His Eminence Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman Al-Hudhaifi, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday khutbah entitled, “Allah’s Protection of His Servants”, in which he talked about the protection (Walayah) of Allah, Glorified be He, of His believing servants, explaining how Allah loves them, guides them to follow the way of truth and avoid the paths of misguidance, defends them, and takes revenge on those who humiliate or harm them. Sheikh Al-Hudhaifi also highlighted some of the traits of the awliya’ of Allah (Allah’s believing servants who love and fear Him much), by virtue of which they gain the good pleasure of their Lord and attain what He has prepared for them in this life and in the hereafter.

Praise be to Allah, the Owner of Might and Generosity, Who has lavished His favours upon His creation and protected whomsoever He wants from punishment. All praise is due to Allah in this life and in the hereafter for His infinite bounty and immense grace. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, the Creator of all souls, and I bear witness that our prophet and master Muhammad is His servant and messenger, who was sent with the most righteous method. O Allah! Bestow Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon Your servant and messenger Muhammad and upon his family and Companions, who had the best moral traits.

O Muslims!
Fear Allah by complying with His orders and keeping away from what He has forbidden and warned against, for fear of Allah paves the way for doing righteous deeds and attaining the best destination and abode.

Servants of Allah!
If anyone sets right his relation to his Lord, Allah will set right for him his life in this world and in the hereafter, as well as his relations with the rest of people. A man can only set right his relation to his Lord if he attests to the Oneness of Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, by worshipping Allah alone without associating any partners with Him; by supplicating Him, hoping for His mercy, trusting in Him, fearing Him, loving Him, and glorifying Him; by seeking His support, obeying Him, believing in His names and attributes, and praising Him therewith; by performing the obligatory prayers, paying the zakah (the obligatory charity), fasting during the month of Ramadan, and performing the hajj (pilgrimage to the Holy Mosque in Makkah); by honouring his parents, maintaining the ties of kinship, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and abandoning all the vices and deadly sins that Allah has prohibited; and by performing all the other acts that Allah has commanded and avoiding those that He has prohibited. In addition, he must adhere to the Sunnah and be sincere to Allah in all his deeds.

In sum, if any person sets right the relation between him and his Creator through upholding the commandments of Allah and the commandments of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, Allah will certainly set right all his affairs and grant him the best outcome in the hereafter. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“O Children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers from amongst you, reciting to you My Verses, then whosoever becomes pious and righteous, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Al-A‘raf: 35)

This means that the pious and righteous will have no fear for their future, nor will they grieve for anything that has passed. Allah, Exalted be He, also says:

“And We send not the Messengers but as givers of glad tidings and as warners. So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Al-An‘am: 48)

Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, also says:
“Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allah (Alone),” and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): “Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised!” (Fussilat: 30)

Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, also says:
“But those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and believe in that which is sent down to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) – for it is the truth from their Lord – He will expiate from them their sins, and will make good their state.” (Muhammad: 2)

If people set right their relation to their Lord by doing righteous deeds, Allah will set right their affairs and will even protect the whole ummah by virtue of that. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him. And Allah is Ever All-Appreciative (of good), All-Knowing.” (An-Nisa’: 147).

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“And your Lord would never destroy the towns wrongfully, while their people were right-doers.” (Hud: 117)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“And as to those who hold fast to the Book (i.e. act on its teachings) and perform As-Salaat (Iqaamat-as-Salaat), certainly We shall never waste the reward of those who do righteous deeds.” (Al-A‘raf: 170)

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “A group of people from my Ummah will continue to be manifest on the truth, unharmed by those who fail them or oppose them until the Decree of Allah, Exalted be He, comes.”

