far as to deny the Prophet's human status whatsoever. Some even claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was all light and, therefore, he cast no shadow at all. Hence, the title of a biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Muhammad: The Shadowless Prophet. 2 Khullah, meaning "close friendship", comes from the same root as khaleel, meaning "close, dear friend". Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If I were to take anyone from among the people of the earth for a khaleel, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a khaleel. But your companion (that is, the Prophet himself) is the khaleel of Allah."1 Another version states, "I have no relationship to any khaleel [of this world]. If I were to take a khaleel from the inhabitants of the earth, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a khaleel." In yet another version, the words are, "Allah has taken me as a khaleel as He had taken Abraham as a khaleel."2 The Prophet (peace be upon him) made it clear that it was not proper for him to have a khaleel from the humans. But if that were possible, the person most deserving to be his khaleel would have been Abu Bakr. At the same time, though, on different occasions, he stated that he loved certain people. For example, he said to Muadh, "By Allah, I love you."3 He made a similar statement to the Ansar of Madinah. Zaid ibn Harithah and his son Usamah were known to be beloved to the Prophet (peace be upon him). There are other examples of this nature. 'Amr ibn al-As once asked the Prophet, "What person is most beloved to you?" He answered, " Aishah." He said, "From among the men?" He answered, "Her father."4 It is clear from these hadith that khullah is a special kind of love. Its object is loved due to its own intrinsic value and not for any other external reason. Obviously, that which is loved for some external reason falls short of that which is loved solely for itself. Since khullah is the most perfect love and permeates the whole being of the lover, it cannot have more than one object. That is why when Allah took Abraham as a khaleel, and the latter prayed for a son, and Allah gave him Ishmael, and Ishmael began to attract the love of Abraham, Allah disliked that someone else should take the place He had solely in his heart. He therefore tested Abraham. He asked him to sacrifice his son so that his khullah would be established over his love for his son. Abraham submitted to Allah and was ready to carry out His command. When he intended to slaughter his son, his khullah for Allah was proven, and its supremacy over the love for his son was established. At that moment, Allah repealed His command, and Abraham offered a great animal for sacrifice as a ransom for the son. What Allah had required from Abraham was absolute submission to His 1 Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. 2 Recorded by Muslim. 3 Recorded by Abu Dawood, Ahmad, al-Nasaai, ibn Hibbaan, and al-Haakim According to Shuaib al-Arnaoot, its chain is sahih. See al-Arnaut's footnotes to Ali ibn Abu al-Izz, Sharh al­ Aqeedah al-Tahawiya (Beirut: Muassasat al-Risaalah, 1988), vol. 2, p. 397. 4 Recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Commentary on Al-Nawawi's Introduction command. When this was proved, killing the son ceased to be something good, consequently that command was withdrawn. Since then, animal sacrifice was instituted for his followers till the end of the world. 1 Some people think that the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) was the only khaleel of Allah. That is not true. This characteristic is also true for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Again, ibn Abu al-Izz wrote, It is confirmed that the Prophet (peace be on him) enjoyed the highest degree of Allah's love, which is khullah (closeness). He said, "Allah took me as His most intimate friend (khaleelJ as He had earlier taken Abraham as His most intimate friend." On another occasion he said, "If I were to take an inhabitant of the Earth as my most intimate friend, I would choose Abu Bakr.