Wala' in Arabic Language
Friendship is for mutual self-help and support. Al-Muwaalaat refers to support in Islam as Imam Shafi'i explained with regards to the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, salliAllahu alayhi wa sallam:
Likewise Allah ta’ala states in the Qur'an:
Alliance is the opposite of enmity, the ally is the opposite of the enemy. Allah ta’ala says, relating the words of Ibrahim, alayhi sallam:
He is their ally in victory over their opponents and in the raising up of their religion over that of those who differ with them. It is also said that the meaning of "their alliance" in the verse is that Allah will take it upon himself to reward them according to their good actions. To be an ally of someone is to draw near to him, but to be in alliance or clientage is to follow.
As for entering into a pact, it can mean either to turn away from something or to turn towards it, as Allah ta’ala says:
That is, if you turn your backs on Islam. On the other hand it can mean to turn towards someone, as in the verse,
Meaning whoever follows them and assists them.
According to the dictionary, the word 'ally' has an active sense,
but it could also have a passive sense; the believer is the ally of Allah, his bond to Him is one of allegiance, that is to say that the believer follows Allah.
Bara’ in Arabic Language
Al-Bara' in Arabic language means Severance: severance is to leave off something; it is to walk away from something or to distance oneself from it. "Barii"' means to heed a warning and so excuse oneself from something; to be free of obligation. Thus Allah ta’ala says in Surah at-Tawbah, verse: 1
The declaration of faith, ʺThere is no god worthy of being worshipped but Allahʺ, 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. It also requires you to ally yourself to the Muslims wherever you find them and to oppose the disbelievers even if they are your closest kin.
ALLIANCE:
Alliance has a technical meaning as well. In this sense it means to help, to love, to honour, to respect something, and to stand next to like minded people both outwardly and inwardly. Allah ta’ala has said:
To become allied to the disbelievers means to draw near to them, to show devotion to them in word and deed and intention.
SEVERANCE:
For severance, it too has a technical sense; that is, to take heed of a warning, to disassociate oneself from something, to avoiding it totally and showing enmity towards it.
Alliance is the opposite of enmity. Alliance is based on affection and closeness whilst, enmity is based on animosity and distance.
The ally is one who is near, as in 'he is his ally' meaning he is near to him. Thus the Prophet, salliAllahu alayhi wa sallam, said:
That is, to the nearest male relative. So if the ally of Allah is someone who approves of and follows Him in what He likes and in what pleases Him, who avoids what He dislikes and what angers Him, who fulfills his obligations and leaves aside what has been forbidden to him, then whoever is opposed to this allegiance is opposed to Allah. As Allah ta’ala says:
Indeed, whoever opposes an ally of Allah has opposed Allah, and who is opposed to Him fights against Him. Thus the Hadith,
When Allah ta’ala granted love and brotherhood, alliance and solidarity to the believers He also forbade them totally from allying themselves to disbelievers of whatever hue, be they Jews or Christians, atheists or polytheists. It is a fundamental principle, upon which all Muslims agree, that every believer, every Muslim, must abandon all things which legally compromise him, which take him out of Islam and which demand his affection, allegiance and succour for the enemies of Allah. Whoever is opposed to such a compromise must despise, revile, struggle against it with all his effort and might. In both word and deed he must draw near to Allah.
Since both allegiance and severance rely at the source upon love and animosity, it becomes a fundamental aspect of faith that one love the Prophets and their followers for the sake of Allah, and that one despise His enemies and the enemies of His messengers for His Sake.
If the scion of the Ummah had already mentioned that the people of his time had become excessively concerned with worldly affairs, and his was the best generation of all time, then people today must be aware, must have an idea, of whom to love and whom to hate, with whom they should ally themselves and against whom they should be pitted. Everyone should measure himself up against the Qur'an and the Sunnah in order to get a clear view of himself, will he be amongst the ranks of Shaytan and his minions, the clear losers in this world and the next, or will he be amongst the ranks of the believers, the party of the faithful who are assured success.
But if we are ruled by worldly concerns in the matter of choosing our friends and associates, as Ibn Abbas said, then we will find these friends as fleeting and ephemeral as the world itself, and so the nation will find no defence against its enemies.
Even today we find that materialism and worldliness have come to dominate the hearts of most of the people but this will not benefit anyone.
The method of the Qur'an and the Sunnah is at the root of the doctrine concerning the ties of friendship and their severance. This is entirely consistent with the history of the Prophet's actions, both at Makkah and later at Madinah.
Allah ta’ala says:
There is no doubt but that this is the condition of whoever takes for his friend and ally anyone but Allah and His Messenger. Allying himself to him, seeking redress from him, pleasing himself with what they like, and despising what they dislike. His works are entirely in vain. He will see them cast down on the Day of Resurrection despite their number and despite the extreme effort and exertion which he had made, so long as he had failed to ally himself for the sake of Allah and His Messenger; to fight for this, to love for this and to hate for this; so long as all of his effort and all of his actions have not been for Allah and His Messenger.
On that Day all connections and all associations will be severed except for those which were for the sake of Allah. Good fortune is his whose migration was for Allah and His Messenger, whose worship was for Allah alone, who loved for Allah and hated for Allah, who granted and forbade for His Sake, who sealed a friendship or declared animosity for His Sake, whose drawing near and whose staying clear was for His Sake, who followed the Messenger and who denounced and abandoned all who differed with his Sunnah and his guidance.
Both the Book and the Sunnah have enjoined the community to love for the Sake of Allah, hate for His Sake, and to take both friends and enemies for His Sake; to the point that one would prefer to be cast into the flames rather than return to disbelief, after having been saved by Allah from it.
Allah ta’ala says:
And also:
The meaning of
indicates the obligation of establishing relationships of love and trust for His sake; this is friendship for the sake of Allah. It also indicates that simple affection is not enough here; indeed what is meant is a love based upon alliance. This entails assistance, honour, and respect. It means being with those whom you love both in word and deed.
As for
it includes the obligation to declare enmity for His sake: opposition for the sake of Allah. It is to declare opposition in deed, to take up arms against His enemies, 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 ta’ala says:
All this leads us to conclude that loyalty for the sake of Allah really means to love Allah and to come to the assistance of His deen; it is to love those who are obedient to Him and to come to their help. Opposition for the sake of Allah is to feel anger at the enemies of Allah and to struggle against them. Because of this Allah ta’ala has called the first group the ʹparty of Allahʹ and the second the ʹparty of Satanʹ:
And He ta’ala says:
It is well known that Allah ta’ala has never sent a Prophet on His mission without also raising up opponents against him. Allah ta’ala says:
