Righteous Friends

The Intercession of Friends in the Hereafter

There is a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that the people go to Al-Jannah. And then they say — and this shows you how strong love is and how strong friendship is — that even after they're in Al-Jannah, they say: how can we enjoy the pleasures of Al-Jannah while our brothers are being tormented and punished in the hellfire? That's to that extent. How can we enjoy Al-Jannah while our brothers are being punished in the hellfire?

Some of the scholars said these brothers being referred to here are not even very close friends — not best friends or anything. Some of the scholars said this could be someone who just came and sat with them once at a gathering, and they remember this person.

And so:

The man will continue to intercede for his friend until that friend will be taken out of the hellfire.

And then the people of the hellfire will be amazed and puzzled. And they will say, مَنْ شَفَعَ لَهُ؟ — who is the one who interceded for them? They will ask: was his father a shaheed, a martyr? And it will be told, no. Was his brother a shaheed? And it will be told, no. Did an angel take them out of the hellfire? They will be told, no. Did a prophet take them out of the hellfire? And they will be told, no. And then they will be told: it was their friend who interceded for them and got them out of the hellfire.

And after that, the people of the hellfire will say what Allah mentions in Surah Ash-Shu'ara:

"We have no intercessors. And we have no close friends. And if we could return back to earth, we would be from the righteous." And some scholars said: we would be from the righteous, we would be close to the righteous, we would befriend the righteous — so they could benefit us in the akhira.

Friends on the Day of Judgment

And that's why in Surah Az-Zukhruf, Allah says:

الْأَخِلَّاءُ — the plural of Khalil. We said the Khalil is your very close companion. So the plural form. The close friends on that day — يَوْمَئِذٍ — will be enemies to each other, except the righteous.

So people who are together today and have strong bonds — whether it be just regular bonds, or bonds in crime or gangs, and they would die for each other — those will be enemies on the Day of Judgment. They will be cursing each other, hating each other, making du'a against each other in the hellfire, asking Allah to curse the other person and to punish the other person more — because they were not righteous, because they will blame one another for being the reason that they ended up in the hellfire.

And that's why it's very important — especially for the young men and women listening and for the parents — to be aware of this. A lot of times some of our youth don't have any Muslim friends. And when you tell them, "make sure you have Muslim friends," they give the same argument. They always say, "those non-Muslim friends of mine are better than some of these Muslim friends." But those non-Muslim friends are not from the quality that we're talking about. They will not intercede for you on the Day of Judgment. They will not assist you on the Day of Judgment. And they will probably be enemies on the Day of Judgment. There is no benefit. Make sure you have righteous friends. Young and old, make sure you have a lot of righteous friends.

Those Who Will Be Envied by the Prophets and Martyrs

In another hadith — and again, you see this many times in Islam — an immense reward is mentioned and when you look it up, it's something really simple. It's always like that: an immense reward mentioned just for doing a simple act, or saying a simple short du'a, or praying two short rak'aat. But in this hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22034; also reported in Sunan Abu Dawud)

He says: there will be people — and this is talking about the Day of Judgment — from the servants of Allah. They are not prophets and they are not martyrs. Yet the prophets and the martyrs will envy them on the Day of Judgment because of their position with Allah.

الْغِبْطَةُ is when you wish you had the blessing that the other person has, but without wishing for them to lose it — that's hasad. You just wish you had the same thing, but you're happy that they have it. So these are normal servants of Allah, and on the Day of Judgment, the prophets and the martyrs — the highest levels of people — will wish they had what these normal people have, because of their position with Allah.

In another version, the Prophet ﷺ describes that he will give them manabir — pulpits, which are like elevated areas, like stages — made of light. And their faces will be filled with light, and they will be upon light. Then the Prophet ﷺ describes:

This is the Day of Judgment — the day of fear, when people are afraid. Allah called the Hour الْقَارِعَةُ الَّتِي تَقْرَعُ الْقُلُوبَ — that which shocks the heart with fear. And Allah mentions how people will be looking down, just like when someone is in trouble they look down. How many times in the Qur'an: خَاشِعَةً أَبْصَارُهُمْ — everyone is afraid, everyone is in trouble. But the Prophet ﷺ says these people will not be afraid when people are afraid, and they will not be saddened even when everyone else is saddened.

So the Prophet ﷺ described them:

These are people who loved each other for the sake of Allah, and there was no blood relation between them. If this was the only evidence we have for the importance of having righteous friends — and loving them and connecting with them for the sake of Allah — it would be sufficient.

