AL-WALA' WAL-BARA' AND THE DECLARATION OF FAITH

AL-WALA' WAL-BARA' AND THE DECLARATION OF FAITH

Love is the source of wala' and hate is the source of bara'; it is by

this that both the heart and the hand are moved to act. Wala' inspires

intimacy, concern and help. Bara' provokes obstruction, enmity and

rejection. Wala' and Bara' are both related to the declaration of

faith and constitute essential elements in it. The evidence of this

from the Qur'an and the Sunnah is considerable.

As for the Qur'an, consider the following ayat:

"Let not the believers

take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Allah bids you to beware (only) of Himself. And to Allah is the journeying." [3:28]

And also:

"O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians

for friends. They are friends of one another. And whoever of you takes

them for friends is (one) of them. Surely Allah does not guide

wrongdoing people." [5:51]

We will mention only a few of the many hadith and reports of the

Companions on this subject. Imam Ahmad reports from Jarir ibn Abdullah

that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made him

swear an oath to 'offer counsel to every Muslim and to steer clear of

every disbeliever. '

Ibn Shayba reports that the Prophet said,

"The strongest bond of

faith is love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake."

Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet said,

"The strongest bond of faith

is loyalty for the sake of Allah and opposition for His sake, love for

the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake."

At-Tabarani, al-Kabir. It is mentioned by as-Suyuti, al-Jami'

as-Saghir, 1/69. Al-Albani classes it as "hassan".

Ibn Abbas is also reported to have said,

"Whoever loves for the sake

of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah, and whoever seals a

friendship for His sake, or declares an enmity for His sake, will

receive, because of this, the protection of Allah. No one may taste

true faith except by this, even if his prayers and fasts are many.

People have come to build their relationships around the concerns of

the world, but it will not benefit them in any way. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jami' al-Ulum wal Hikam, p.30.

As for BARA 'enmity for the sake of Allah', it includes the obligation

to declare enmity for His sake: opposition for the sake of Allah. it

is to declare opposition in deed,to shun them, and to stay far from

them both in word and deed. This proves that simple opposition of the

spirit is not enough, and that it must be a complete honouring of your

commitment, for Allah says:

"There is a good example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they told their people: 'Surely we

disassociate ourselves from you and all that you worship beside Allah.

We have done with you. And there has arisen between us and you enmity

and hate for ever until you believe in Allah only'." [60:4] (5)

As Ibn Taimiya has said,

"The declaration of faith, there is no god but Allah, requires you to love only for the sake of Allah, to hate

only for the sake of Allah, to ally yourself only for the sake of

Allah, to declare enmity only for the sake of Allah; it requires you

to love what Allah loves and to hate what Allah hates." Ibn Taimiya,

al-Ihtijaj bil-Qadar, p.62.