Be Among The Awliyah of Allah: Steps To Attaining The Loftiest Status

What is a Walī of Allah ?

The greatest identifier of an Islamic role model is their devotion to their Lord. Many of our righteous predecessors who have excelled in this element have been labeled with the illustrious title “Walī of Allah”. This phrase, often translated as “the friend of Allah”, more accurately means “the one who is close to Allah”. Nearness to our Lord, in this life and the next, is the loftiest status we can aim for. But who is this person? How does one achieve this status? Is it possible for us, as 21st century Muslims, to reach the same height?

The answer, as we might expect, lies in the Qurān, where Allah   succinctly describes the two key traits of his awliyā in Surah Yunus.

“Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.

Those who believed and were fearing Allah.” [Surah Yunus: 10;62-63]

These people, these mortals with a special relationship with their Creator, are characterized in the Quran by two qualities: īmān, or belief, and taqwā, or fear/god-consciousness. They are those with unshakeable faith, for whom the flame of Islam is a blazing furnace in their chest. They are, simultaneously, those for whom thoughts of the fires of Hell are a constant source of trepidation. These dual qualities of īmān and taqwā form the foundation of our religion: enjoining good and forbidding evil. Every Muslim has these qualities, but what sets apart the awliyā’ of Allah is the degree to which they manifest these characteristics. 

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyah describes this status in his book ‘Al-Furqan Bayna Awliyā’ Al-Rahmān wa Awliyā’ Al-Shayṭān’, or ‘The Differences Between the Awliyā’ of the Most Merciful and the Awliyā’ of the Devil’. In it, he describes walāyah of Allah as a status achieved by proximity to and love for Him. A walī has a strong sense of loyalty and obedience, loving what Allah loves and hating what He hates, taking as allies those whom He takes as allies and taking as enemies those whom He takes as enemies. Such a person strives to align their own objectives and morals with the pleasure of their Lord.

Thus, a person of excellent īmān is one who will always go the extra mile in goodness, never letting an opportunity for hasanāt pass them by because they know it involves actions loved by Allah . A person of excellent taqwā is one who not only abstains from sin, but who hates everything associated with any immoral action.

Strategies for Increasing Īmān

“They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous.” [Surah Al-Imran: 3;114]

Īmān begins with intentionality. Why do we do good? Why do we sacrifice our money, time, and energy on virtuous deeds? The answers to these questions lie within the innate human sense of morality, the fiṭrah, of which the ultimate source is Allah . A “good” deed is only considered good because it pleases Him; likewise, a “bad” deed is only considered evil because it invokes His Displeasure. That sense of pleasure and displeasure is key to the motivation of a walī of Allah .

To better understand this mindset, imagine the relationships we have with our parents. Why do we serve and obey them? Is it because of some social contract, or some sense of self-interest? No. We serve our parents because we love them, and that which brings them pleasure also brings us pleasure. A proud face from our father or a word of love from our mother instantly brightens our day. Now, project that same relationship onto Allah , the One who loves us 99 times more than our mothers, the one who is closer to us than our jugular vein. Should not His Pleasure be an even greater objective than the pleasure of our parents?

Centering our lives around the pleasure of Allah is a key step to becoming one of his awliyā, but it requires a solid understanding of what our relationship with Him is. Our Lord is not some aloof, uncaring god. He loves, cares, and provides for us, and our interactions with Him should reflect that.

He is an amalgamation of every positive quality in this world and more. When approaching Allah , it should be with the utmost goodness we can muster: with the respect accorded to a parent; with the trust given to a best friend; with the unique level of intimacy shared with a spouse; with the unwavering love gifted to a child. When our relationship with our Lord encompasses all of these qualities and more, His Pleasure will naturally become our top priority.

A practical strategy for enhancing our relationship with Allah is to elevate the way we speak with Him. Whether through du’ā, remembrance, or something else, we should strive to implement interaction with Him within every element of our lives. The first step of this is to set a regular time, outside of the mandatory prayers, where we converse with Allah in our native language. Many of the scholars of the past established this habit in the night, so that they could reflect upon the previous day to their Lord as their last action before sleeping. During this conversation, all barriers should be brought down, and we should approach Allah with utmost vulnerability. This is a time for reflection, for repenting for the sins of the previous day and showing gratitude for the unexpected blessings. This is a time to beg for that which we deeply desire and outline our plans for our lives to the greatest of planners. This is a time to glorify Allah and to truly lay our hearts bare. By consistently approaching our Lord in a state of vulnerability and communicating with Him in our own language daily, we will find ourselves growing closer to Him in no time. And as we increase that closeness, we should also strive to learn more about Him. Study His Names, their meanings, and how those meanings manifest throughout our religion. Read stories of the past and visualize how His Mercy and Generosity have elevated our nation of Islam in its darkest times.

As we strive to build a relationship with our Lord, we should also act to increase our love of His Messenger . In Surah al-Imran, Allah commands:

“Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Surah Al-Imran: 3;31]

Aiming for closeness to Allah [PC: Imad Alassiry (unsplash)

Qadi Thanaullah Panipati’s Tafsir al-Mazhari stresses the importance of this verse. Love is not some tangible, discrete thing; it is only measurable through the signs it leaves behind. Here, Allah tells us that a sign of love for Him is following the examples set by His Messenger . Ibn Taymiyah expands, in his same text mentioned earlier, saying, “In this verse, Allah explains that whoever follows the Messenger, Allah will love him, and whoever claims that Allah loves him but does not follow the Messenger is not one of the close friends (awliya’) of Allah.” This explanation is clear: closeness to the Lord also must mean closeness to the Messenger. This can be exemplified by integrating sunnah actions into our daily routine, by sending salawāt upon him constantly, and by asking Allah to grant us nearness to him in the next life.

