Telling brothers and friends that you love them

Saying that you love your
brothers and friends is part of the etiquette of keeping righteous company,
and is a noble and good characteristic. 

Telling people that you
love them increases the bonds of love and strengthens the ties among
Muslims. 

It was narrated from Anas
ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a man was with the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when another man passed by
and he said: O Messenger of Allaah, I love this man. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Have you told him?” He
said: No. He said: “Tell him.” So he caught up with him and said: I love you
for the sake of Allaah. He said: May the one for Whose sake you love me also
love you. Narrated by Abu Dawood (no. 5125) and classed as saheeh by
al-Nawawi in Riyadh al-Saaliheen (183) and classed as hasan by
al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. In some reports of the hadeeth it
says: “Tell him for it will strengthen the love between you.” Narrated by
Ibn Abi’l-Dunya in al-Ikhwaan (69). 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

That is because this word
will instil love in his heart, because if a person knows that you love him,
he will love you, even though hearts may recognize and love one another
without actually speaking, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Souls are like conscripted soldiers; those whom
they recognize, they get along with, and those whom they do not recognize,
they will not get along with.” But if a person says it with his tongue, this
will increase the love in the heart, so you should say: “I love you for the
sake of Allaah.” End quote. 

Sharh Riyadh
al-Saaliheen. 

It was narrated that
al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’di Yakrib (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“If one of you loves his brother, let him tell him.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi
(2392) and classed as hasan by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah
(417). 

It was narrated from ‘Ali
ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “If one of you loves his brother for the sake of Allaah, let him tell
him, for it does good and makes the love last.”  

Shaykh al-Albaani said in
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (1199):  

It was narrated by Wakee’
in al-Zuhd (2/67/2) with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn in a
marfoo’ report. 

I (al-Albaani) say: ‘Ali
ibn al-Husayn is the grandson of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib; he is thiqah jaleel
(honest and great man) one of the men of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and
Muslim). So it is mursal with a saheeh isnaad. 

There is corroborating
evidence in the hadeeth of Mujaahid which is also mursal; this was narrated
by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya in Kitaab al-Ikhwaan and in al-Fath al-Kabeer
(1/67). There is another corroborating report from Yazeed ibn Na’aamah
al-Dubbi, which I narrated in the other book (1726). When all the isnaads
are taken into account, the hadeeth is hasan, in sha Allaah. End quote. 

What is meant here is that
it is mustahabb; it is not obligatory. 

Al-Manaawi (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: 

“Let him tell him that he
loves him for the sake of Allaah” means, it is mustahabb for him to tell
him, by saying I love you for the sake of Allaah, i.e., not for any other
reason such as kindness and so on, because it ensures that the bond will
last longer and makes love stronger, and it increases and multiplies love,
and brings people together, thus the Muslims will be united, and troubles
and grudges will be dispelled. This is one of the good features of Islam.
End quote. 

Fayd al-Qadeer
(1/319). 

See also the answer to
question no. 173. 

And Allaah knows best.