As for the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah: it was recorded by al-Tirmidhī (3661) and al-Ṭabarānī in "al-Awsaṭ" (5729) through the route of Dāwūd ibn Yazīd al-Awdī from his father from him. I said: Its isnād is weak, as I have explained previously in "Takhrīj Aḥādīth Mushkilat al-Faqr" (1) (p. 17). (Note): The wording of these routes and narrations differs—with additions or omissions—but they all agree on the phrase: "If I were to take a close friend, I would have taken Abū Bakr as a close friend," which is the essence of the ḥadīth as is well known. And all praise is due to Allāh for His guidance. *

- Indeed, my Lord has commanded me to teach you what you were ignorant of from what He taught me today; every wealth I have granted to a servant is lawful, and I created all My servants as monotheists, but the devils came to them and led them astray from their religion, and forbade them what I had permitted for them, and commanded them to associate with Me that for which I have sent down no authority. And Allāh looked at the people of the earth and despised them, Arabs and non-Arabs, except for remnants from the People of the Book. And He said: I have only sent you to test you and to test others through you, and I have sent down to you a Book that water cannot wash away, you will read it while asleep and awake, and Allāh has commanded me to burn Quraysh,