Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 93
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُرَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " أَلاَ إِنِّي أَبْرَأُ إِلَى كُلِّ خَلِيلٍ مِنْ خُلَّتِهِ وَلَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا خَلِيلاً لاَتَّخَذْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ خَلِيلاً إِنَّ صَاحِبَكُمْ خَلِيلُ اللَّهِ " . قَالَ وَكِيعٌ يَعْنِي نَفْسَهُ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Waki' narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from 'Abdullah ibn Murrah, from Abu al-Ahwas, from 'Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, I am free of every close friend and the bond of close friendship. Were I to take a close friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend. Your companion is Allah's close friend. Waki' said: He meant himself.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The witness renders the opening as “I have no need of the friendship”; the Arabic uses the verb baraa, “I am free/disassociate myself,” and the wording has been kept close to that.