Other actions to boost īmān revolve around other common religious rituals. It is important to note that we should prioritize mandatory actions over optional worship. There is no point spending half the night in taḥajjud if it causes us to sleep through Fajr the next day. If we notice gaps in our prayer, our charity, our fasting, those should be rectified first.

Once we are steady in our obligations, there are a variety of optional actions that, taken together, can elevate our īmān in our pursuit of becoming awliyā of Allah . Optional fasts are one such action with numerous benefits. Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, as is the sunnah, strengthens our discipline and generates enormous reward from Allah . In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah says “Every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall reward for it”. Fasting also enters us into a state where our du’ā is guaranteed to be accepted, further increasing the potential rizq derived from it.

Among the greatest senses of intimacy one can obtain with Allah in this world is during taḥajjud. There are few deeds more noble than abandoning our cozy beds in the last third of the night to stand on tired legs and recite, worship, and cry to our Lord at the moment when He is nearest to us. In the last verses of Surah Furqan, where Allah is describing the qualities of the “servants of the Most Compassionate”, He singles out this action of taḥajjud as especially rewarding:

“And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer].” [Surah Al-Furqan: 25;64]

As we take steps to increase our īmān, we will find the path of closeness to our Lord naturally opening to us. As Allah promises us, “Remember Me, and I will remember you”.

Strategies for Increasing Taqwā

While īmān is being mindful of the actions, words and deeds that come out of us, taqwā is being mindful of all that goes in. Strengthening our taqwā means ensuring everything surrounding and entering us is good. Our food is pure and halal. Our wealth is from allowed sources. Our clothing protects our chastity and is appropriate for our gender. That which we see, that which we hear, is only pleasing to Allah .

As Muslims living in the West, we endure a living situation which can only be described as an assault on taqwā. To step out of our homes is to expose ourselves to unclothed bodies, foul speech, rampant music, and worse. It is imperative, then, that we strive to limit our exposure to these things. The walī of Allah   is not necessarily one who is never exposed to evil. Rather, they are those who, when confronted with sin, recognize it for the wrong that it is and limit further exposure. This necessitates a constant lowering of the gaze, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. The moment we find our eyes being drawn towards something inappropriate, no matter how enticing it is, we need to force ourselves to look down. This extends beyond the eyes; whatever situation we are in, the moment we recognize something sinful is at risk of occurring, we back away. No believer among us is perfect. Ibn Taymiyah says in his Majmu’ al-Fatāwa, “It should be understood that repentance is essential for every believer, and no one can attain perfect closeness to Allah and rid himself of everything that He dislikes except by means of it.” A major part of taqwā, then, is not just the avoidance of sin, but the recognition and repentance of it when it does occur.

Deeping understanding of Islam and the Quran [PC: Mohammed Idris Djoudi (unsplash)]

That first step, recognition, requires knowledge. If we are unsure if something is sinful or disliked, we should strive to expand our understanding of it before engaging in it. A simple question to aid in this process is “can this be done for the sake of Allah ?” A sin can never be done for His Sake, but permissible actions can, based on their intention, be done for Him. This is another characteristic of the mindset which defines Allah’s Awliyā: all of their actions, no matter how benign they seem, are done in the name of Lord. Something as simple as eating a meal can become a source of hasanāt if we intend to use the energy gained in the way of Allah . Daily tasks such as attending school or working a job can become a means of enhancing our relationships with Allah if we mean to use the resources gained to advance our Muslim communities. Setting pure intentions prior to each of our actions protects us from falling into that which is impermissible while centering every element of our daily lives around Allah .

In the verses of Surah Yunus mentioned earlier, Allah describes his awliyā by saying “there will be no fear concerning them”. Such a feeling is a positive side effect of maintaining taqwā. God-consciousness, by its definition, entails a constant knowing that our Lord is watching us, providing for us, opening paths for us. If all of our actions are done with Him in mind, yet some of them fail, what harm has really been done? Allah rewards on intention rather than result. That failure may in fact have been a source of protection. As we become more conscious of Allah by increasing our taqwā, we will naturally find ourselves detaching more and more from this dunya. Successes and failures, joys and sorrows, these may come and go, but our mindset will be grounded in the knowledge that every element of our lives has been predestined by the best of planners.

Conclusion

Some statuses in Islam have clear requirements to join their ranks. To be named among the saḥābah, a believer must have met the Prophet . Achieving the rank of shaheed means dying with specific circumstances or for a particular purpose. In contrast, there is no clear distinction outlining the awliyā of Allah . Though they are described in the Qur’an, their key qualities, īmān and taqwā, are qualities every Muslim should have. What distinguishes them is not the possession of these characteristics, but the degree to which they are manifested. They are honored not for having some unique achievement, but for the level of love and mindfulness they express towards their Lord. We ask Allah to honor us with closeness to Him in this life and the next.

Related:

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