The Friends of Allah and the Friends of Satan
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The brother (A. A. S.) from Iraq says in the end of his letter: There is a man in our town who does not fast and does not pray. I saw with my own eyes that he plays gambling, and his companions claim that he is one of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the near ones. Reliable people told me that he curses Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). When I denied this heinous act, his disciples and companions claimed that this is his state in the outward appearance, but in his inner reality he is a believer. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in such a case?
Answer: This is a heretic and not a believer. Rather, such a person is one of the friends of Satan. The friends of Allah are the people of faith and piety. Allah the Exalted said: [Surah Yunus: 62-63]. This is in Surah Yunus. This is the description of the friends of Allah: the people of faith and piety in the outward and the inward. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : [Surah al-Anfal: 34]. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the friends of Allah and the friends of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are the believers, the people of piety. The one who displays the abandonment of prayer, the abandonment of fasting, and the cursing of Allah and His Messenger is not among the friends of Allah. Rather, he is among the friends of Satan. It is obligatory that he be asked to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. It is obligatory upon the rulers, if they become aware of such a person, to ask him to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. This is because the one who abandons prayer is a disbeliever. He is asked to repent, and if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. As for the one who curses Allah and His Messenger, he is killed without being asked to repent, according to a group of scholars, because his crime is great. And some said: He is asked to repent, and if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed.
So the conclusion is that this man and those like him are not among the friends of Allah, but he is among the friends of Satan. Those who support him and defend him, saying: "He is like this in the outward appearance, but in the inward reality he is a believer," are of his kind. These are wicked people among the friends of Satan, and they are supporters of evil and corruption. This is the affair of some of the deluded Sufis. One must be alert to this. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them), the scholars of the people of the Sunnah, said regarding the one for whom sainthood is claimed: "Even if he flew in the air or walked on water, he is not considered to be among the friends of Allah until his deeds are examined and he is weighed by the scale of the Shari'ah. If his matter is upright by the scale of the Shari'ah, and it is known that he is upright in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and he avoids the prohibitions of Allah and His Messenger, then he is the believer and the wali (close friend of Allah). And if it is seen from him what indicates his open sinfulness and his committing of prohibitions or his neglecting of obligations, then this is evidence that he is among the friends of Satan and not among the friends of Allah, as al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), Ahmad, and others among the scholars have explicitly stated."
So the conclusion is that such a person is among the friends of Satan. It is obligatory upon the one who knows this to report his case to the rulers so that he is dealt with as required: by asking him to repent and killing him if he does not repent, or killing him outright if he curses Allah and His Messenger. This is because a group of scholars hold that he is killed without being asked to repent. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: This is a heretic and not a believer. Rather, such a person is one of the friends of Satan. The friends of Allah are the people of faith and piety. Allah the Exalted said:
(62) Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve (63) Those who believed and were fearing Allah
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَand they were not [fit to be] its guardians? Its [true] guardians are not but the righteous
وَمَا كَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَThe family of so-and-so are not my awliya; rather, my awliya are the believers.
إن آل أبي فلان ليسوا لي بأولياء، إنما أوليائي المؤمنونSo the conclusion is that this man and those like him are not among the friends of Allah, but he is among the friends of Satan. Those who support him and defend him, saying: "He is like this in the outward appearance, but in the inward reality he is a believer," are of his kind. These are wicked people among the friends of Satan, and they are supporters of evil and corruption. This is the affair of some of the deluded Sufis. One must be alert to this. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them), the scholars of the people of the Sunnah, said regarding the one for whom sainthood is claimed: "Even if he flew in the air or walked on water, he is not considered to be among the friends of Allah until his deeds are examined and he is weighed by the scale of the Shari'ah. If his matter is upright by the scale of the Shari'ah, and it is known that he is upright in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and he avoids the prohibitions of Allah and His Messenger, then he is the believer and the wali (close friend of Allah). And if it is seen from him what indicates his open sinfulness and his committing of prohibitions or his neglecting of obligations, then this is evidence that he is among the friends of Satan and not among the friends of Allah, as al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), Ahmad, and others among the scholars have explicitly stated."
So the conclusion is that such a person is among the friends of Satan. It is obligatory upon the one who knows this to report his case to the rulers so that he is dealt with as required: by asking him to repent and killing him if he does not repent, or killing him outright if he curses Allah and His Messenger. This is because a group of scholars hold that he is killed without being asked to repent. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.