What is meant by the supplication in the witr prayer, "And make us among those You have taken as Your friends," and the meaning of wilayah (friendship) and its types.
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The Shaykh : It means: Be our close friend.
The special wilayah (friendship) is for the believers specifically:[Al-Baqarah 2:257].
[Al-Ma'idah 5:55].
You ask Allah the Exalted for the special wilayah (friendship) which entails, or which necessitates, the care for the one whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic has taken as His friend.
As for the general wilayah (friendship): it includes everyone, for Allah is the close friend of everyone:[Al-An'am 6:61], and this is general for everyone.
[Al-An'am 6:62] That is: the general wilayah (friendship).
But when we say: O Allah, make us among Your awliya (close friends of Allah), or O Allah, make us among those You have taken as Your friends, we mean by it the special wilayah (friendship). The special wilayah (friendship) entails success, victory, and being prevented from everything that angers Allah the Mighty and Majestic.
And make us among those You have taken as Your friends
وتولنا فيمن توليتThe special wilayah (friendship) is for the believers specifically:
Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are Taghut
اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُYour ally is none but Allah and [therefore] His Messenger and those who have believed - those who establish prayer and give zakah
إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَAnd make us among those You have taken as Your friends
فتولنا فيمن توليتAs for the general wilayah (friendship): it includes everyone, for Allah is the close friend of everyone:
until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him, and they do not fail [in their duties].
حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لا يُفَرِّطُونَThen they His servants are returned to Allah, their true Lord
ثُمَّ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلاهُمُ الْحَقِّBut when we say: O Allah, make us among Your awliya (close friends of Allah), or O Allah, make us among those You have taken as Your friends, we mean by it the special wilayah (friendship). The special wilayah (friendship) entails success, victory, and being prevented from everything that angers Allah the Mighty and Majestic.