Who is Your Best Friend?

ٱلۡأَخِلَّآءُ يَوۡمَٮِٕذِۭ بَعۡضُهُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ 

Imagine the scene on the Day of Judgment. The Throne of Allah is before you in all its Glory and Grandeur. Hell fire is chained and restrained by 70,000 angels. Jannah is brought near, the gates are wide open and the angels are welcoming the believers with Salams and Congratulations.

Who is standing next to you? Your spouse? Your kids? Your parents? Or your best friend? 

"On the Day of Judgment, only the people of Taqwa will remain friends with each other, while everyone else will turn into enemies." 43: 67

Allah designed humans (Insaan) as social creatures.  Insaan comes from two root words which means: (a) to seek affection and (b) to forget. Hence, as human beings we gravitate towards friends, communication, sharing and love. 

Usually we make friends with people who are our colleagues, classmates and neighbours. With the dawn of Facebook and Twitter, we have hundreds of friends and thousands of followers from all over the world. However, the only friendships which will last on the Day of Judgment are those we shared with the people of Taqwa. 

Taqwa is defined as the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible dangers or difficulties. People of Taqwa are those who protect and vigilantly guard themselves from the danger of falling into sins and disobeying Allah as a consequence. Sins bring difficulties and stress into our lives. 

Friends with Taqwa remind us of Allah when we forget. It is in our nature to forget, we are after all, Insaan. When we are  friends with people who have Taqwa, we constantly feel connected to Allah. 

The Prophet ﷺ was asked: “Which of our friends are best?” 

He ﷺ replied: “One whose appearance reminds you of Allah, and whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions remind you of the hereafter.” (al-MuhasFibi). 

Friends of Allah dress presentably and modestly. They are not ostentatious; their clothing reflects their desire to seek attention from Allah and not from people. They don't waste their time on gossip, offensive jokes or idle subjects. When they speak, they are thought provoking, insightful, gentle and Allah-loving. They are always mindful of the Hereafter and they aspire to achieve greatness in the Hereafter.  

Friends with Taqwa also protect us from things which distance us from Allah. They don't allow us to be influenced and distracted by music, videos, books, lust, power, money, and pride. Friends with Taqwa not only help us see our sins, they spur us towards Allah's obedience. They are like cheerleaders without whom we would become spiritually lazy and stagnant.

May Allah make us people of Taqwa and grant us Friends with Taqwa ameen.

Family Quran Study

وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنۡہُمۡ أَٮِٕمَّةً۬ يَہۡدُونَ بِأَمۡرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُواْ‌ۖ وَڪَانُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ (٢٤) إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ يَفۡصِلُ بَيۡنَهُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ فِيمَا ڪَانُواْ فِيهِ يَخۡتَلِفُونَ (٢٥) أَوَلَمۡ يَهۡدِ لَهُمۡ كَمۡ أَهۡلَڪۡنَا مِن قَبۡلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلۡقُرُونِ يَمۡشُونَ فِى مَسَـٰكِنِهِمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ لَأَيَـٰتٍ‌ۖ أَفَلَا يَسۡمَعُونَ (٢٦)

These verses in Surah As-Sajdah (Ch. 32) are a compliment to وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنۡہُمۡ أَٮِٕمَّةً۬ the believers who want to be leaders in the community. 

Allah says, the quality of a leader is that يَہۡدُونَ بِأَمۡرِنَا he/she guides by the Command of Allah – they read Allah’s commands in the Qur’an; they read the Qur’an consciously with understanding until the commands of the Qur’an infuse their entire being , and as a result, everything they do. Next, they impress Allah’s commands upon their families with recurring and repetitive Qur’an study. 

Whether it’s pizza-and-movie Friday, board game night or hiking and biking outside, every family has things they enjoy doing together. Muslim leaders set aside a specific day and time to enjoy family Qur’an study. It doesn’t have to be hours and hours long or everyday. With sewing, swimming, and soccer classes, weekend parties and summer road trips, no doubt we are all short on time. 

One key step in laying the groundwork for family Qur’an study is patience - لَمَّا صَبَرُواْ‌ۖ Patience means to hold back and

control oneself. We must cut back on a few commitments in order to make Qur'an, a genuine reality in our lives and pass the same faith legacy to our children.
We must cut back on the weekly grind of driving ourselves and our kids all over the city - from one class, game, birthday party, practice or movie after another. When we are less tired and stressed over the fast-paced, hectic schedules that we have created, we'll have more time for Qur'an with our families. 

It all depends on our faith and our aspirations. What do we really want for ourselves and our children in this world? If we want the best in this world, then we'll invest in everything from pole vaulting to chess classes, space camps and programming workshops, gymnastics practice and pottery training. But if we are convinced of the Hereafter وَڪَانُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ and want a return in the Hereafter, then we'll give ourselves and our kids a chance to know Allah (in a language that we understand) and His blueprint for our lives in the Qur'an. The Hereafter is not only a destination, it's a motivation to be more invested in family Quran study. Those who think the most about the next life, internalize the most Qur'an in this one.

It is okay to want to improve our worldly life experiences but not at the cost of our Hereafter experience. 

Allah will eventually separate us from everything that we have earned in this world and everything we want to give to our children. إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ يَفۡصِلُ بَيۡنَهُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ We and our kids will be buried alone, without our trophies, certificates, pictures of our world travels, souvenirs, cash, cars and luxury homes. The only thing that will be with us in our graves and stand before us with Allah on the Day of Judgement, is the Qur'an.

Allah says to مِن قَبۡلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلۡقُرُونِ يَمۡشُونَ فِى مَسَـٰكِنِهِمۡ‌ۚ look at the ruins of the past great civilizations: the sandstone temple in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, walk through the city of Baalbek in Lebanon or Mycenae in Greece. Study their incredible monuments, the architetural cuts in their columns, observe the high colourful arches on their ceilings and glass paintings ... these great civilizations were also separated from their progress, ingenuity and advancement.
They left behind their reminanents as reminder of what really matters in life - We weren’t put on this planet to mark things off on our “To Do” list. Allah didn’t create us for a bunch of competitive activities and sports. Allah created us so we could know Him, love Him and serve Him and He could love us back. If we’re not spending time getting to know Allah as He has revealed Himself in the Qur'an, we are missing the number one purpose of our lives.