Monday, December 31, 2012

Reflections on a Hadith

THE REALITY OF TRUE COMPANIONSHIP IN ISLAM

بسم الله ، الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على خير خلق الله، محمد المصطفى ، وعلى آله وصحبه ومن سلك .طريقة واتبع سنته إلى يوم الدين أما بعد

 Recently, a sister shared this amazing hadith on one forum I go to and subhanAllah it just made me think and contemplate certain things.

The hadith is a very essential and a truly beautiful one. Of course, all of the ahadeeth of Rasul Allah (sala Allahu alayhi wassallam) are beautiful.

 The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said , what is translated in meaning as, “Souls are like recruited soldiers, those that recognize one another unite in harmony and those that do not recognize one another are at an aversion.” [Sahih Muslim]

 Glory be to Allah subhaanah! Yes, our souls are controlled by Allah and He turns them where He (ta3alla) wills and wishes. This brings to mind the important concept of friendship. I've come to realize through some experiences that it is not us who choose our friends just like that, but rather it is Allah (ta3alla) who chooses good companions for us. There is something called friendship/friends and acquaintances. One must realize the difference between the two. Friends are people who are similar to you and understand you;on the other hand, acquaintances are people you see and meet time to time. The only friendship that will help one succeed in deen and dunya, is a true friendship based on love for the sake of Allah. A friendship not based on true love and companionship for Allah's sake is really none other than a false friendship. Of course, no friendship is perfect and there will always arise issues,but a true Islamic friendship will help the two companions solve their issues and neither will hesitate to fix their problems in their friendship because they know that their friendship was initially established for the sake of Allah. Not because of nationality ,gender, social status, ethnic background, or age. If we look into this issue further, we realize that there are many people around us whom we consider as "acquaintances" but our real friends are quite few. This is because friendship for the sake of The Most High is something special and not for everyone , this is due to the reward being a special one. In a hadith narrated by Abi Hurayra AbdurRahman ibn Sakhr (RA) the prophet (saws)said that are 7 types of people who will be shaded under the shade of Allah (swt)on the day when there will be no shade but His shade. On that horrid day in which the hair of the young child will turn white out of fear and shock, the day when the pregnant female(who died) will drop her load, the day when each and every person will be on their own, the day when the sun will come so close to the people that they will perspire profusely and some will be drowning in their perspiration(due to their amount of sinning when they were in dunya), on that day, Allah swt will honor some people and among these people whom Allah will honor on this day, are those who use to love one another and come together for Allah's sake will be saved and will be enjoying the shade of Allah's glorious throne.

 The Messenger of Allah swt says in the hadith: ((ورجلان تحابا في الله، إجتماعا عليه وافترقا عليه ...)) meaning: "And two people who love one another for Allah, they meet on that and they leave on that." [agreed upon]

 SubhanaAllah! This is the true friendship we should strive for . A real friend has the good intention of being there for you when you need him or her. A real friend tells you the truth when you need to hear it, a true friend grabs your hand when you are doing wrong and tells you "Fear Allah and stop this." A true friendship is built on the love of Allah swt thus Allah blesses these individuals with being under His shade on a day whose length will be equal to 50,000 years. Allah swt says in a sahih hadith qudsi narrated from Abi Hurayra RA as well; ((أين المتحابين في جلالي اليوم أظلهم في ظلي ، يوم لا ظل إلا ظلي )) meaning: "Where are those who loved one another for My sake? Today I shall shade them under my shade, when there will be no shade but my mine!"

 So, O fellow Muslim, take heed in who you take as a friend and companion and realize that not every person is suited to be your companion. The righteous belong with the righteous, and likewise, the sinners and disobedient belong with one another.

 This is the sunnah of Allah as He says: (( الخبيثات للخبيثين والخبيثون للخبيثات والطيبات للطيبين والطيبون للطيبات)) meaning: "Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women). Good statements are for good people (or good women for good men) and good people for good statements (or good men for good women).."[Surah Nur:26]

 وصل الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم