Liam Egan explains how Muslims who are cautious about friendship with those of other faiths are really no different from anybody else...
The rumours that the Saudi Embassy was looking at the possibility of opening a secondary school in Dublin were met with mixed reactions, to say the least.
While the Muslim community is enthusiastic at the prospect, certain non-Muslims as well as some minority Muslim elements in Irish society have weighed in, citing unwarranted concerns in an attempt to muddy the waters and scaremonger.
One of these ‘concerns’ is the issue of Al Wala’a wal Bara’a – friendship and enmity for the sake of Allah. I hope you will see that this principle is one that we all – Muslim and non-Muslim – readily implement in various degrees, though as you will appreciate the Muslim does so seeking to please Allah first and foremost.
The reality is that in our everyday dealings we all urge caution in friendships, and readily acknowledge that bad company ruins good morals. No responsible parent, for example, would encourage their child to hang around with children who are bullies, troublemakers, drug-takers or sexually promiscuous. Some would even go as far as restricting friendships because of profane language or smoking.
As adults, we also make conscious decisions about friendships; no one is free of bias. Normally we assume friendships based on similarities and interests, and the same is often projected upon children – whether we admit it or not.
For Christians, the choice of friendship takes on a more spiritual tone. “The righteous,” Proverbs 12:26 tells us, “should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” And the Christian apostle Paul even encourages Christians to separate themselves from the wicked: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). In fact, the Gospels go as far as referring to non-Christians as both ‘dogs’ and ‘swine’ (Matthew 7:6).
While a Muslim would never refer to another human being in such a derogatory manner, we are however encouraged to choose friends and alliances carefully. Ibn Taymiyyah explains: “The reality of loving someone is never complete except by having loyalty to the beloved one, that is, to comply with him by loving what he loves and hating what he hates. For Allah loves al Eeman (complete faith) and at-Taqwah (hope and fear of Allah), and He hates al-Kufr (disbelief), al-Fusooq (open display of sin) and disobedience.”
We Muslims are aware that friendships require a degree of love and affection and necessarily involve a degree of imitation. Naturally, we look to those who will bring us closer to Allah and distance us from disobedience, and we choose our friends accordingly.
Like our non-Muslim counterparts – Christian and other – we desire to offer our best in the interests of building a better society, and believe this is best achieved though friendships with like-minded individuals.
Liam Egan is South East branch manager with MPACIE (Muslim Public Affairs Committee Ireland).
