Yasir Baz Muhammad Brohi
We were having tea at a hotel, when my friend asked me about the qualities of a good friend and how to spot him in this world of hypocrisy where having a good friend is no less than any blessing. For a few seconds I was quite wondering what made my friend ask such a peculiar question! Although it seemed a very strange question to me, yet it was worth asking and a valid one. I replied: a good friend is someone who stands by your side through thick and thin, unlike fake friends; who behave like chameleons and change their colors frequently. As the commander of the faithful; hazrat imam Ali (A.S) says: if you have a friend who can be with you in your hard times then you are a very fortunate person. However, it should be borne in mind that the bond of friendship is a medium to share happiness, sorrows and emotions with each other. It comes as no surprise that this bond of friendship takes a sufficient amount of time to develop. This bond is strong like that of an ionic bond but this bond fastens the hearts of people together and instills feelings of love, sympathy and respect in each other’s hearts. It is no wonder that there are some people disguised as your good friends but in reality they are self-centered and time-serving people and in the end, they will stab you in the back. True friends are like hazrat Abu Bakr; when the holy prophet (PBUH) said that he had gone to Jerusalem, people didn’t believe and they went to hazrat Abu Bakr and said to him: your friend is saying unbelievable things, he said that he had gone to Jerusalem during night and ascended to the heavens.”Is he saying this?” asked hazrat Abu bakr. When he heard people saying ‘Yes’ he replied: if he is saying it then it is true. By seeing such incidents it wouldn’t be wrong to say that hazrat Abu Bakr is really the epitome of friendship. We cannot be pious and loyal like him but at least we can follow his footsteps. A true friend is an asset to his friend. Moreover, nowadays, we people fall victim to fair weather friends and they are just like termites which don’t leave you unless they make you hollow internally or externally. We should avoid these kinds of friends. However, there are some signs to know whether they are fair weather friends or real friends: whenever, a fake friend speaks; he speaks lie; he doesn’t keep your secrets, and make it public along with this, he insults you in presence of your other friends. In addition, a fake friend always turns to you only when he is in need of something. It is an undeniable fact that they try to get their maximum benefits out of friendship and when they succeed in doing this, they turn their backs to those who they claimed as their best friends. In this epoch of social media, we come across a multitude of people, yet we cannot call them our true friends. A true friend is someone who tries to bring light in your life when you are surrounded by darkness and bleakness. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that care should be taken while making friends, for there are some people camouflaged as friends that imprint stains on our characters and grudges on our hearts. The viewpoint becomes crystal clear when we take a look at the verse of the holy Quran; in which almighty Allah says: Friends on the Day will be enemies one to another, except al-Muttaqun (i.e. those who have piety). (43:67) Therefore, Wisdom lies in the fact that we should circumvent those friends who not only ruin you in this world but also demolish your deeds in Hereafter. It might be a herculean task but it is the need of the hour.
