He, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: [Allāh's Explanation of His Allies]. Allies: plural of ally. The ally is derived from wilaya, and wilaya is the source of (wulā), which means closeness. You say: "He was close to such and such": meaning he was near to it. Based on this, wilaya revolves around two matters: love and support. Allāh, the Exalted, has affirmed in His Book His alliance with some of His creation, as He said: "Allāh is the ally of those who believe" (Al-Baqarah, 257), thus affirming His alliance with the believers. Allāh also negated having an ally, but the negated ally is different from the affirmed ally. The negated ally is restricted; as He said: "And He does not have an ally from humiliation" (Al-Isrāʾ, 111), meaning He does not have an ally whom He seeks support, honor, and strength from. Allāh's alliance with those He allies with is not out of need or poverty, for He is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy, the Exalted. Rather, His alliance with those who ally with Him is an alliance of mercy, grace, virtue, and a gift from Him, the Exalted, and an honor for those who ally with Him. We ask Allāh to make us among them. Therefore, the alliance affirmed for Allāh is different from the negated alliance. Wilaya, in its various contexts, revolves around two meanings: love and support. Opposing wilaya is enmity, which revolves around hatred and dislike. The enemies of Allāh are those whom He despises, distances, and dislikes, the Exalted. Enmity is based on distancing and hatred, while wilaya is based on love and support. Allāh has clarified the attributes of His allies. The Shaykh, may Allāh have mercy on him, summarized these attributes mentioned in this short excerpt of his speech. However, it is important to distinguish between the allies of Allāh and others, so that the matter is not confused. The allies of Allāh do not stand out from others by appearance; rather, they are like other Muslims, not distinguished by clothing or appearance. They are distinguished from others by their righteous deeds. Appearances do not differentiate, but the inner qualities and actions are what distinguish between the allies of Allāh and others. So, what is the deed that distinguishes the allies of Allāh from others? He, may Allāh have mercy on him, said in explaining this: [It suffices in this]—meaning in explaining the distinction between the allies of Allāh and the allies of Shayṭān—an āyah in Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, which is His saying: "Say, [O Muḥammad], 'If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you'" (Āl ʿImrān, 31). His saying: "then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you" is the distinguishing criterion and precise measure to clarify the reality of wilaya. The wilaya that grants the believer affiliation with Allāh through wilaya is to be a follower of the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam). "Say, [O Muḥammad], 'If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you.'" To the extent that a person follows the guidance of the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), he will have wilaya from Allāh to that extent. To the extent that he falls short, he will lack wilaya from Allāh to that extent. People vary in this, and it is not limited to a description. The first characteristic that distinguishes the allies of Allāh from others is following the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam). Following the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) involves two matters: what is obligatory—this is the primary level—and what he encouraged in actions, which is the secondary level. Therefore, the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said: "Allāh, the Exalted, said: 'Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I have declared war against him.'" Then, after mentioning the reward for the allies and Allāh's support for them, he said: "And My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts until I love him." This is the path to acquiring wilaya. He said: "And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts until I love him." He mentioned the two paths by which Allāh's wilaya is obtained, detailing what this āyah summarized in His saying: "then follow me." Following the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) begins with the obligations because they are the most beloved acts by which one draws near to Allāh, and then with the voluntary acts. Therefore, He said: "Say, [O Muḥammad], 'If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you.'" And if Allāh loves a servant, He has taken him as an ally. Then he, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: [And an āyah in Sūrah al-Māʾidah, which is His saying: "O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allāh will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him" (al-Māʾidah, 54). This indicates the meaning of wilaya, which revolves around love. There He said: "Allāh will love you" (Āl ʿImrān, 31), and here He said: "He will love them and they will love Him." Then He mentioned their attributes, saying: "Humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allāh and do not fear the blame of a critic." He mentioned three attributes: the first attribute: (Humble toward the believers), meaning they have no arrogance, pride, or elevation. The second attribute: (Powerful against the disbelievers), they are not humiliated by them because they have the cause of honor, which is faith in Allāh and His Messenger. The third attribute: striving in the cause of Allāh. This includes all types of striving, the highest of which is striving against the disbelievers who oppose Allāh and