A man asked, "Messenger of Allah, who are the friends of Allah?"He replied, "Those who, when they are seen, cause Allah to be remembered."
قال رجل: يا رسول الله، من أولياء الله؟ قال: الذين إذا رؤوا، ذكر الله.
No references are available.
Bazzar narrated it in Kashf Astar (3626), Tabarani in Al-Kabir (12325), and Ibn Sayd in his additions to Zuhd of Ibn Mubarak (218), all of them through routes from Jafar bin Abu Mughira, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who mentioned it. Its isnad is hasan because of Jafar bin Abu Mughira, for he is hasan al-hadith. This hadith has also been narrated from Saeed bin Jubayr as a mursal report, but the ruling belongs to the connected version. There are other daif hadiths conveying the same meaning.