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But Allah, the Most Gracious, has taken your companion [that is, the Prophet] as His most intimate friend."3 Both of these hadith are in the Sahih [of Imam Muslim]. They clearly refute those who say that khullah (intimacy) was only for Abraham while mahabbah (love) was for Muhammad. Therefore, they say, Abraham is the khaleel Allah ("the intimate of Allah") while Muhammad is Allah's habib ("beloved"). In the Sahih, there are also the words, "Let it be known that I [the Prophet] have no khaleel among humans."4 As for love, it has been confirmed for many others besides the Prophet (peace be on him). For example, Allah says, "Allah loves those who do good" (ali-Imran 1 34), "Verily, Allah loves the pious" (ali-Imran 76) and "Verily, Allah loves those who keep themselves pure and clean" (al-Baqara 222). It is clear, therefore, that those who say that intimacy (khullah) was reserved for Abraham and that Muhammad was only given love (mahabbah) are wrong. The truth is that khullah was reserved for both of them while love was granted to many others. Al-Tirmidhi recorded on the authority of ibn 'Abbas a hadith which states, "Abraham is the khaleel of Allah. As for me, I am the habeeb of Allah. And this is not boasting."5 But this hadith is not authentic. 1 1 lbn Abu al-Izz, vol. 2, pp. 368-369. The translation used here is: Muhammad Abdul Haq Ansari, Sharh al-Aqeedah al-Tahawiyah (Fairfax, VA: Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America, forthcoming). For the sake of the page numbering, the published version from Muassasat al-Risaalah will be the work referred to. 2Part of a hadith in Muslim. 3Recorded by Muslim. 4Recorded by Muslim. 5Part of a long hadith recorded by al-Tirmidhi and al-Dzarimi. However, two of its transmitters, Zzamah ibn Salih and Salamah ibn Wahram, are rated weak (dhaeef) transmitters. Al-Tirmidhi Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Al-Nawawi stated, "Our leader Muhammad has been particularized with the characteristic of eloquent and pithy speech." This is another one of the characteristics that distinguishes the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from the other prophets. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, , ·ci1 ' I ఙfచș IG ఝ· !- 12'i1 ' \' '. ఛf ఔ s:.W$I l" ఓ rƖਜ ਝ '-.?-- , J , . .r : _.r:PJ J rਞ CJ J>-' ., , : , · : ਜ 0 -ఞటI\ ' ' ·'· ' గlS- .i:. i1 J,1 ఠ· f- \డ' ( -ਟl- , · · $1 ' I ఘ- -r-:: '-I: క J ఖ , _) J , J _)ড় If_) '-.?-- , J "I have been given superiority over the other prophets in six respects: I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning; I have been helped by extreme fright [in the hearts of the enemies]; spoils have been made lawful to me; the earth has been made clean for me and a place of worship; I have been sent to all of mankind; and the line of prophets is closed with me."2 One of the explanations for the statement, "words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning" is that they are in reference to the Quran.3 There is no question that nothing fits that description better than the Quran. However, there is no need or evidence to restrict it to the Quran only. This was certanly a characteristic of the Prophet's own speech. By just using a few words, he would make statements that were full of meaning and important points. Some scholars, such as ibn al-Suni, al-Qadhaai and ibn al-Salaah, have made collections of the hadith of concise expression that give vast meanings.4 Anyone who has had the fortune of reading some of the famous works of commentary on hadith has been able to witness and appreciate the eloquent and comprehensive speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Al-Nawawi stated, "[Our leader Muhammad has also been particularized with] simplicity and ease in the religion." This is the translation of the Arabic phrase, lJ:lࣤI :i..:.L.... This expression is taken from a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It is sometimes mistranslated as, "tolerance in religion."5 This wording may imply certain misconceptions, such has consequently called it ghareeb. (In al-Tirmidhi's terminology, the word ghareeb when used by itselfusually implies that the hadith is weak.) 1 Ibn Abu al-Izz, vol. 1, pp. 164-165. 2 Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. The wording here is that of Muslim. See Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, trans., Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar al-Arabia, n.d.), vol. 1 , pp. 265-266. 3 Al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih, vol. 5, p. 5; Ahmad ibn Hajr, Fath al-Baari bi-Sharh sahih al­ Bukhaari (Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, 1993), vol. 6, p. 233. 4 See the reference to their works in al-Haitami, Fath, p. 24. 5 Examples include Ezzedin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davis' translation of al-Nawawi's Forty Hadith, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan's translation of Sahih al-Bukhari.