Selecting The Right Friend

I start with the Name of Allah, praise Him, and ask Allah to raise the rank of our dear and beloved master Muhammad, and protectrotect his nation from that which he feared for them. Thereafter, dear respected brothers and Sisters in Islam, Allah said in the Holy Qur’an: This Ayah means: {Those who were friends in this life will be enemies on the Day of Judgement except those who were pious} Allah Subhanahu Wa taAala informed us in this verse that the people who were friends in this world will turn into enemies in the Hereafter except for those whose friendship was based on piety their love to one another and companionship will surely remain. The pious slaves, dear brothers and sisters, are those who do all what Allah ordered them to do and refrained from all what Allah forbade. They are religious knowledgeable to ensure their acts of worship are valid adhering to requisites and prerequisites. They are the ones who treat the people with kindness and are honest in their islamically approved dealings most importantly they are honest with themselves, with others and with Allah Subhanahu wa taAala. The Question is: How many people nowadays carefully choose and select the pious, God-fearing friend? How many parents these days are truly concerned about choosing righteous companions for their children? I would say, sadly very few So people confuse good manners with knowledge in the Religion. Yes manners are very important in Islam however, knowing how to be- lieveli in Allah and His Messenger correctly andan learning the obligatory knowledge in theth religion is the most important. ThisT is further confirmed by Hadith of the MessengerM of Allah that means, “Seeking theth Religious knowledge is a personal obligationga on every Muslim.” ThisT is mainly due to the massive ignorancera in the religion that is widespread and so many people are plagued with problem now-a-days.no The world has an epidemic of Religious ignorance with so many people claiming to have Religious knowledge and they speak from arrogance about religious topics they in reality know nothing about and worse, add to such topic their own opinion... all the while, they unknowingly with such ill conviction, belied Allah and His messenger whether intentionally or unknowingly. A religiously ignorant person will never ever become pious. Allah does not take ignorant people as Upright Righteous Pious people. The only way to be righteous is become pious first. And the only way to piety is to gain proper and authentic religious knowledge. Even the best creation, our Messenger, had a teacher who was Jibreal... we are not born knowing and we must learn regardless your age. May Allah, make us among the pious slaves of Allah who co-operate with one another to perform what Allah accepts. May we come together to do what is in obedience to Allah. May Allah bless us with a pious friend who will guide us to goodness and to the deeds which will benefit us in our afterlife! Our Pious friend, instead of asking you where do you want to go out to tonight, or which dance/night club do you want to go to or what movie do you want to watch in the theatre tonight, they will ask you: how aboutab we both attend a religious lesson this eveningev by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta^ala.ta It’s good to note, the person(s) seekingin to add to their religious knowledge is an indicationin that Allah has willed goodness for person(s)p who do this. A pious friend is one would advise you and warn you if you do a forbidden act because heh wishes you to be religiously well. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said what means: The believer is like a mirror to his brother Meaning he warns and advises his brother until his situation is corrected. The mirror is used to reveal that which we dislike in ourselves in order to be removed or corrected. The prophet likened the believer to the mirror in terms of recognizing the faults in his brother and guiding him for the sake of Allah until that fault is corrected. A pious friend these days is very rare the pious friend (male or female) is the one who loves you for the sake of Allah only and is friends with you for no other reason. Unlike the many so-called friends who are friends with you now-a-days who are affili- ed with you for many worldly gains/posgains/ possessions such as your money, your status in the community, your family or work, your assistance to get and keep a job, or your connections for either business or personal ventures and contacts, to buy a car or more often, they wish to marry someone related to you those are not real friends, they are so-called friends after worldly (gain) matters and on the Day of Judgment this fake worldly friendship will turn to enmity.

This type of friendship is SO special, rare and significant that in the religion, it’s mentioned “those who are truly friends and love each other for the sake of Allah shall be under the shade of the throne (the ceiling of Paradise) on the Day of Judgement, where (the best of creations will be) the prophets and martyrs who will be pleased to see these sincere pious friends.”

In conclusion dear brothers and sisters, if you know that your Muslim brother/sister has not learnt the matters of the religion, has not learnt the obligations and is not aware of the forbidden matters, it is your duty not leave him in his ignorance but to advise him with the proper path for the sake of Allah. And if you wish to visit your brother, then visit him with sincere good intentions hopeful that Allah to reward you on the Day of Judgement.