Narrated by Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari who related that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
The example of a good companion in comparison with a bad one is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows: from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or you get a bad nasty smell thereof. (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
The simple parable from this hadith provides a powerful and easily understandable analogy to emphasize the importance of choosing good companions.
The perfumer (musk seller) is the positive influence around you. Just as spending time with a perfumer would leave you either buying sweet-smelling musk or at least enjoying the pleasant fragrance, a good companion positively influences you with either direct advice that benefits you, or through there general companionship where their character and etiquette eventually rubs off on you. They enrich your life, guide you towards virtue, and leave a lasting, positive impact on your character and faith.
The blacksmith’s bellows is the negative influence around you. Spending time with a blacksmith’s bellows can either burn your clothes or leave you with an unpleasant, musty smell. This symbolizes the negative influence of bad companions who can harm your character, leading you astray from virtuous behaviour and potentially causing spiritual or moral damage.
The influence of one’s companions have a overpowering influence over that person. Good friends can uplift, inspire, and help you maintain your faith and morals, while bad friends can lead you to detrimental behaviours and beliefs.
Therefore, the Muslim should be mindful in selecting their friendship groups by prioritizing those who bring spiritually beneficial and uplifting influences and avoiding those who may lead them into harmful spiritual deviations or vice-driven activities.
The analogy of the hadith beautifully conveys that just as the scent of musk lingers after leaving the perfumer, and the same from the bellows of the blacksmith, the impact of one’s friends leaves lasting impressions on one’s life and soul, even after one may have departed from the friendship group years after.
For the Sufi, this is a serious matter of spiritual import, and is covered in Suhba al-Saliheen.