Bismillahir
Rahmaanir Raheem
A FRIEND IS ONE who is
concerned about his friend’s goodness, welfare and health. A friend wishes to
see his friend progress in life, be happy, and enjoy respect and success in
both worlds.
A true and sincere friend
is a helper, supporter and protector of one’s spiritual well-being. He
encourages towards what is good and discourages that which is evil and
destructive.
An enemy, on the other
hand, desires the destruction of a person’s life, health, wealth and respect. So can the ‘friend’ who encourages you or offers you drugs or alcohol, or
takes you to the rave clubs, gambling dens, prostitute quarters or introduces
you to pornography, be called a friend?
Nay, he is your enemy!
If you befriend such a
person, you will then have shaytaan, nafs, as well as this ‘friend’ / ‘friends’
as your enemies!
Allah Ta’ala mentions the
reality and outcome of such ‘friendship’
in the Qur`aan Shareef:
اَلْأَخِلَّآءُ يَوْمَئِذٍم بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ
إِلَّا الْمُتَّقِيْنَ ◌
“Friends,
on that day, will become enemies to one another, except the God-fearing.”
[Surah
Az-Zukhruf 43 : 67]
On the Day of Qiyamah,
many a person will be extremely
remorseful for having befriended a person who encouraged him to evil and sin.
One of our respected Scholars, Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi (رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ) related
in his Tafseer, Ma’ariful Qur’aan, an incident narrated by Hazrat Ali (رَضِىَ الله عَنْهُ)
regarding two Muslim friends and two non-Muslim friends – which should make us
reflect over the friends we are and the friends we have.
One of the Muslim friends died. When he was given the
glad-tidings of Jannah, he remembered his friend and supplicated in his favour:
“O Allah! That friend of mine would
advise me to obey You and Rasulullah ﷺ. He would direct me towards virtuous deeds
and prevent me from evil deeds. He kept reminding me that one day I would have
to meet You. So O Allah! Do not misguide him after me, so that he may also see
the scenes of Jannah as You have shown to me. Be pleased with him, as You have
been with me.”
In reply, it will be said to him: “Do not worry. If you know what reward I have stored for your friend,
you will weep less and laugh more.” Later, when the friend will also have
died, both the souls will meet and Allah Ta’ala will direct them to praise each
other. Thereupon, they will say about the other: “He is the best brother, best companion and best friend.”
As against this, when one of the non-Muslim friends will die,
and he will be told that he will go to Jahannum, he will recollect his friend
and will supplicate thus: “O Allah! That
friend of mine would insist upon me to disobey You and Your Messenger ﷺ. He would direct me
towards vices and prevent me from good deeds and would say that I would never
meet You. So O Allah! Do not give him guidance after me, so that he may also
see the scenes of Hell, as You have shown to me, and be displeased with him,
just as You have been displeased with me.”
Later, when the other friend will also have died, their souls
will be brought together and they will be directed to condemn each other. Each
will say about the other: “He is the
worst brother, worst companion, and worst friend.” [1]
Rasulullah ﷺ cautioned us regarding
our choice of friends: “A person is on the Deen (way of life) of
his friend, so every one of you should look at who he befriends.”[2]
A friend in ‘Deen’ is a friend indeed!
…The most common cause of
sins amongst the youth is peer pressure. Almost every person divulges being
introduced to sins through ‘friends’.
When pressured to engage
in sins, be firm on Deen and be courageous. Say: “I do not want to displease my
Kind and Loving Allah Ta’ala. I do not want to walk the path to Jahannum. I
do not want invite the fire of Jahannum in my life.”
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the courage and the Taufeeq, and make us
good, righteous friends and grant us such friends who will benefit us in our
Deen. (Aameen)
[1] Ibn Khatir
[2] Abu Dawood / Tirmidhi
