We were with the Prophet ﷺ while he was holding the hand of Umar bin Khattab.Umar said to him, "Messenger of Allah, you are more beloved to me than everything except my own self."The Prophet ﷺ replied, "No, by the One in whose hand is my soul, not until I am more beloved to you than your own self."Umar then said to him, "By Allah, right now you are more beloved to me than my own self."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Now, Umar."
كنا مع النبي ﷺ، وهو آخذ بيد عمر بن الخطاب، فقال له عمر: يا رسول لأنت أحب إلى من كل شيء إلا من نفسي، فقال النبي ﷺ: لا والذي نفسي بيده، حتى أكون أحب إليك من نفسك. فقال له عمر: فإنه الآن، والله، لأنت أحب إلي من نفسي. فقال النبي ﷺ: الآن يا عمر.
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Oaths and Vows (6632) from Yahya bin Sulayman, who said, Ibn Wahb told me, who said, Haywa informed me, who said, Abu Aqeel Zahra bin Mabad told me, that he heard his grandfather Abdullah bin Hisham mention it.Khattabi said, "He did not mean by it the love that comes naturally, but rather the love of choice, because a person's love for himself is a natural instinct, and there is no way to overturn it. So its meaning is, you will not be truthful in your love for me until you sacrifice yourself in obedience to me, and prefer my pleasure over your own desire, even if your destruction lies in it."