Can We Call the Prophet “Habeebullah”?
Bismillah
A short yet very beneficial excerpt about the status of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam by Shaykh ibn Al-Uthaymeen rahimahullah,
Ibrahim and Muhammad - may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both- are the two close friends of Allah (Khaleelaan). Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, “And Allah did take Ibrahim as a Khaleel (an intimate friend).” [4:125] The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Allah has taken me as akhaleel just as He took Ibrahim as a khaleel.” [Saheeh Muslim].
The meaning of khaleel is a loved one that has gained you who has been utmost love [i.e., a greater and more intense love you have for an intimate friend] and we do not know of anyone who has been described with this attribute except for Muhammad and Ibrahim, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both, they are the two close friends (Khaleelaan).
And you may hear some of the people say, “Ibrahim is khaleelullah (the close friend of Allah), Muhammad is the Habeebullah (the one loved by Allah), and Musa is the kaleemullah (the one Allah spoke to).” As for the one who says, “Muhammad is Habeebullah“, he should realize that khullah (being akhaleel) is more intense than mahabbah (love, i.e., being a habeeb). So, if he says, “Muhammad isHabeebullah,” then this is a type of reduction from the rights of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam because the ones loved by Allah are many –the believers (mu’minoon), those who do utmost good (muhsinoon), those who are just (muqsitoon) are all loved by Allah.
But, as for the khullah (being a khaleel), we do not know that it is established for other than Ibrahim and Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both, so according to this we say the correct statement is:
Ibrahim is Khaleelullah, Muhammad is Khaleelullah and Musa is Kaleemullah.
[Sharh Riyaad As-Saaliheen 1/236-237]
Amatullah | The Messenger of Allah, Translation | 12 16th, 2009 |
3 People have left comments on this post
assalamualykum sr.Amatullah,
Jazakillahu khairaa for sharing this.Allahtaala mentioned in so many places in quraan that Ibrahim alahisalam is the closest friend of Allah.Will you please share any information regarding Mohammad sallalahualahiwasalam being closest friend to Allahtaala from the quraan?
salaam.
wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah Umm Ahmed,
wa iyyaki.
It is not mentioned in the Qur’an that the Prophet sal Allah alayhi wa sallam is Khaleelullah but it is mentioned in an authentic hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim.
Assalam Alaikum
Jazakillahu khayr sister Amatullah for this beneficial post, and may Allah have mercy on our great Shaykh ibn Al-Uthaymeen rahimahullah.
There are some hadiths which mention that the Prophet is “Habeebullah”, but all of these hadiths are Weak, and I think that is where some people get this term from and use it without realizing that none of these hadiths are authentic and they are actually weak.
Sister Ummahmed, to answer your question, to my knowledge it is not mentioned in the Quran that Allah took Muhammad sallalahu alahi wasalam as a khaleel or close friend, but rather it was mentioned in a hadith of Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alahi wasalam:
It was narrated that Jundub said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “I declare before Allaah that I have no close friend (khaleel) from among you. Allaah has taken me as a close friend as he took Ibraaheem as a close friend. If I were to have taken a close friend from among my ummah, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend.”
(Narrated by Muslim, 532).
Allah knows best.