. J; 1," (cont.)

"Whoever has mutual animosity with a friend (Ar., wah) of Mine." This qudsi hadith begins with a very stem warning: Allah declares war upon the one who opposes His devoted servants or His auliyaa.2 To understand this statement properly, the correct understanding of who is a wali of Allah must be established. The Concept of Wali According to the Quran and Sunnah Here the word wali (from the root wala) has been used. It has been translated as "friend" for lack of a better term. Wali (pl., auliyaa) or walaaya means, according to its Islamic understanding, support, love, honor, respect and being with one's beloved in both a spiritual and material sense.3 In Allah's description of the auliyaa, He points out two essential or necessary characteristics for anyone to be among the auliyaa of Allah. The first condition is imaan ("faith") while the second is taqwa ("God-consciousness"). Allah says in the Quran, 1 Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shaukaani, Qatr al-Wali ala hadith al-Wali (Beirut: Daar Thyaa al­ Turaath al-Arabi, n.d.), pp. 229-230. 2 The word é ("Mine") appears before the é-' (wali), although it could be said the other way around. This has some significance in the Arabic language. It implies that the person is Allah's wali and only Allah's. Furthermore, the way it is stated implies a great dealing of honor to the one who is a wali of Allah. See al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 361. 3 Muhammad ibn Saeed al-Qahtaani, Al-Walaa wa al-Baraa fl al-lslaam (Riyadh: Daar Taiba, n.d.), p. 90. 1 132 Hadith #38: "Whoever Shows Enmity to . . . " "Lo, verily the friends of Allah are those on whom fear comes not, nor do they grieve. Those who believe and keep their duty (Ar., yattaqoon) to Allah" (Yoonus 62-63). Al-Raazi points out that imaan and taqwa imply that they have a strong theoretical belief as well as correct practice and deeds. Hence, both theory and practice is exhibited by the auliyaa of Allah. 1 They are the ones who sincerely and continually obey Allah.2 The first and foremost of the auliyaa of Allah are those who are of the highest level of imaan and taqwa. They are most deserving of that honorific title. But Allah's auliyaa are not all of the same rank. Instead, as many Quranic commentators have pointed out, they fall into one of three categories. Allah has said, ė ,.. .I.. ,,.. ,.,, ;;i.J ,,. ., J ., ,,,. J L-঱ ࣴili ࣳ G/6 l 1/·"Jt..",.,1 C JJ I লI 8)ji '1 a ,,. ,,.. ,,. ... ,,. ,,. · ,,,. B ... ದ ಧ L..#,,.. . ,,. r t:.. { ,J ., ,,.. .,.... ., ,.,, r' ,... ., ' ., ,,,. ,, ,,. ., ୩ ' ., ... .uil 0!( u'y;;.:J ( J.!L.. Ȕ _, J .a 3;;A Ȕ _, ,,,. ,,,. ;.. ,,,. ,,. ,,. \" \,I ,,,,: ,,. , . "' ,..· / / "Then those who We chose of Our servants inherited the Book. But of them are some who wrong themselves and of them are some who are intermediate, and of them are some who outstrip others through good deeds, by Allah's leave" (Faatir 32). The exact characteristics of these three groups have been explained in the books of Quranic commentary. Concerning those "who wrong themselves", ibn Katheer says that they are the believers who are negligent in the performance of some of the obligatory duties and who perform some forbidden acts. Those "who are intermediate" are those who perform the obligatory duties and abstain from the forbidden acts yet at the same time do not perform all of the recommended acts and may perform some of the reprehensible (makrooh) acts. Those "who outstrip others through good deeds" are those who perform both the obligatory and recommended deeds and abstain from both the forbidden and reprehensible deeds.3 What this means is that, by the grace of Allah, perfection is not a requirement for being one of the auliyaa of Allah. Those who have imaan and taqwa and who may commit some sins are still fortunate enough to be among the auliyaa of Allah. At the same time, anyone who does not have imaan or taqwa and does not follow the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and yet claims to be one of the beloved of Allah is nothing but a liar. 1 Al-Raazi, vol. 5, p. 1 1 . 2 Ibn Hajr, Fath (al-Maktaba al-Tijaariyyah), vol. 13, p. 144. 3 ibn Katheer, Ta/seer, vol. 3, p. 609. 1 133 . Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Furthermore, since faith and taqwa in the heart cannot be seen by others, it is not possible to know who exactly is a wali of Allah (unless, of course, such is stated in revelation from Allah). Unless Allah or the Prophet (peace be upon him) has stated that a particular person is one of His devoted servants, no one can claim for certainty that "so and so'', no matter how pious he might outwardly seem, is definitely one of the auliyaa of Allah.