Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) is the Prophet of Allah Ta‘ala who was known as “Khaleelullah”, which means the special friend of Allah Ta‘ala.
It was the habit of Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) that he would not like to eat alone. Rather, he would always try to bring people home as his guests to eat with him. On one occasion, Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) went out, looking for someone to bring home as his guest. However, he could not find anyone to be his guest and share his meal with him, so he returned home.
When Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) got back to his home, he found that a man had entered the house while he was not there and was standing inside. Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) asked him, “O servant of Allah! Why did you enter my home without permission?” The man replied, “The One who is the real owner of your home gave me permission to enter (in other words, I was given permission by Allah Ta‘ala).”
Hearing this, Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) asked the man, “Who are you?” He said, “I am the Angel of Death. Allah Ta‘ala sent me to one of His servants to give him the good news that Allah Ta‘ala has chosen him to be His ‘Khaleel’ (special friend).”
Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) immediately asked, “Who is this (special person)? If you tell me who he is, I will make sure that I go to him and stay with him.”
The Angel of Death then said, “You are that (special) servant.” Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam) was overjoyed and asked, “Why did Allah Ta‘ala make me His Khaleel and special friend?”
The Angel answered, “(The reason is that) you always give others and share with them, and you never ask others to give you anything.”
Lessons:
1. When guests come to our home, we must look after them, feed them and make them feel comfortable, because this is the sunnah of our beloved Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). If we feed guests in our homes, then Allah Ta‘ala will become happy with us and will give us barakah in our homes.
2. We must always share with other people and give to those who do not have. We must try to feed those who are hungry, give clothes to those who don’t have proper clothing, give blankets to people who are cold and need a blanket, and try to always help people. If we help other people, then Allah Ta‘ala will always help us.
3. We must never expect other people to give us their things, like food, toys, clothes and money. Instead of hoping to get other people’s things, we must hope and make du‘aa for Allah Ta‘ala to give us whatever we need.
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