Servants of Allah!
Your Lord, Blessed and Exalted be He, is so Sublime, Generous, and Faithful to His covenant that He will by no means forsake His obedient servant or fail him, as long as His servant is truthful to Him, is afraid of following his sinful desires, and acts in accordance with what Allah loves by performing the obligatory and supererogatory acts of worship and avoiding whatever He has prohibited. If a servant acts in the way that the Lord loves, Allah will ease his affairs in the way the servant loves. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“… and fulfil (your obligations to) My Covenant (with you) so that I fulfil (My Obligations to) your covenant (with Me), and fear none but Me.” (Al-Baqarah: 40)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“… And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? …” (At-Tawbah: 111)

Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, also says:
“… Verily, Allah will help those who help His (Cause). Truly, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty. Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land, (they) enjoin Iqamat-as-salat [i.e. to perform the five compulsory congregational Salat (prayers) (the males in mosques)], pay the Zakat and they enjoin Al-Ma‘ruf (i.e. Islamic monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism and all that Islam has forbidden) [i.e. they make the Qur’an as the law of their country in all the spheres of life]. And with Allah rests the end of (all) matters (of creatures).” (Al-Hajj: 40-41)

The best condition of the servant is when Allah takes care of all his affairs, protects him in his religion and worldly concerns, guides him, and sets right his words, deeds, and final outcome. No one can obtain what Allah has except by obeying Him. Has anybody ever suffered misery by showing obedience to Allah? Has anybody ever experienced happiness by disobeying Allah?

Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, on the authority of Jibril (Angel Gabriel), peace and blessings be upon him, that the Lord, Blessed and Exalted be He, said,

“Whoever humiliates one of my awliya’ (believing servants who love and fear Allah much) has indeed started war against Me. I do not show hesitation in anything that I do as much as I hesitate to order that the life of one of my believing servants be taken; he loathes death and I hate to hurt him, but he must face it. Some of My believing servants may at times wish to perform an act of worship, but I stand in their way lest they should pride themselves on doing it and then that might spoil the act altogether. Nothing which my servant does draws him nearer to me than his performance of the obligatory acts of worship. My servant keeps drawing nearer to Me by performing supererogatory acts until I love him, and if I love anyone, I shall be his hearing, his sight, his hands, and his support. If he supplicates Me, I shall answer his prayer; if he asks Me, I shall give him; and if he shows sincerity and gives advice for My sake, I shall advise him. Some of My servants’ faith can never be set right unless they are wealthy and if I were to impoverish them, this would corrupt their faith. Some of My servants’ faith cannot be set right unless they are poor, and if I were to grant them wealth, this would corrupt their faith. Some of My servants’ faith cannot be set right except if they are in good health, and if I were to cause ill health to them, this would corrupt their faith. Some of My servants’ faith cannot be set right except if they are sick, and if I were to make them healthy, this would corrupt their faith. I determine the state of My servants in accordance with My knowledge of what is in their hearts. I am All-Knowing, All-Acquainted.” (Reported by At-Tabarani)

This hadith is corroborated by another hadith reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari and narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, which is similar to this one in some of its wording.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that she heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “If anyone seeks Allah’s good pleasure at the cost of people’s displeasure, Allah will keep him safe from the troubles caused by people; but if anyone seeks people’s pleasure at the cost of Allah’s displeasure, Allah will leave him to people” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi).

Servants of Allah!
One of the greatest acts of worship and most encompassing sources of goodness is supplication. It is by virtue of supplication that Allah sends down His bounties and averts afflictions, evils, and misfortunes. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“And your Lord said, ‘Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!’” (Ghafir: 60)

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No Muslim supplicates Allah, Exalted be He, but Allah will grant his request, keep it for him in the hereafter, or keep harm away from him that is commensurate with his supplication.” The people said, “O Messenger of Allah! Then we should supplicate more.” He replied, “Allah’s bounties are even more.”

Everyone is in need of supplication. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
“Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every day He is (engaged) in some affair (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life or death to some, etc.)!” (Ar-Rahman: 29)

Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I am not concerned about whether my supplication will be granted, but I am concerned about the supplication itself. If I am inspired to make supplication, it will certainly be granted.”

It is by virtue of our supplications that Allah sets our affairs right and keeps evils away from us. In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful:

“O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and will be admitted to Paradise).” (Al-Ahzab: 70-71)

May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses and wise words and benefit from the guidance and right sayings of the Imam of Messengers. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.