THE FRIENDS OF ALLAH :

Before we describe about friends of Allah, let us see what holy book Quran and Prophetic
traditions books (Hadis) say about them.

Part One: Quranic Verses

(1) “Annabiyyo awla bilmu’menin min anfosehim wa azwazohu ummahatohum”

meaning that the Prophet (Mohammed-Pbuh) is nearer to mo’menin than their
lives/souls and his wives are mothers of mo’menin. So, the prophet is near to
all believers till qayamat(judgment day) in such a way that he is more nearer
than believers’ souls. (Al Quran: Surah Al Ahzaab, verse -6)

(2) In Surah Al-Nisa, in verse number 174 it is written in quran “Ya

ayyohannaso qad jaa’kum burhanum min rabbekum…….Nuram mubinaa”
meaning “O people, came to you from your lord an argument, and descended
towards you shining light” Here, “argument” is called for beloved Prophet (Pbuh)
and “light” is called for quran.

(3) In surah Mujadilah in ayat number 22 it is written “La tajidu qawman

yuminoona biAllahi waalyawmi alakhiri yuwaddoona man hadda Allaha
warasoolahu walaw kanoo abaahum aw abnaahum aw ikhwanahum aw
AAasheeratahum olaika kataba fee quloobihimu aleemana waayyadahum
biroohin minhu wayudkhiluhum jannatin tajree min tahtiha alanharu
khalideena feeha radiya Allahu AAanhum waradoo AAanhu olaika hizbu Allahi
ala inna hizba Allahi humu almuflihoona
”You will never see that those people who believe in Allâh and the Last Day they
love those people who have opposed Allâh and HIS Rasool (Muhammad,
sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), even if they are their fathers, or their sons, or
their brothers, or their family members. These are those people in whose hearts
Allâh has imprinted Faith and has strengthened them with a spirit (Rûh) from
HIMSELF. HE will admit them into such Gardens (Paradise) underneath which
canals will be flowing. There they will live forever. Allâh is pleased with them
and they are pleased with Allâh. They are the members of Party of Allâh. Be
aware! Only the members of the Party of Allâh are going to be successful.”
These verses of quran advise us to detach ourselves from those whosoever talks
ill, abusive or displeasing words for our prophet.

(4) In surah Aley Imran in quran, in verse 169 it is written that “ wa laa
tahsabanna allazin qotelu fi sabilillah……” do not imagine the martyrs who are
killed in the way of Allah as dead, but they are alive and they are provided
provisions(rizk) by their lord. And In holy book quraan, in surah Bakarah, it
has been mentioned that those who are killed in the way of Allah are not to be
called as dead, but they are alive but you (people) do not know.

(5) In ayat 69 of surah Al Nisa in Quran it is written “the

nabiyyin,siddiqin,Shohadas (martyrs) and saalehin are those who are awarded
the prizes by Allah” Nabiyyin means the Prophets, Siddiqin means the truthful,
shohda means the martyrs and saalehin means other friends of Allah. The
prizes means ne’amat, rehmat, mercy, miracles etc. In prayer (salaat) we pray
by reciting surah fateha “guide us the righteous path, the path of whom you
rewarded prizes” So, we must study the life history of pious friends of Allah and
study the way on which they walked and try to follow them.

Part Two: Descriptions from Hadis Al Qudsi

(1) Allah says “by constant voluntary prayers (nifl ibadat), the person can
become so close to Allah that his hands are the hands of Allah, his tongue is
the tongue of Allah and his eyes are the eyes of Allah” (Hadis al qudsi)

(2) Allah says “whoever shows enmity towards my friend, I am at war with him”
(hadis al qudsi)

(3) Allah says “I am so vast and great that I cannot be contained in skies or the
earth but I can be contained in the heart of the true believer-mo’min” (hadis al
qudsi)

(4) Allah says “when the believer calls me I listen to him, when he comes
walking to me I go to him running, he takes one step towards me, I walk
seventy steps towards him” (hadis al qudsi)

(5) To sit one moment in the company of friend of Allah is better than hundred
years’ sincere prayers (ibadat) done without show off. (Al hadis)

From the above, we must have understood the importance of friends of Allah.
The charm of Islam is resting in the friends of Allah. Allah loves his friends so
much that he also loves to the things related with them. In Quran, in surah al
Kahaf (the cave) there is a description about the cave people who are among the
friends of Allah. When these cave people were on their way to cave, a dog
accompanied them. The dog was lame at one leg. The cave people tried to stop
the dog accompany them by throwing few small stones at the dog but the dog
never left company and followed them. When the cave people went inside the
cave, the dog remained seated at the mouth (entrance) of the cave. The quran
describe the sitting of the dog like this “the dog is sitting at the entrance of the
cave widening its legs” The style of describing the sitting shows the tremendous
love of Allah towards dog. This dog was never forgotten by quran as it described
“some said that they were four and fifth was their dog. Some said they were five
and sixth was their dog” Similar is the case with two small hills Safaa and
Marwaa situated in Mecca. Due to relations of these hills with a lady friend of
Allah (mother of Prophet Ismail-AS), these hills are declared in Quran as symbol
of Allah. The pilgrims of hajj have to perform running between these two small
hills in commemoration of the running of friend of Allah (mother of prophet) in
her struggle in search of water. The style of her noble act was so loved by Allah.

Now looking at Part One –Para 4 and Part Two-Para 5, to visit shrines, graves
and tombs of Allah is a noble deed to acquire blessings from them and nearness
of Allah can be obtained. And to disregard or insult such pious people may
bring anger and wrath of Allah as per part two-para 2 above.