nor about following the religion of Islam as you ought to the righteous company that we keep. There is absolutely
be. Allah says,
nothing wrong in being told “hey, you’ve done something
wrong”, and as Muslims we must never feel too proud or
“And (remember) the day when the unjust one shall
arrogant to accept when we make mistakes and it is brought
bite his hands saying: O! Would that I had taken a way
to our attention. Righteous friends, who follow the way of
with the Messenger! O woe is me! Would that I had not
Islam as it ought to be followed, will admonish us in ways
taken such a one for a friend! Certainly he led me astray
that will not cause harm or hurt nor cause the friendship
from the reminder after it had come to me. Ah! The Evil
to be broken, rather it would strengthen the bond for the
One is but a traitor to man!.” {Surah Al Furqan:27-29}
sake of Allah.
Encourage us to increase in goodness/Seek Invite to places of Worship/to be with Jama’ah
knowledge – Our main purpose in life is attaining the (Community) – How do we know that the people we call
Pleasure of Allah, through obeying His commands and
staying away from His prohibitions, and one of the easiest
ways to attain the Pleasure of Allah is by increasing our
good deeds. In order to obey Allah, we must first have
knowledge of Who He is and what we need to do to become
better believers. Having righteous friends who assist us,
encourage us and continuously open doors for us to seek
knowledge and do good actions that are pleasing to Allah
are the persons who
we want and need to
keep amongst our
closest companions
in this life. It does
not matter how
big or small the
deeds may be, what
matters is as long
as you are in good
company, you will
automatically want
and yearn to do good
and want to learn
more about Islam.
The friends you keep
determines the road
you take.
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, said, “A man is upon the religion of his best
friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.”
Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 4833
Admonishes us when we fall into error –
“And keep reminding, for verily, reminders benefit
the believers”
{Surah Ad Dhariyat:55}
Allah commands us in the above verse of the Qur’an to
remind one another. This is particularly important when
we fall into error or we forget. Surrounding ourselves with
friends who would take it upon themselves to remind us
and kindly admonish us when we fall in error is certainly
a treasure in and of itself. Every single one of us makes
mistakes in life, however what separates the good from
the bad and what would make the difference between
continuing to make mistakes and rectifying ourselves, is
or friends are good for us and not toxic in any way? For
one, we can tell by the places we are encouraged to go to
and if we are led there by these same persons. Do we go to
places where the Haram is all around us, like Music and
dancing or drinking and smoking? Or do we find ourselves
involved in the activities of the of the masjid, volunteering
our time and energy working for Allah and attending the
Salaah in Jama’ah (more-so for men)? Are we encouraged
by our friends to come
out to the masjid for the
Salaah, to engage in the
community and to be
productive Muslims?
The answers to these
questions will give us
a better insight into
who we take as friends.
Allah tells us in the
Qur’an,
“And (as for) the
b e l i ev i n g
men
and the believing
women, they are
guardians of each
other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up
prayer and pay the poor-rate and obey Allah and His
Messenger; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to
them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.”
(Surah At-Tawbah:71)
We were not put on this earth to live a life of seclusion, but to
live among the people, engaging in everyday activities within
our communities and bringing benefit to those around
us. Along the road called life, we will surely encounter
individuals of every background and belief and persuasion,
however, what matters is who we connect with and who we
make our closest friends and companions.
For these choices we make now can greatly affect our future
and where we end up when we leave this world. Making
Righteous Friends in this life can make the difference in
how we depart this world and what our final abode may be
like. Don’t make the mistake of choosing wrongly!
WRITTTEN BY: Rochelle Flores
Ihsaan | Issue 3 | 39