The Awliya' (Friends of Allah)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Allah Almighty chooses friends (allies) among His servants (the awliya') while some people choose to be His enemies. The friends of Allah reap the fruits of their servitude to Him in this world by enjoying His protection.

Allah Almighty says:

ٱللَّـهُ وَلِىُّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ ٱلنُّورِ إِلَى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ ﴿٢٥٧

Allah Almighty is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are Taghut. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. (257)

[Qur'an 2:257]

Allah Almighty says:

أَلَآ إِنَّ أَوْلِيَآءَ ٱللَّـهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿٦٢﴾ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَكَانُوا۟ يَتَّقُونَ ﴿٦٣﴾ لَهُمُ ٱلْبُشْرَىٰ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّـهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ﴿٦٤

Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah (awliya') there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve (62) Those who believed and were fearing Allah (63) For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of Allah. That is what is the great attainment. (64)

[Qur'an Yunus 10-62:64]

The first condition to become a friend of Allah is Iman (Faith). One cannot claim to be a friend of Allah unless he has an unshaking belief in Allah’s Oneness and Unity. Attributing partners to Allah in belief and worship is most abhorring to Him. This belief, in order to be effective, requires complete trust and hope in Allah, submission to His Will and reliance on His aid. It secures man's dignity and saves him from fear and despair, from guilt and confusion.

Believing in Allah implies believing in His Names and Attributes, and other articles of Iman such as belief in the Angels, Divine Scriptures and Revelation, the Prophets and Messengers of God without any discrimination among them, the Day of Judgment (or afterlife) and the supremacy of God's Will (or pre-destination). This belief extends to believing in the life after death, the punishment and enjoyment in the grave, the Resurrection, Paradise and Hell, the Scale, the Throne, the Pond of Kauthar [hadith: Whoever drinks its water shall never be thirsty--Bukhari], the Bridge over Hell [hadith: The bridge over Hell will be thinner even than the hair and sharper than a sword--Bukhari; hadith: Every person, whether a hypocrite or a believer, would be endowed with a light, and there would be spikes and hooks on the bridge of the Hell, which would catch hold of those whom Allah willed. Then the light of the hypocrites would be extinguished, and the (good) believers would secure salvation (Paradise)--Muslim].

The second condition is the fear of Allah. This is best explained in the following verses of the Qur'an, where Allah Almighty categorically mentioned the true servants of Ar-Rahman.

وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا ﴿٦٣﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَـٰمًا ﴿٦٤﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱصْرِفْ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا ﴿٦٥﴾ إِنَّهَا سَآءَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَمُقَامًا ﴿٦٦﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا۟ وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا۟ وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ قَوَامًا ﴿٦٧
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ ٱللَّـهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ ٱلنَّفْسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّـهُ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ ۚ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا ﴿٦٨﴾ يُضَـٰعَفْ لَهُ ٱلْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِۦ مُهَانًا ﴿٦٩﴾ إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّـهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّـهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا ﴿٧٠﴾ وَمَن تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًا فَإِنَّهُۥ يَتُوبُ إِلَى ٱللَّـهِ مَتَابًا ﴿٧١﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ ٱلزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا۟ بِٱللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا۟ كِرَامًا ﴿٧٢﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّوا۟ عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا ﴿٧٣﴾ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّـٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا ﴿٧٤

And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, (63) And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer] (64) And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering; (65) Indeed, it is evil as a settlement and residence." (66) And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate (67) And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. (68) Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated - (69) Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (70) And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance. (71) And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity. (72) And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind. (73) And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous." (74)

[Qur'an Al-Furqan 25:64-74]

The friends of Allah do not cause violence neither are they instrumental to disturbance of public peace. They are prompt in carrying out the injunctions of Allah and are conscious of the rights of other creatures.

These special qualities, among others, are what it requires to be a friend of Allah and enjoy His Love and Kindness.

One of the greatest signs that you are beloved to Allah is that the awliya' love you. One of the greatest signs that you love Allah is that you love the awliya'. Anyone who reach close to the awliya' and take their companionship and respects them, in reality that this is a means for that individual to attain closeness to Allah.

We cannot get close to Allah without the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and without the Prophetic teachings. The scholars (ulama') are the inheritors of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. By you drawing near to a scholar, you are drawing near to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, because the scholar is teaching you his Sunnah. Getting near to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the ultimate way we draw close to Allah Almighty.

If Allah want good for you and want to bring you near to His Presence, He placed you with the People of Allah. The people of Qur'an are the People of Allah, the most elect among His creatures.

Any effort you put in to be close to Allah, He will make it easy for you to draw near to Him.

Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Allah the Mighty and Exalted, says, 'Anyone who comes with a good action will have ten like it or more. If anyone comes with a wrong action, the repayment of a wrong action is a wrong action like it or I will forgive him. If anyone approaches Me by a hand-span, I come to him an arm-span. If anyone approaches Me by an arm-span, I come to him two arm spans. If anyone approaches Me walking, I come to him running. If anyone meets Me with mistakes equivalent in weight to the whole earth, having not associated anything with Me, I will meet him with the same amount of forgiveness.

[Muslim]

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: Allah (Mighty and Sublime be He) said:

Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.

[Bukhari]

May Allah grant us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

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