This sacred hadith describes the closest relationship a human being can have with their Lord, and how to reach it. Allah says: whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I declare war on him. Then He maps the road to that friendship.
My servant draws near to Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him. And he keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary acts until I love him. And when I love him, I become 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.
Where this hadith comes from
This is a hadith qudsi, a saying the Prophet (peace be upon him) reports from his Lord, narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra) and collected by al-Bukhari (6502), where it is graded sahih. Because it speaks of the friends of Allah (the awliya) and the road to His love, scholars have long treated it as one of the great pillars of the inner life, and an-Nawawi placed it among his forty.
It carries no single occasion of revelation; it is a general teaching about how a servant draws near to Allah. Notice that Allah speaks here in the first person throughout, which is what gives the hadith its weight: the warning, the path, and the promise all come straight from Him.
The key words
What it means, line by line
Allah opens with awe: to show enmity to a friend of His is to invite war from Him. Then He maps the road to that friendship. The dearest way a servant draws near is through what Allah made obligatory (the iftaradtu), so the fixed duties come first, before any extra devotion. After that the servant keeps closing the distance with the nawafil, the voluntary acts, until Allah Himself says, I love him.
The summit is His becoming the servant's hearing, sight, hand, and foot. Read with the Qur'an's own definition of who these friends are, it stays clear and grounded: the awliya are simply the believers who fear Allah, and to them belongs security from all fear and grief.
A friendship worth protecting
The hadith opens with awe: Allah takes the side of His friends so completely that to show enmity to one of them is to invite war from Allah Himself. The awliya, the friends of Allah, are not a mysterious elite; the Qur'an defines them simply as those who believe and are conscious of Allah:
The road: obligations first, then more
Then Allah reveals the path to His love, and the order matters enormously. The most beloved way to draw near is through the obligations, the prayers, the fasting, the duties He has fixed. Before any extra spirituality, the foundation is doing well what He has already commanded.
Only then come the voluntary acts, the nawafil: the extra prayers, the optional fasts, the dhikr beyond what is required. These are how the servant keeps closing the distance, step after step, until Allah Himself declares: I love him. Not we hope He loves; He says it. The voluntary acts, built on a sound foundation of obligations, draw down the love of the Lord of the worlds.
When Allah loves a servant
And then the summit, in some of the most beautiful words in all of revelation: when I love him, I become 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. The meaning the scholars give is luminous: Allah so guides and protects the one He loves that his very faculties are directed by what pleases Allah. He hears what Allah loves, looks at what Allah loves, reaches for and walks toward what Allah loves.
And Allah adds the seal of nearness: if he asks Me, I will surely give him; and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him. The friend of Allah lives answered and shielded. This is what a life of obligations crowned with voluntary devotion finally opens onto: to be loved by Allah, guided in every limb, and never turned away when he calls.
Carry this with you
There is a road to the love of Allah, and it begins with the obligations.
The friends of Allah are within reach.
Not a hidden elite, but those who believe and are conscious of Allah. The door is open to you.
Obligations first.
The most beloved way to draw near is doing well what Allah made obligatory. Build the foundation before the extras.
Voluntary acts close the distance.
Extra prayer, fasting, and dhikr keep you stepping nearer until Allah Himself says, 'I love him.'
His love guides every limb.
The one Allah loves is directed in his hearing, sight, and steps, answered when he asks and protected when he seeks refuge.
A du'a to carry
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
Ihdina as-sirata l-mustaqim, sirata lladhina an'amta 'alayhim, ghayri l-maghdubi 'alayhim wa la d-dallin
Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray. (Al-Fatihah 1:6-7)
A du'a to draw near
Allah Himself, in this sacred hadith, drew the map to the highest friendship a soul can know: keep the obligations as the dearest path, build on them with voluntary love, and keep walking until He says the words every heart longs to hear, 'I love him.'
And then a life transformed: guided in every faculty, answered when you ask, protected when you flee to Him. This is what the prayers and the fasts and the quiet extra devotions are ultimately for, to be loved by the Lord of the worlds.
O Allah, make us among Your friends, those who believe and are conscious of You. Let us draw near through what You made obligatory and what we offer freely, until You love us, and guide our every step. Guide us to the straight path. Ameen.
The hadith is from sunnah.com: the hadith qudsi 'Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine...' narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra), al-Bukhari 6502, graded sahih. Qur'an citations (10:62-63 and 1:6-7) are in Uthmani script verified via quran.ai (ar-uthmani-minimal) with the Saheeh International translation. Per the editorial policy this stays with the creed and spirit (drawing near to Allah, His love); the meaning of 'I become his hearing and sight' is given per the mainstream of the scholars (guidance and protection), pending scholar review. FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW before publication.