My respected Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana
Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Daamat
Barakaatuhum) says in poetry:
“O Allah, we will
choose the company of those who please You;
We will not keep
company with those hearts that don’t have You.”
No one can deny the effect of company.
Good company offers good influence and the opposite proves true, in that bad
company offers bad influence. Companionship and friendship pave the way to
either success or failure. Therefore Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:
“A person is on the Deen of his friend.”
We are living in a time where there is
mass production of “imitation” and “artificial” products. They appear genuine,
but in the test of their quality, they prove to be just cheap imitation or
artificial.
In the same way, we find the condition
of hearts. The majority walk around with artificial or imitation hearts. Their
worth is made known sooner or later, when we find infidelity, dishonesty,
greed, double-standards, etc. Who we thought to be a friend, turns out to be an
enemy.
Then we have the Auliya Allah – the
friends of Allah Ta’ala. Their hearts are genuine “metal”; genuine gold. Their hearts have undergone various tests which make
known their value.
When gold is mined from the earth, it
is first pulverized and crushed and thereafter placed in a furnace. Despite its
value, it has to be purified.
Thus we find that that gold is
purified by the means of smelting, which requires pressure, high heat and chemicals
to remove the impurities contained in it. It is after this intense process or
‘mujahadah’, that the gold is then in its purest form.
It is melted and poured into moulds to
form bars or nuggets. This is now the precious pure gold that demands a high
price in the markets, is utilized in making jewellery, etc.
In a similar vein, we find the hearts
of Auliya Allah undergoing a purification process as well: Their hearts experience the pulverizing and
crushing of evil desires and going against the demands of the nafs. Together
with this are the efforts in striving to earn the Pleasure of Allah Ta’ala,
through His Obedience. These are the means which make up the purification process,
until they reach that stage, that level where their hearts are like the pure
gold.
We hear the cliché: “He /
She has a heart of gold.” This generally indicates to a good heart, a
generous heart – but a heart of genuine
“gold” is the heart that belongs to a Wali of Allah Ta’ala.
Just as we have genuine gold stamped with its carat : 18 ct, 22
ct, 24 ct., these Ahlullah have their hearts stamped by Allah Ta’ala, of His
Friendship, because they proved “genuine” in their faithfulness and obedience
to Him and His Rasul (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam).
Their hearts have the stamp of the ‘gold’ of Nisbat-ma-Allah (Connection with
Allah Ta’ala). May Allah Ta’ala make our hearts pure gold and stamp them with
His Pleasure.
A Mu`min (Believer) looks for people
with such hearts. If a person is faithful to Allah Ta’ala and Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam), we can expect him to be faithful to the creation. If the
person is unfaithful to Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wasallam)), this is a sure indication, that he
will be unfaithful – in some way or the other – to others.
We should not only keeps company with
such people; we should work to acquire that heart of gold too.
Allah Ta’ala gives us direction in
respect to who we will find to be genuine friends:
“Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah,
His Apostle, and the (Fellowship of) Believers, - those who establish regular
prayers, and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in worship).”
[Surah Maa`idah 5
: 58 ]
And further :
“The believers, men and women, are Auliya (helpers/
friends/ supporters/ protectors) of one
another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma’ruf
(that which Islam orders one to do), and
forbid (people) from Al-Munkar
(that which Islam has forbidden)…”
[Surah Taubah]
By Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel (Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh)
