Under the twinkling stars that adorned the vast night sky, imagine you’re along with a set of companions whose hearts beat along with you for a similar purpose. On the 27th night of Ramadan, you gather to marvel at the beauty of Kalam-Ullah. You dive deeper and deeper into the ocean of knowledge and feel every verse revealing onto your heart as if it were revealing for the first time. You listen eagerly to what insights others have brought along. You don’t want that night to end because it is the closest you feel to Allah Rabbul Aalameen. Those moments of fear terrorize your heart when you read about Jahannam, as well as those moments of longing and hope for Jannah’s desires. Is it the blessings you are counting together mentioned in Surah Rahman or the patience you are all doing while reading Surah Ad-Duha?

Imagine you can feel all of that. Imagine your broken heart being healed with this set of companions. Those depressed nights don’t feel sad anymore. Do you want to feel this feeling? Well, the formula is simple. Go in search of righteous companions. Gather with them and talk about Allah Subhan wa Ta’ala. You will find the solution to all of the problems in a heartbeat.

الْأَخِلَّاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقِينَ

Friends, on that day, will become enemies to one another, except the God-fearing (43:67)1

The Friendship that has importance in the eyes of Allah is only of those who are for His sake. In this world, when a man adopts any course opposed to the Truth, he finds many friends to support him. Man becomes bolder and bolder on the strength of such friendship. In this world, your mates may call you towards gossiping, saying nonchalantly that ‘Can’t we even speak this much?’But all these friends will abandon you on the Day of Judgement. On that Day, only that friendship will last which has been established based on the fear of God.

Do you want such a disgrace in the everlasting life for the desires of this temporary world?

Why is acquiring righteous companionship stressed so much in Islam?

Why does the Quran stress friendship in so many places? Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was asked what sort of friends we should keep in our company. To this, he replied: The one who reminds you of Allah when you see him and adds to your knowledge when he speaks, and reminds you of the Hereafter when he acts. (Qurtubi)

Why does our beloved Prophet ﷺ say that?
We follow the lifestyle of the people we are surrounded with. Try to remember the days of your adolescence. Have you ever noticed yourself adapting to a certain accent not taught around the house? Or did you ever think why you no longer like the taste of your favourite childhood dish? Why don’t you feel like wearing the clothing you always wore? Believe it or not, you are influenced by the people around you! Well, don’t feel bad about it, because it is completely normal. While this is normal, it doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be accountable for our actions.

The Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith, ‘Allah, may He be exalted, will fold up the heavens in His Right Hand, and will take the earth in His other Hand, then He will say: “I am the Sovereign, I am the Judge. Where are the kings of the earth? Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?” and it will be a hard day for the disbelievers.’ It will be very difficult because it will be the Day of Justice and the decisive judgment. (Sahih Muslim)

Are we thinking of giving silly justifications on such a terrorizing day?

Every friendship that exists for a purpose other than for the sake of Allah will turn to enmity on the Day of Resurrection, except for that which is for the sake of Allah, which will last forever. This is like the statement of Ibrahim: peace be upon him, to his people: ‘You have taken (for worship) idols instead of Allah. The love between you is only in the life of this world, but on the Day of Resurrection, you shall disown each other, and curse each other, and your abode will be the Fire, and you shall have no helper.’ (29:25)3

Every wrongdoer will feel the ultimate regret on the Day of Resurrection and will bite at his hands, saying:

يوَيْلَتَا لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلاَناً خَلِيلاً

“O! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as an intimate friend!” meaning, the one among the propagators of misguidance who diverted him from true guidance and led him to follow the path of misguidance. The path of music, fangirling, immodesty, and gossiping.

لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ الذِّكْرِ

‘He indeed led me astray from the Reminder” meaning this Qur’an,

بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى

“after it had come to me.”4

One thing to note here is the sentence ‘after it had come to me,’ meaning it is about us, believers who are doing all our sins after knowing the right path. The moral that can be deduced from these verses is that when two friends get together in acts of immorality and sin and help each other in performing forbidden deeds, then the same will apply to them and they will be remorseful and feel sorry for their friendship in the Hereafter. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (RA) has reported a tradition of the Holy Prophet ﷺ: Every person is influenced by the faith and way of life of his friends. Therefore, one must be very mindful when selecting his friends. (Bukhari)

Companions that used to worship Allah together, when they enter Jannah would say, “How merciful was Allah to us when he pardoned us and freed us, as we used to be amongst our people, those that believed in Allah Subh’anahu Wa Ta-A’la and feared Him.” These friends, even amid great wickedness, used to turn towards the path of righteousness in this Dunya. And now, they’re celebrating being the only of all people to enter Paradise. The Prophet ﷺ said, “When the people of Paradise enter it, then friends that used to worship Allah Subh’anahu Wa Ta-A’la together, will start to long for one another.”5 Imagine having a conversation with your friend in Jannah “On such and such day, and in such and such place, we called upon Allah Subh’anahu Wa Ta-A’la and he forgave us.”

Do we even have companions to deserve a conversation like this?

So, as you remember the days of Dunya, imagine what you are discussing. Was it the 27th night in the masjid together? Was it Umrah together? You may be just reflecting on old times and old jokes. But righteous friends also discuss things they used to discuss in this life. Ibn Qayyim Rahimahullah says, “Imagine the students of knowledge, the people that used to care so much about religious knowledge, continuing their discussions in Jannah.”

One thing that will force you to choose righteous friends is that these friends can save you from the hellfire after being cast into it. According to a hadith, the prophet ﷺ said, “Verily, there are some people who will be brought out of the fire having been burnt all over except for their faces. And they will enter paradise with all traces of the fire removed after their friends pour water on them. And the people of Paradise will say, ‘These are the people of hell fire, who were brought out and admitted into Jannah.”(Muslim) So you’re pulling your friend out of a hard time. They don’t just simply say ‘Choose your friends wisely’ because it doesn’t just mean for this world, in fact, to a greater extent, the next world.

Don’t just be someone who hangs out with righteous people who can drag you. But also think of how you can save others. And the tremendous reward of being a source of hidayah. While seeking the best companions who are upon guidance, seek for the effect they have upon you in this Dunya, and seek their possible intercessions to elevate you in Paradise.

And that’s why the Prophet ﷺ said, “Adhere to the Jama’ah (community), beware of separation. For indeed, Shaytaan is with the one who is alone, and he is further away from two.”6

So, search for mates, groups, and organizations that work for the cause of Allah. Just like loving Allah Subh’anahu Wa Ta-A’la is not like loving anyone else, loving someone for the sake of Allah is not like loving anyone else.

References:

1 Al Quran 43:67
2 Tafseer Maarif-ul Quran v. 43:67, Ibn Kathir p. 134, v.4
3 Al Quran 29:25
4 Tafseer Ibn Katheer v. (25:28-29)
5 Derived from Hadith Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7440
6 Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2165