The consequences of harming Awliyaullah
Allah’s love for those who are committed to Him
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ سَیَجۡعَلُ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ وُدࣰّا
Surely, those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them the All-Merciful (Allah) will give love. [Maryam, 19:96]
This ayah is a very unique ayah in the Quran in which Allah talks about His love (mawaddah) for believers. We have come across the verse in Surat Ar Rum which also mentions mawaddah in the context of marriage in the famous ayah,
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنتُم بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
And of His signs is that He created you from dust; then, suddenly you were human beings dispersing [throughout the earth].
And as of His Signs, He created mates for you from your souls that you may find rest in them. And He put between you love and mercy (compassion). Most surely there are Signs (proofs) in this for a people who reflect (reckon). [Ar-Rum 30:20-21]
The concept of love is important and expressed by the words mawaddah as well as mahabba. It is one of the pillars of imaan – to love Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). Allah is declaring that He will bestow His love on those who believe and do good deeds. Those who believe in the Quran and act upon their belief continuously, have been given the good news that He will love them. What does it mean to be loved by Allah? There are many narrations about this.
Commitment to Allah
Allah Almighty said:
وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ، فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْت سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ، وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ، وَيَدَهُ الَّتِي يَبْطِشُ بِهَا، وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِي يَمْشِي بِهَا، وَلَئِنْ سَأَلَنِي لَأُعْطِيَنَّهُ، وَلَئِنْ اسْتَعَاذَنِي لَأُعِيذَنَّهُ”. [رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ].
And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nawafil (supererogatory) deeds until I Love him. When I Love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge. [Bukhari]
Allah Almighty paves the way for us to get His love – if we want His love, we have to fulfil our obligations and then add on voluntary extras. Obligations come first and voluntary acts supplement them, as our obligations fall short, so the extras upgrade them.
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah says:
عن أنس رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فيما يرويه عن ربه عز وجل قال: “ إذا تقرب العبد إلي شبراً تقربت إليه ذراعاً، وإذا تقرب إلي ذراعاً تقربت منه باعاً، وإذا أتاني يمشي أتيته هرولة” . ((رواه البخاري)).
When a slave of Mine draws near to Me a span, I draw near to him a cubit; and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running. [Bukhari]
Allah’s love and acceptance
In another narration, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه عن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال: ”إذا أحب الله العبد نادى جبريل: إن الله تعالى يحب فلانًا،
فأحببه، فيحبه جبريل، فينادي في أهل السماء: إن الله يحب فلانًا، فأحبوه، فيحبه أهل السماء، ثم يوضع له القبول في الأرض”. ((متفق عليه)) .
وفي رواية لمسلم : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ”إن الله تعالى إذا أحب عبدًا دعا جبريل، فقال : إني أحب فلانًا فأحببه، فيحبه جبريل، ثم ينادي في السماء، فيقول: إن الله يحب فلانًا، فأحبوه، فيحبه أهل السماء، ثم يوضع له القبول في الأرض، وإذا أبغض عبدًا دعا جبريل فيقول: إني أبغض فلانًا، فأبغضه، فيبغضه جبريل، ثم ينادي في أهل السماء، إن الله يبغض فلانًا، فأبغضوه، ثم توضع له البغضاء في الأرض”.
“When Allah loves a slave, calls out Jibril and says:
‘I love so-and-so; so love him’. Then Jibril loves him. After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allah loves so- and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him”. [Bukhari and Muslim]
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“When Allah loves a slave, He calls Jibril (Gabriel) and says: ‘I love so-and-so; so love him.’ And then Jibril loves him. Then he (Jibril) announces in the heavens saying: Allah loves so-and-so; so love him; then the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him; and then people on earth love him. And when Allah hates a slave, He calls Jibril and says: ‘I hate so- and-so, so hate him.’ Then Jibril also hates him. He (Jibril) then announces amongst the inhabitants of heavens: ‘Verily, Allah hates so- and-so, so you also hate him.’ Thus they also start to hate him. Then he becomes the object of hatred on the earth also”. [Muslim]
Thus the one who is loved is granted acceptance. Wherever he goes, he is given tawfiq. Allah protects him and supports him.
