In the Name of Allāh.
Imagine if Allāh says you are His Friend, won’t you like that? Well, the riposte that I expect is; Yes! Indeed, I like to be Allāh’s Friend. However, to be His Friend, one needs two great all-inclusive qualities; ‘Eeman (being a true believer) and ‘Taqwa (being conscious of Allāh to construct a barrier between oneself and Hell-Fire). Perfect Praise is to Allāh; the Expander of His Favors. He says (in Surah Yunus [10] verses 62-63): “No doubt! Verily, the Auliya’ of Allāh (i.e. Friends of Allah), no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve, they are those who believed (in the Oneness of Allāh – Islamic Monotheism), and used to fear Allāh much (by abstaining from evil deeds and sins and by doing righteous deeds).”
More so, to be a true believer (possessing sound ‘Eeman) one needs to take care of two things. They are; to worship Allāh Alone (without associating partners with Him) and let the worship be by the Sunnah (legal way, teaching, etc.) of His Messenger (ﷺ). Allah says (in Surah Al-‘Imran [3] verse 31): Say (O Muhammad ﷺ to mankind): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Quran and Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Once one has all that, he’s then a Friend of Allāh who shall enjoy His Protection. As recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, the Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allāh says: “Whosoever shows enmity to a Wali (Friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him…”
I beseech Allāh to please befriend us and be merciful to us. (Aameen)
