What does it mean to be a friend of Allah - Nov 16, 2019
Written by Munawar HaqueWhat does it mean to be a friend of Allah
Transcript of the khatira delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Nov 16, 2019
Brothers and sisters! What does it mean to be a friend or wali of Allah? Insha’Allah, I’ll share some thoughts with you on this topic. The Arabic word wali is indicative of several meanings, some of which are: protector, guardian, patron, supporter, ally, and friend. The wali al-amr of a child, for example, would mean the child’s guardian who takes care of anything concerning the child. Allah being the wali of a person means that Allah becomes close to that person, becomes his protecting guardian, and takes care of him, and what happens because of this relationship? Ayah 62 of Surat Yunus tells,
أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
“Look, the friends of Allah shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Yunus, 10:62)
And ayah 257 of Surat al-Baqarah tells us,
اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ
“Allah is the friend of those who believe, and leads them out of darkness into light.” (al-Baqarah, 2:257)
Obviously, for a person to be Allah’s friend would not mean that the person would also act as a guardian to Allah, because Allah is the Creator, the Self-Sufficient, and one who is beyond any need. He is Al-Ghani.
There are good reasons why every believer should aspire to become the friend of Allah. First and foremost is that Allah will be on the side of the believer to help him and protect him. Second, Allah becomes his guardian and supporter. Third, there is guarantee from Allah to his friends that they would live in peace and tranquility, without any fear or grief.
Every Muslim should aspire to become the wali of Allah. Rather than merely paying a lip service by saying “I believe”, he or she should be having real faith—a real personal conviction in the heart. Our predecessors—the sahaba, were at the level of being considered the awliya of Allah. Basically there are two things one needs to become the wali of Allah, and these are laid out in ayah 63 of Surat Yunus that speaks about the friends of Allah.
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ
“They who have iman and show taqwa” (Yunus, 10:63).
Iman implies real faith. Taqwa means to have the constant awareness of Allah throughout one’s life, and to fear the consequences of disobeying Him. Indeed one who lives one’s life with these two qualities and characteristics can be said to be a friend or wali of Allah.
The friend of Allah is a special person. Thoughtfully, carefully, and obediently, he carries out the basic obligatory duties of worship or the ‘ibadat. By doing so, he endears himself to Allah. We can understand this by relating this to an obedient son who endears himself to his father. The father feels joy and pride to see his son fulfill all the duties assigned to him. This phenomenon can be understood from a hadith qudsi which says, “My servant does not draw near to me with anything more loved by me than what I have made obligatory.”
However, the friends of Allah do not stop at just performing the obligatory duties or the fara’id—salah, zakah, siyam, and hajj. They want to draw themselves close to Allah out of intense love for Him by doing voluntary acts, beyond the bare minimum that is obligatory.
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ
“Those who believe love Allah most.” (al-Baqarah, 2:165).
According to a hadith qudsi, Allah says, "My slave keeps drawing near to me by means of supererogatory (nawafil) acts of worship until I 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.”
Thus, a friend of Allah, in addition to offering his obligatory prayers would also make it a point to pray the Sunnah prayers that the Prophet (SAW) used to pray regularly—the sunan al-muakkadah and those that he prayed occasionally—the sunan ghayr muakkadah.
Similarly in addition to the fasting observed in the month of Ramadan, the friends of Allah, in accordance with the Prophetic practice, fast on other days as well. For instance, they fast every Monday and Thursday of the week, the six days of Shawwal, the three white days (ayyam al-beedh) corresponding to the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every lunar month, the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah, the day of Ashura and a day preceding or following it, and so on.
In matters of spending in the way of Allah, the friends of Allah do not stop at the obligatory charity (zakah), but keep spending in the way of Allah (fee sabilillah) from whatever resources they have.
It is about such friends of His that Allah explains to us allegorically in the hadith qudsi that says, “And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him.” This basically means that Allah guides such a person to do only the things that pleases Him. He begins to use his eyes and ears to hear and see the lawful, the desirable, and the useful, and not the unlawful, the undesirable, and the useless. He begins to use his limbs only for engaging in lawful activities and other works of righteousness, and avoids using them for unlawful and sinful activities. The way to love Allah, as the Qur’an says, is to follow the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“Say, if you love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive you for your wrong actions. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful”(Aal ‘Imran, 3:31).
A good reason to strive to become the friend of Allah is that Allah makes people love His friends. We learn through a hadith that says, “When Allah loves someone he calls to Jibril (AS) saying, ‘O Jibril, I love such and such a person, so love him.’ Then Jibril calls to the angels of the heavens, saying, ‘Allah loves such and such a person so love him.’ And the angels love that person. And then Allah places acceptance on earth for that believer.”
The friends of Allah also become among those whose supplications are accepted by Allah. Allah also protects them from Satan, his agents, and all types of evil in this world, and keeps them on the path that leads to Allah’s pleasure on the Day of Judgment.
In this time and age, we need more and more friends of Allah. If we desire a change for the better, we have first to deserve it. We have to move in the direction shown to us by Allah, and we have to struggle in His path. May Allah (SWT) bless us with the tawfiq to do so.