Imaam Abu Hamid al-Tusi al-Ghazali1 -
‘Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) said:“If one of you is blessed with affection from his brother, he should hold onto that as tightly as possible, as it is quite rare for one to be blessed with this.”
2 - ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) also said:“Nobody is given anything, besides his Islaam, better than a righteous friend.”
3 - ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:“Tend to your brothers, as they are your sustenance in this world and the next. Do you not hear the saying of the people of Hell: {”Now, we have neither intercessors nor close friends to help us!”} [ash-Shu’ara’; 100-1]?”
4 - ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) said:“By Allaah, if I fasted all day without eating, prayed all night without sleeping, spent all of my wealth in the Path of Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), died the day I died, but, had no love in my heart for those who obey Allaah, and no hatred in my heart for those who disobey Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), none of this would benefit me in the least.”
5 - ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه) said:“If a man were to stand for seventy years, worshipping Allaah between the Yemeni Corner and the Maqam of Ibrahim (at the Ka’bah), he would still be resurrected on the Day of Judgement with those whom he loved.”
6 - Ibn as-Sammak (رحمه الله) said, on his deathbed:“O Allaah! You Know that, even if I had disobeyed You, I loved those who obeyed You! So, make this for me a means of nearness to You!”
7 - Mujahid (رحمه الله) said:“Those who love each other for Allaah’s Sake, when they smile at each other, their sins fall from each other, just as the leaves fall from a tree before the winter.”
8 - al-Ghazali (رحمه الله) said, commenting on the hadith “The strongest bond of faith is to love for Allaah and to hate for Allaah”:“Because of this, it is a must that a person have enemies that he hates for Allaah’s Sake, just as he has friends and brothers that he loves for Allaah’s Sake.”
9 - Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) said:“The slave will be brought between the Hands of Allaah - the Exalted - on the Day of Resurrection, and Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) will Say to him: ‘Did you love one of my awliya’, so that I can join you with him?’”
10 - al-Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله) said:“Being harsh against a fasiq brings you closer to Allaah - the Exalted.”From ‘Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din’ (2/195 onwards) Iqtida’ by Imaam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله)
