I stand acquitted before Allah that I should take anyone of you as an intimate friend, for Allah has taken me as an intimate friend just as he took Abraham as an intimate friend
عن جندب رضي الله عنه قال: سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَمُوتَ بِخَمْسٍ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ «إِنِّي أَبْرَأُ إِلَى اللهِ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِي مِنْكُمْ خَلِيلٌ فَإِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى قَدِ اتَّخَذَنِي خَلِيلًا كَمَا اتَّخَذَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلًا، وَلَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا مِنْ أُمَّتِي خَلِيلًا لَاتَّخَذْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ خَلِيلًا! أَلَا وَإِنَّ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ كَانُوا يَتَّخِذُونَ قُبُورَ أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ وَصَالِحِيهِمْ مَسَاجِدَ، أَلَا فَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْقُبُورَ مَسَاجِدَ! إِنِّي أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ ذَلِكَ».
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) talked about his status in the sight of Allah Almighty and that it reached the highest level of love as reached by Abraham (peace be upon him). That is why he denied that he should have an intimate friend other than Allah, for his heart was full of love and exaltation for Allah and knowledge about Him; so, it does not have room for anyone else.
Had he taken an intimate friend from among the people, he would have been Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Then, he warned against exceeding the permissible bounds regarding love, as done by the Jews and the Christians regarding the graves of their prophets and righteous people, so much that they turned them into polytheistic gods to be worshiped apart from Allah and built places of worship over those graves.
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade his Ummah from doing what they did.
Source
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