4833 — Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us, Abu ‘Amir and Abu Dawud narrated to us, they said: Zuhayr ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Musa ibn Wardan narrated to me, from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A man follows the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look to whom he takes as a close friend."(1)

4834 — Harun ibn Zayd ibn Abi al-Zarqa’ narrated to us, my father narrated to us, Ja‘far ibn Burqan narrated to us, from Yazid — meaning Ibn al-Asamm — from Abu Hurayrah, raising it to the Prophet, who said: "Souls are conscripted troops; those among them that recognize one another are drawn together, and those among them that do not recognize one another differ."(2)

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It was also recorded with doubt by al-Tirmidhi (2557) from Suwayd ibn Nasr, from Ibn al-Mubarak, with this chain of transmission.
It is found in the Musnad of Ahmad (11337), and in Sahih Ibn Hibban (554), (555), and (560).

Al-Khattabi said in Ma‘alim al-Sunan 4/115: This applies only to the food of an invitation, not the food of necessity, for God the Exalted said: {And they give food, despite their love of it, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive} [al-Insan: 8], and it is well known that their captives were disbelievers, not believers or God-fearing.
He only warned against the companionship of one who is not God-fearing, and forbade mixing with him and eating with him, for sharing food plants affection and love in the hearts. He says: Do not befriend one who is not among the people of piety and scrupulousness, and do not take him as a companion with whom you share food and intimate conversation.

(1) Its chain is sound. Musa ibn Wardan is truthful. Ibn Bashshar: he is Muhammad. Abu ‘Amir: he is ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Amr, and Abu Dawud: he is Sulayman ibn Dawud al-Tayalisi.
It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi (2535) from Muhammad ibn Bashshar, with this chain, and he said: This is a good, rare hadith.
It is found in the Musnad (8028).

(2) Its chain is authentic.
It was also recorded with an addition at its beginning by Muslim (2638) via the route of Kathir ibn Hisham, from Ja‘far ibn Burqan, with this chain.
It was also recorded by Muslim (2638) (159) via the route of Dhakwan al-Samman, from Abu Hurayrah. =