أَلَاۤ إِنَّ أَوۡلِیَاۤءَ ٱللَّهِ لَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَیۡهِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ یَحۡزَنُونَ
ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَكَانُوا۟ یَتَّقُونَ
Listen, the friends of Allah shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.
-those who have believed and have been fearful of Allah. [Yūnus, 10:62-63]
Who is a wali of Allah?
Allah expresses this clearly in the Quran, saying that the awliyaullah are those who believe, and keep doing good deeds. He uses the continuous tense to describe that they keep translating their imaan into action. As they continue to do this, they enter the circle of awliyaullah. Is it possible for you and me to be among the awliya? There are many levels, but the first rung on the ladder of wilaya is maintaining your five salah. Allah does not take it lightly if someone harms His awliya’. He has only declared on two people in the Quran – those who deal with riba, as mentioned in the Quran and those who harms or shows hostility to his awliya, as mentioned in the hadith. In fact, Allah declares war on them.
Allah declares war against those who oppose the Awliyaullah
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَة رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُول اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم إنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَالَ: “مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقْد آذَنْتهُ بِالْحَرْبِ،
Verily Allah has said: ‘Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him.
وفي رواية عند أحمد: من آذى لي ولياً، فقد استحل محاربتي.
“Whoever harms a Wali, a friend of mine, is considering fighting me permissible. [Ahmad]
What does it mean that Allah declares war on someone? It means they are in a battle with Allah and it is clear who will win. It is a warning, as Ibn Hajar commented on the hadith.
So whoever opposes the Wali of Allah (His friend), then Allah has declared war against him. And this is the ultimate threat; for whoever Allah declares war against and treats as an enemy, is undoubtedly doomed. And who can endure the war with Allah?!
It is without doubt, Allah will defend those who believe. However this will be according to His plan, not ours. He does it His way, not our way.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ یُدَ ٰفِعُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوۤا۟ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا یُحِبُّ كُلَّ خَوَّانࣲ كَفُورٍ
Surely, Allah defends those who believe. Allah does not love any treacherous, ungrateful. [Al-Ḥajj, 22:38]
In the university campuses, as students protest against the war against the people of Gaza we see that Allah is mobilising His forces – be they believers, non-believers, Arabs, or non-Arabs, they are raising their voices for the oppressed people of Gaza. It is no longer a war against Gaza, it is a war against Allah, because His awliya’ are being harmed. Without doubt we can see them on the ground. We see them praying Fajr under the rubble, with their homes collapsed on top of them, and yet they do not fail to worship Him. In the story of Musa and Khidr (peace be upon them), Musa could not see the full picture and was constantly surprised by Khidr’s actions. However Khidr knew what Musa did not know. And Allah has the full picture. He will do it His own way.
Whoever harms His awliya’ will have to contend with the wrath and armies of Allah. It is a war without weapons. Your weapon is your trust in Allah and your imaan and your good deeds. Put your trust in Allah, and He will defend you. Allah’s promise can never be broken.
Out of the darkness, dawn will break
Those who have been killed, have been lifted to Allah. Is it a loss? No, it is a win-win situation, as they are shaheed (martyrs), if they died with the right intention. We do not doubt their intentions because we think well of others. We are seeing the tafseer of the Quran before our eyes.
The more Allah shakes us the more He wants us to be better. Tests transport us from level one to level two and level two to level three, so keep your imaan in Allah strong and keep persevering. Keep your connection to Him strong, and keep doing good deeds, so that we pass this test and become stronger. It is painful and it is breaking our hearts, but it is the pain before delivery. It is the darkness that comes before Fajr, inshallah Fajr will come soon and our Ummah with breathe will relief. Inshallah the people of Gaza will be liberated. It will bring our Ummah together and increase our bondship. Ameen
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim 3rd May 2024.
Shaykh Haytham Tamim
Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.
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