The Friends of God: Understanding Wilaya in Islam | Remembering the Friends of God

Hadith Qudsi · Sahih al-Bukhari 6502

مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْحَرْبِ

“Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I have declared war upon him.”

A foundational narration concerning the Friends of Allah, and the servant's drawing near to God through obligatory worship and additional devotion.

English wording varies by translation

1Foundations

Who Are the Awliya Allah?

The Arabic word wali (plural awliya) carries the meanings of friend, protector and one who is near. Wilaya describes the relationship itself: divine friendship, nearness, and care. The Qur'an declares:

أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ۝ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ

“Unquestionably, the friends of Allah, there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve: those who believed and were conscious of Allah. For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter.”

Qur'an · Surah Yunus 10:62-64

Divine friendship, in the Qur'an's own definition, rests on two foundations: faith and God-consciousness (taqwa). It is not measured by reputation or outward appearance, but by the reality of the heart.

2The Hadith

The Hadith of Divine Friendship

The narration is often quoted only for its opening warning. Yet its heart is a description of the path of nearness itself, a path that begins with the obligations and continues through love.

Allah the Exalted said: “Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I have declared war upon him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the duties I have made obligatory upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary deeds until I love him.

And when I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give to him; and were he to seek refuge in Me, I would surely grant him refuge.”

Narrated by Abu Hurayrah · Sahih al-Bukhari 6502

3Character

The Qualities of God's Friends

The tradition describes the friends of God less by miracles than by character.

Sincerity

Acting for God alone, unseen and unannounced.

Humility

Seeing no virtue in oneself, and much in others.

Patience

Steadfastness through trial, loss and long waiting.

Devotion

Constancy in prayer and in remembrance of God.

Character

Honesty, mercy and integrity in every dealing.

Love

Love of God that overflows into love of creation.

Awareness

A heart awake to the presence of the Divine.

Service

Spending oneself for the good of others.

4 · Friends of God Throughout History

Lives That Lit the Way

Among the figures explored in the book are three whose lives have guided seekers for more than a thousand years.

أويس

Yemen · d. 37 AH / 657 CE

Owais al-Qarni

A contemporary of the Prophet ﷺ who never met him, kept at home by devotion to his mother. The Prophet ﷺ spoke of him to his Companions and told ʿUmar to seek his prayers. He was a friend of God known in heaven while unknown on earth.

See Sahih Muslim 2542

رابعة

Basra · d. 185 AH / 801 CE

Rabi'a al-Adawiyya

The great woman saint of Basra, whose teaching of pure, selfless love of God shaped the spiritual tradition after her. To her is attributed the prayer: “If I worship You for hope of Paradise, exclude me from it; but if I worship You for Your own sake, do not withhold from me Your eternal beauty.”

الجنيد

Baghdad · d. 298 AH / 910 CE

Junayd of Baghdad

Honoured as Sayyid al-Ta'ifa, “master of the way,” Junayd joined deep spiritual insight with sobriety and strict fidelity to revelation. To him is attributed the principle: “This knowledge of ours is bound by the Book and the Sunnah.”

5The Thesis

Sainthood in Modern Times

Here the central thesis of the book emerges: that the Islamic understanding of divine friendship is not restricted to distant history. The authors do not present spiritual greatness as the exclusive inheritance of celebrated scholars or historical saints. Instead, they invite readers to consider whether the qualities of divine friendship may be cultivated and recognized within the struggles and relationships of ordinary life.

6Darryl

Darryl Wayne Roberts and the Question of Wilaya

In Remembering the Friends of God, this tradition becomes the setting for a personal exploration of Darryl's life: his patience through trial, his repentance, his guidance of his family, and the spiritual lessons his life continues to inspire.

The authors present Darryl's spiritual significance as their sincere personal conviction and interpretation, not as an independently established religious judgment, approaching the question of sainthood with reverence, reflection, and humility.

Read Darryl's Story

7The Unseen

Dreams, the Unseen, and Discernment

Islam gives dreams a real but carefully bounded place. The Prophet ﷺ taught that “the true dream is one of the forty-six parts of prophecy,” and that after him nothing of prophecy would remain except glad tidings: the righteous dream.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6989-6990

The same tradition counsels discernment: not every dream is true, and no dream establishes religious law. The book's accounts of dreams are offered in this spirit, as personal experiences to be interpreted with humility.

Discover the life that inspired this investigation into the Friends of God.

Buy the Book Darryl's Story