Whom He Loves, and What Breaks His Heart

The Messenger of Allah asked with whom he most liked to spend his time. His best friend, Shayṭān answered, is the one who deals in usury. His bedfellow is the adulterer; his sleeping companion the drunkard. The thieves are his guests, and the magicians and soothsayers are, so to speak, his own prophets, doing his bidding. What pleases him most is divorce between people, and whom he loves most of all are those who abandon the Friday prayer. The Messenger of Allah gave eight further categories of such people besides.

He then asked what breaks Shayṭān's heart. The firm footsteps of those who march against the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake, he answered. What gives him pain: the repentance of a Muslim who had sinned before — that, he said, kills me. What makes him grimace in disgust: charity given in secret. What makes his eyes blind: the night vigil, tahajjud, in the depths of the night. What makes his head bow in humility: prayer offered in congregation — that, too, he said, kills me.

The Messenger of Allah continued, asking who, in his view, were the happiest among people. Those who deliberately abandon their prayers, he answered. And the best, in his eyes? The miser, who gives nothing. And what keeps him from his work? The gathering of people of knowledge and their discourses — for, as the Messenger of Allah says, one faqīh, one man of understanding, is more formidable against Shayṭān than a thousand mere worshippers. Asked how he eats, the reply was: with the left hand, and with the fingertips alone^* — the Messenger of Allah used to forbid people from eating with the left hand, yet Muslim youth today think nothing of eating left-handed, a non-Muslim habit a Muslim ought to be careful to avoid. And where does he seek shade when the sun is hot? Under people's dirty fingernails, came the answer.