His Messengers. This is among their attributes, and striving does not take only one form. It is not limited to striving with the sword and spear; there is another form of striving that may be greater, which is striving through knowledge and clarification. The one who conveys Allāh's sharīʿah, advises people, enjoins good, and forbids evil is among the strivers who fall under His saying in the āyah of al-Māʾidah: "Humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allāh and do not fear the blame of a critic." This includes all types of striving. This is a detail because His saying: "Say, [O Muḥammad], 'If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you'" contains a general statement of the guidance of the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) in every matter, and here it mentions specific attributes and specifies them for their great impact in achieving and acquiring wilaya. Then He said: [And an āyah in Sūrah Yūnus, which is His saying: "Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allāh there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve" (Yūnus, 62). This is a glad tiding for them of the absence of fears and sorrows. His saying: "there will be no fear concerning them" refers to what they face in the future, "nor will they grieve" refers to what has passed. A person is only harmed by fear of the future or the loss of good in the past. If he attains security from these two matters, he is among those who have no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve, and he is in utmost tranquility and happiness. Then He clarified who the allies of Allāh are, saying: "Those who believed and were fearing Allāh" (Yūnus, 63), those who believed with their hearts, so their hearts were righteous and their souls upright, and they were fearing Allāh in their actions and limbs. Taqwa here is doing what Allāh has commanded and avoiding what He has forbidden. This is a comprehensive description that distinguishes the allies of Allāh from others. From what has been presented, we know that wilaya is not acquired by lineage, nor by status, nor by inheritance, nor by a specific garment, nor by affiliation with a particular group such as a school of thought or otherwise. It is acquired by action, whose major circle is following the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) and fearing Allāh, as He said: "Those who believed and were fearing Allāh" (Yūnus, 63). He, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: [Then the matter became, for most of those who claim knowledge and that they are guides of creation and preservers of the sharīʿah, that the allies must abandon following the messengers]. This was in his time, may Allāh have mercy on him, when the sunnah was abandoned, and people became fanatical about what they were upon of schools of thought, opinions, and views, and the follower of the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) became a stranger among them. Then he said: [And whoever follows them is not among them], meaning whoever follows those who adhered to the Book and the sunnah is not among them, meaning he is not among the allies of Allāh. For if the one who calls to the Book and the sunnah, according to those whom the Shaykh spoke about, is not among the allies of Allāh, then what is the state of others who follow them? The answer is that he is not among the allies of Allāh, all the more so. Then he, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: [And it is necessary to abandon striving]. This is a transition to detailing the condition of those whom he described, may Allāh have mercy on him, who claim to be the allies of the Most Merciful while they are contrary to that. He said: [It is necessary to abandon striving], and he mentioned striving, may Allāh have mercy on him, because Allāh has made the strivers His allies, as He said, the Exalted: "He will love them and they will love Him, humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allāh" (al-Māʾidah, 54). They opposed the Qur'anic text indicating that striving in the cause of Allāh is among the means of acquiring wilaya and among the attributes of the allies of the Most Merciful. Therefore, according to them, it is necessary to abandon striving, and whoever strives is not among them, while the Qur'an indicates the opposite, which is that striving is among the attributes of the allies of Allāh. Then he, may Allāh have mercy on him, said: [And it is necessary to abandon faith as well]. This is because faith has been mentioned in the Qur'an as one of the attributes of the allies of Allāh, as in His saying, the Exalted: "Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allāh there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve * Those who believed and were fearing Allāh" (Yūnus, 62-63). Then he said: [So whoever commits to faith and taqwa is not among them], meaning whoever is characterized by and maintains these two attributes is not among these alleged allies. These are, in reality, the allies of Shayṭān, not the allies of the Most Merciful, because the allies of the Most Merciful are those whom Allāh described in His Book. As for these, they are opposers and objectors. Anyone who claims wilaya must be measured against the Book and the sunnah. If he claims wilaya or it is claimed for him—since he may not claim wilaya for himself by saying: "I am an ally," but his followers may claim he is an ally—then it is necessary to measure this person's state against these precise scales and clear criteria that distinguish the allies of the Most Merciful from others. This will clarify whether he is among the followers of the Book and the sunnah and whether he is among the strivers in the cause of Allāh