~*~ A True Friend Indeed - Allah, The Almighty ~*~

 
A A  friend in need is a friend indeed; and we all know that.  Still we cannot find one friend who is 100 percent reliable, strong, solid, dependable, more knowledgeable, wiser and great advisor; who could handle every situation and who could get us out of trouble of any and all sorts. The only entity of that magnitude is called Omnipotent.  And there is no parallel to Allah, the Creator, the Cherisher, the Merciful and the Beneficent.

He is the best Friend, rather only Friend, that can help us, guide us and take us thru thick & thin. He is the One that can protect us from Satan and take us all the way to Heaven. 

He tells us:
            ‘And when you recite the Quran, seek refuge in Allah
            from Satan the outcast. Lo, he has no power over those
            who believe and put trust in their Lord’. … (Holy Quran 16:98-99)

Satan is our biggest adversary, greatest enemy and the most ruthless of fighters who are out there to test our faith. Satan and his army are constantly fighting the believers right from the day one of the creation of Adam & Eve. Its very easy for them to mislead us, make us waver, derail us and misguide us in every step of life. Humans are their easy prey. Its only with the help and protection of Allah that we can stand up to them. And in this endeavour Allah is our only Friend, only Protector, who will always stand by us.  Now, that is a Friend indeed.
If our faith is not strong and we are on shaky grounds, we are tempted to make Satan our friend as he approaches us every minute of the day with something new and enchanting. And believe me its very very hard to resist the temptation. 

The Almighty says:
            ‘O ye who believe! Follow not the footsteps of the devil. Unto
            whomsoever follows the footsteps of the devil, lo, he commands
            filthiness and wrong’. … (Holy Quran 24:21)

Millions of Muslims live in non-Muslim countries and they deal with non-believers. Secularism is the most fashionable term the followers of Satan use to mislead Muslim youth. Unfortunately, our young generation is falling prey to them. They trust some superpower more than Allah and they submit to their worldly charms. 

The Almighty says about Satan:
            ‘His power is only over those who make a friend of him, and those
             who ascribe partners unto Him (Allah)’…. (Holy Quran 16:100)

Its not easy to resist the temptation and fight the Satan.  But a sincere and honest effort is due on our part. And Allah always helps those who have sincerity of purpose.

Almighty Allah tells us to be careful:
            ‘Tell my bondsmen to speak that which is kindlier. Lo, the devil
            soweth discord among them. Lo, the devil is for man an open foe’.
                                                (Holy Quran 17:53)

You got to believe the word of Allah The Almighty against the word of devil. Satan and his followers are our open enemy.

Almighty Allah says;
            ‘So, obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them herewith
            with a great endeavour’. ….. (Holy Quran 25:52)
            ‘Lo, the squanderers were ever brothers of the devils, and the
            devil was ever an ingrate to his Lord’. … (Holy Quran 17:27)

And here are the signs of those who fall an easy prey to the devils. 

The Almighty Allah says:
            ‘Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?
            They descend on every sinful, false one.
            They listen eagerly, but most of them are liars.
            As for poets, the erring follow them’. …. (Holy Quran 26:221-224)

Now, here is a clear warning. We must stay away from sin and avoid the company of the sinful. They are not our friends. As believers, we have to answer questions before Allah. And there is no hiding, no escape from this. 

Almighty Allah says:
            ‘You cannot escape (from Him) in the earth or in the sky,
            and beside Allah there is for you no friend nor helpers’.
                                          ….. (Holy Quran 29:22)
            ‘…..Satan was ever man’s deserter in the hour of need’.
                                          ….. (Holy Quran 25:29)

So, there is no Friend nor Helper except Allah. If we want to escape the fury of God on the Day of Judgment, we better obey Him and make friend of Him. We should please Allah instead of pleasing our worldly masters or so-called ‘friends’, who are actually the friends of Satan.  Its very natural for Muslims to have Allah in their hearts and minds. As God says: Every child is born in the nature of Islam. It’s the parents who make him non-believer.  Its difficult for the Westerners to understand the importance of Allah in our daily lives. We believe that He is our only Friend and Protector.  

Prof. Caesar E. Farah of the University of Minnesota writes:
‘It would be difficult to observe a more thorough manifestation of devotion to God than is evinced by the followers of Islam. No other religion appears to inculcate as much dependence on God in the trivia of daily life, nor does God figure so centrally among other religious groups in the ups and downs of ordinary living. Indeed, no task, commitment, performance, journey or repose, however minute or momentous, pleasurable or unpleasurable; is undertaken without the involvemet of Allah. No blessing or bounty of any sort is received except through the grace of Allah. Misfortunes are endured with passivity and resignation, but faith in Allah remains unwavering, as it is His sole prerogative to bestow or withhold as He sees fit’.

Yes Professor. You are absolutely right. Allah is Everything, and is in everything for us.  He is our sole Provider. We cannot forget that one day we have to stand in front of Him and answer questions. 

We just cannot ignore what He tells us:
            ‘….. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that
                      ye may succeed’.            ….. (Holy Quran 24:3)

            ‘Establish worship and pay the poor-due and obey the

            messenger, that haply ye may find mercy’.
                                    ….. (Holy Quran 24:56)

As they say that life is not a bed of roses. And even if it were, there are always thorns with the roses. Negative and positive make the essence of life. There is no appreciation of light without darkness. Similarly, the hardships are essential part of the comforts of life. Even the prophets were not spared from that. The beauty of Islam is that our faith tells us that Allah never abandons us. He is always by our side.  When the forces of evil made the life of our prophet Muhammad (saw) miserable, he never gave up. He persisted against all odds because he had a friend in Allah. 

The Almighty Allah reminds him:
            ‘By the glorious hours of the dawn
            And the still darkness of the night,
            Your Lord has neither forsaken you,
            Nor is He displeased with you.
            Verily, what is to come in the future
            Is better for you than what has happened’. … (Holy Quran 93:1)

The true believers always have the peace of mind that their Protector is with them and they don’t have to worry about Satan or any adversary.  

They have the assurance of Allah:
  ‘As for those who strive for Us, We surely guide them to
            Our paths, and lo, Allah is with the good’.
                                          ….. (Holy Quran 29:69)

Its only the friends of Satan who need to worry about the end result of this game show.  As for Muslims, they know that Allah will never let them down. 

The Holy Quran affirms :
            ‘Life of this world attracts disbelievers
            And they scoff and mock at believers.
            But on the Day of Resurrection
            Those who are pious shall rise above them.
            For God showers His bounties
            On those whom He pleases’.   ….. (Chapter 2:212)

     ‘And of mankind is he who pays for mere pastime of discourse,

            that he may mislead from Allah’s way without knowledge and
            makes it the butt of mockery. For such there is a shameful doom’.
                                              ………. (Holy Quran 31:6)

May Allah help us in our efforts to stay away from the friends of Satan and establish a true, honest and sincere friendship with Allah – the only Friend we need, the only Friend indeed. Ameen ! 

By : M. Javed Naseem