Allah's Love is Guaranteed for Those Who Love for His Sake

In another hadith, Allah says:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21525; reported as a hadith qudsi)

My love is guaranteed for those who love each other for My sake. My love is guaranteed for those two people — or more — who love each other for My sake. And those who gather and sit because of Me, for My sake. And those who visit each other for My sake.

And visiting each other — this is an important point — it's something that we've kind of abandoned now. Make sure you visit each other in your homes and invite people to your homes. Because the hadith already mentions that they sit together. So when you take your brother out to a restaurant and you sit there and talk and meet, you've accomplished this — you've sat together. But Allah specifically mentioned they visit each other. And there is a higher level of intimacy when you visit someone in their home. You actually get to visually see the state that they're in. You get to see what kind of car they have. You get to know if they're poor or not. And many times you don't know the situation of people.

I'll never forget — we were passing out, this was overseas, passing out the zakat al-fitr, the food. And there was a brother we used to always meet in the masjid. We didn't know his situation. And I was surprised when we stopped and delivered the food to his house. You would not know his situation unless you visited his home. It's another level of intimacy.

The Man Who Visited His Brother for the Sake of Allah

And as we all know the famous hadith of the man that was on his way to another village or town to visit his friend. And Allah sent him an angel. And the angel asked him, أَيْنَ تُرِيدُ؟ — where are you going? And he said, أُرِيدُ أَخًا لِي فِي هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ — I'm going to a brother of mine in this village. So then the angel asked him, do you have any business or anything that you need from him or anything like that? And he said, no — except that I just love him for the sake of Allah. There's nothing else that I want from him. So the angel told him:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2567)

I am an angel of Allah sent to you to inform you that Allah loves you just as you have loved your friend for the sake of Allah.

And that's why the early Muslims — when they would enter a new city, what du'a would they make? To stay for a while, or to move to it, they would say:

Their du'a was: Ya Allah, find me a good companion — someone righteous that I can be with.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله العظيم لي ولكم من جميع الذنوب فاستغفروه، فيا فوز المستغفرين. Ask Allah for His forgiveness. Indeed, those who ask for His forgiveness shall prosper.

The Second Khutbah: What True Friendship Means

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الأمين، وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. أما بعد.

The word صَدِيق — which means "friend" in Arabic — linguistically, its root comes from صِدْق, which is truthfulness. So what does truthfulness have to do with friendship? The scholars said that if there is any gap, they fill it. If there is a shortcoming, they will complete it. If there is a flaw in you, they will conceal it. If you need help in righteousness, they will assist you, they will advise you, and they will care for your akhira.

If you want to know who your truly good righteous friends are — see if they give you advice about your akhira or not. Because the ones who love you are the ones who care for your akhira. Someone who doesn't advise you about your next life, about your obedience to Allah, that is not true love.

And that's why for the youth in the audience — the one who is always on your case about your akhira is your parents, or even more specifically your mother, who's always reminding you to pray. Because true love means you care for someone's akhira. So advise one another, and accept advice, and act upon that advice.

What to Do with Bad Friends and Bad Company

The two last points we're going to mention. What if you have bad friends and bad company? Do you stay with them or do you part ways? The guideline is as follows: as long as you are changing them to any good — even if it's just 5% — as long as good happens when you're with them, you maintain that relationship.

You have four friends who are not very practicing. But when you're with them, they might pray Dhuhr. They might not use profanity or do some haram things because your presence is there. Then you keep that relationship and you keep advising and you keep that link with them.

But if it ever gets to the point where when you're with them you miss Dhuhr, you start to use bad words or say things that are inappropriate — the minute it starts to affect your deen, that is the point where you can part ways from them.

Setting Boundaries with Friends

And then the last thing is setting boundaries with friends. And the good news here is that you only have to set the boundary one time. You don't have to always do it. You have to let them know that you don't accept something — once — and they will remember it for the rest of the time. It's not like every time you meet them you have to say it.

But a lot of times people are very scared or shy to let people know what makes them comfortable or uncomfortable — what their boundaries are. So don't be. You only have to do it one time, and they will listen.

And a very important note — especially in our day and age — is that when you set the boundaries, you don't have to be rude. There doesn't have to be a tone of belligerence and rudeness. Just let people know what your boundaries are, and then continue on with your friendship.

Du'a