Leave My Friend Alone

The particular loyalty of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to the ones who stood with him in the early days is illustrated in a hadith in al-Bukhārī: Abū al-Dardāʾ narrates that a feud happened between Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. Now, these were the two advisors of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); they were very close to him. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said, "I would see the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) enter with Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. He would leave with Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. He would sit with Abū Bakr and ʿUmar." Wherever you would see the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), you would see Abū Bakr on one side and ʿUmar on the other. These were his two advisors, but still the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had this special loyalty to the ones who were with him from the early days.

So this dispute happened between Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Allah sent me to you, and all of you said, 'you lie,' except Abū Bakr, who said he spoke the truth, and he dedicated himself and his fortune to me. Will you then leave this friend of mine to me?" He said that twice. He said, "Leave my friend alone. Don't harm him. Leave him alone."