The Holy Qur’an (5-54) states: “O those who believe, whoever of you turns back from his Faith, then, Allah shall bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, soft on the believers, hard on the disbelievers, who fight in the way of Allah and are not afraid of the reproach of any critic. That is a grace of Allah. He confers it on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.”

We are being warned that if we turn away from Allah’s faith, He will bring forth others, who will take our place. We cannot get away from Allah, and we cannot cause harm to His faith. This is described in an Arabic couplet meaning: “When Divine decree helps - it can make the weak overtake the mighty.” The ayah describes the main features of this selected group of supporters in pleasant and reassuring terms. Some virtues of this set of people have also been itemised saying clearly that they can be marked out by such and such distinguishable qualities. Those engaged in the service of their religion should keep these qualities foremost in their minds because these ayaat tell us that people who have such quality and character are welcome and dear in the sight of Allah.

QUALITIES OF ALLAH’S BELOVED PEOPLE 

Their first quality is “whom He loves and who love Him”. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “A man visited a brother of his in a village, so Allah put an angel in wait for him on the road. He asked, ‘Where are you going?’ He replied, ‘To a brother of mine in this village.’ He said, ‘Is he responsible for some blessing you have?’ He said, ‘No, I love him for Allah.’ He said, ‘I am a messenger of Allah to you. Allah loves you as you love him.’” (Al-Adab Al-Mufrad) Mutual love is the relationship between such people and their Lord. It provides the basis of their relationship with their compassionate Lord. No one can appreciate the value of Allah’s love to any one of his servants except a person who knows Allah with all His attributes as He has described Himself and one who feels the effect of these attributes within himself. To appreciate the value of Allah’s love requires that one recognises Allah’s greatness, ability and oneness as the only Lord of the universe. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “If Allah loves a person, He calls Gabriel, saying, ‘Allah loves so and so, O Gabriel love him’. So Gabriel would love him and then would make an announcement in the Heavens: ‘Allah has loved so and so therefore you should love him also.’ So all the dwellers of the Heavens would love him, and then he is granted the pleasure of the people on earth.” (Bukhari) 

“And who love Him”; for a servant of Allah to love his Lord is also a great bounty bestowed on that servant himself. This is something that can be appreciated by those who have experienced it. If Allah’s love to any of His servants is something great and a clear manifestation of endless grace, then, for Allah to guide one of His servants to love Him and appreciate that unparalleled kind of love are also something great and a clear manifestation of His endless grace. Allah’s love to any of His servants remains beyond description. At the same time, a human being’s love of His Lord is something that is very rarely described adequately. 

The second quality of this group has been identified as: “soft on the believers, hard on the disbelievers”. This piece of the ayah suggests that we should be soft with Muslims. This humility means that we are easy-going, gentle, and tolerant. When we deal with our fellow brothers, we do not adopt a difficult attitude or show any stubbornness. We must be approachable, responsive, and friendly. Even in matters of dispute, we should be controlled and composed. We should set the dispute aside, even if we are right in it - as said by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in an authentic hadith: “I am the guarantor of a home in the middle of Paradise for one who abandons dispute despite being in the right.” (Abu Dawood) At the same time we should be hard and strong against the enemies of Allah and His Deen (Religion) who would be unable to control or manipulate us. 

The third quality of these people mentioned here is: “who fight in the way of Allah and are not afraid of the reproach of any critic.” To strive hard in order to establish the Divine system and implement it in human life to achieve all that is good for mankind is a distinctive characteristic of the believers. They strive hard for Allah’s cause not to serve their own interests, or the interests of their people, country or race, but rather to establish Allah’s authority through the implementation of His law and to achieve all that is good for mankind. Personally, they gain nothing for themselves from such hard striving. It is all for Allah’s sake. 

“And are not afraid of the reproach of any critic.” We pay so much attention to what people may say, do, or accept to their values and standards, because we overlook the standard to which we should refer in evaluating matters. That standard is Allah’s law and system. It is only Allah’s law that is right and everything else is wrong, even though it may be accepted by millions of people and endorsed by successive generations and centuries. Experience bears out that people who lead a movement resolutely would stand firm against any adversary, even go through arrests, jail sentences, beatings and tortures, yet, when it comes to facing blames and backbiting from their own people, even the most determined leaders tend to falter. Perhaps, it is to stress the importance of this trying situation at such a juncture that Allah has considered it sufficient to say that these people go on fighting in the way of Allah without taking notice of any blames directed against them. 

It is for these reasons that the community of believers strives hard for Allah’s cause without fearing to be criticised or censured by anyone. This is the mark of the chosen believers. Finally, towards the end of the ayah (54), it was added that these good qualities of character are nothing but rewards from Allah. Allah gives them to whom He wills. A human being cannot acquire these by dint of his own efforts and deeds without Divine grace.

Divine guidance is a favour bestowed on us by Allah: “That is a grace of Allah. He confers it on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” He gives in abundance and He chooses the ones to whom He grants His favours on the basis of perfect knowledge. His grace is abundant, limitless.