Nawawi Hadith 38: Becoming a Beloved Friend

Part One: The Path to Allah’s Love

Brothers,

Today’s khutbah is based on the 38th hadith in Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith, another Hadith Qudsi, in which Allah speaks directly through the tongue of His Messenger ﷺ:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Allah the Almighty said: Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I have declared war against him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works until I love him. When I love him, I am 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. Were he to ask Me for something, I would surely give it to him, and were he to seek refuge in Me, I would surely grant him refuge. I do not hesitate about anything I am to do as I hesitate about the soul of My believing servant: he hates death, and I hate to displease him. (Bukhari)

Abu Hurayrah narrated this hadith and Imam Bukhari recorded it in his Sahih. This is one of the deepest hadiths in the entire collection, describing the relationship Allah offers to any servant willing to walk toward Him. Let us take it clause by clause.

Part 1: A Declaration of War

The hadith opens with a warning most people rush past: whoever shows enmity to a friend of Allah, Allah declares war against him.

Truly, there is no fear for the friends of Allah, nor will they grieve, those who believe and are mindful ˹of Him˺. For them is good news in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. There is no change in the words of Allah. That is truly the ultimate triumph. (Yunus, 10:62-64)

A “friend of Allah” here does not mean someone claiming special status. It means any sincere, obedient believer, mindful of Allah in private and public. To take such a person as an enemy, to mock, harm, or oppose them for their faith, is to place yourself in open conflict with the One who protects them.

Part 2: Obligations First

The path to becoming beloved to Allah does not begin with extra, optional worship. It begins with the fara’id: the five daily prayers, fasting Ramadan, zakah, honesty, fulfilling trusts, avoiding what is forbidden.

I did not create jinn and humankind except to worship Me. (Adh-Dhaariyat, 51:56)

The Prophet ﷺ is explicit: nothing draws a servant nearer to Allah than what has been made obligatory. Before you look for extra acts of devotion, secure the foundation. A man who neglects his five prayers but adds voluntary charity has built his house without a floor.

Part 3: Then Nawafil, Continually

Only after the obligations are secured does the hadith describe a continuous climb through nawafil, voluntary acts, extra prayer, extra fasting, extra charity, extra remembrance, “until I love him.”

Say, 'If you ˹sincerely˺ love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.' (Aal-i-Imraan, 3:31)

Notice the word “continues.” This is not a single act that flips a switch. It is a sustained, patient accumulation, night prayer added to night prayer, extra fasting added to extra fasting, until a servant crosses from mere obedience into being genuinely, actively loved.

Part 4: What It Means to Be Loved by Allah

The hadith then describes something almost beyond human language: when Allah loves His servant, He becomes, in a manner befitting His majesty, the servant’s hearing, sight, hand, and foot.

The classical scholars explain this carefully: it does not mean union or incarnation. It means the servant’s senses and limbs become so aligned with what Allah loves that he only hears what benefits him, only looks at what is permissible, only strikes and walks toward what pleases Allah. His entire faculties are guided and protected.

When Allah loves His servant, He guards his limbs from what displeases Him, so that he does not hear, see, take, or walk except toward what Allah loves. (Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jami' al-'Ulum wal-Hikam)

Part 5: Answered Du’a and Granted Refuge

The hadith continues: “Were he to ask Me for something, I would surely give it to him, and were he to seek refuge in Me, I would surely grant him refuge.”

And when My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me, then surely I am near. I respond to the call of the caller when he calls upon Me. (Al-Baqara, 2:186)

This is the reward at the center of the entire relationship. The servant who has drawn near through obligations and nawafil finds his du’a answered, his fear calmed, his refuge secured. Nearness to Allah is not an abstract spiritual state. It has concrete fruit in the life of the one who has attained it.

Part 6: Even in the Matter of Death

The hadith closes with something remarkable: Allah says He does not hesitate about anything the way He hesitates about taking the soul of His believing servant, because the servant hates death and Allah hates to displease him.

This is not a literal hesitation in the sense we understand it, but a description of the extraordinary gentleness Allah extends to the servant He loves, even in a matter as final and inevitable as death itself. The relationship described in this hadith reaches all the way to the last moment of a person’s life.

Part 7: A Path Open to Every Believer

Nothing in this hadith requires wealth, education, lineage, or freedom. It requires two things only: securing the obligations and then continuing, patiently and without stopping, in voluntary worship. This is why the classical scholars insisted that wilayah, closeness to Allah, is not a status reserved for a spiritual elite. It is a door open to any sincere servant, in any circumstance, at any point in life.

Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Al-Hujuraat, 49:13)

A man with no possessions, no status, and no reputation left in the eyes of people can still walk this exact path, obligation by obligation, extra prayer by extra prayer, and arrive at the very love this hadith describes. Nothing about his outward circumstances disqualifies him.

Part Two: Walking This Path From Where You Stand

Brothers,

This hadith gives every man in this room, regardless of what put him here, a direct path to becoming beloved to Allah. It does not require wealth, freedom, status, or a clean record. It requires obligations secured, then nawafil added, patiently, over time.

Secure the Five Prayers First

Before anything else, make certain your five daily prayers are never missed, never rushed, never treated as an afterthought. This is the floor of the entire structure described in this hadith. Everything else is built on top of it.

Add What You Can, Consistently

You cannot control your schedule, your movement, or your environment. But you can add small, consistent nawafil: two extra rak’ahs before Fajr, a portion of Quran read daily, a fast on a day when it is possible, extra istighfar between tasks. The hadith does not require dramatic gestures. It requires continuation.

Guard Your Hearing, Sight, and Hands Here

In a place filled with noise, provocation, and temptation, this hadith gives you a standard to aim for: senses and limbs so aligned with Allah that you only listen to what benefits you, only look at what is permitted, and only act toward what He loves. Every time you turn away from gossip, avert your eyes from what is forbidden, or hold back your hand from a fight, you are walking the path this hadith describes.

Trust That Your Du’a Reaches Him

You may feel unheard by every system around you, courts, staff, even family at times. This hadith promises something different: the servant who draws near to Allah finds his du’a answered and his fear calmed. Make du’a specifically, by name, for your release, your family, your case, your heart. He is near, and He responds.

Let This Reshape How You Face Every Day Left Here

Whatever time remains for you in this place, let it become nawafil added to obligations, one act at a time, until, by Allah’s mercy, you become among those He loves. There is no wall built by man that can block that path.

Patience in the Climb

This hadith uses the word “continues” for a reason. It does not describe a man who prayed extra one night and expected to instantly become beloved to Allah. It describes a gradual, patient climb, sustained over months and years, sometimes with setbacks along the way. If you add a nawafil practice this week and lose consistency next week, do not conclude the path is closed to you. Return to it. The word “continues” allows for a servant who returns after a lapse, so long as he keeps returning.

Some of you may feel that your past disqualifies you from ever being called a friend of Allah. This hadith says nothing about your past. It describes a present and future orientation: obligations secured now, nawafil added now, continuing from this point forward. The men and women Allah has loved throughout history include people who once stood very far from Him before they began walking this exact path.

O Allah, make us among Your beloved friends, not among those who oppose Your friends.

O Allah, help us secure our obligatory worship before anything else.

O Allah, grant us the consistency to add nawafil, however small, every single day.

O Allah, guard our hearing, our sight, our hands, and our feet, so they move only toward what You love.

O Allah, answer our du’a and grant us refuge whenever we call upon You.

O Allah, be gentle with us in our final moment, as You are gentle with those You love.

O Allah, do not let our confinement here be a barrier between us and nearness to You.

O Allah, make us people who continue drawing near, day after day, until we meet You.