Befriending good people

According to a Hadith, befriending a good person is like befriending a person who has a good perfume. Such a person can give one a little of his perfume or one can buy the perfume if one has the means. Otherwise, anyhow one can smell his good perfume. On the other side, befriending a bad person is like visiting a blacksmith who is blowing in the bellows. If it does not burn one’s clothes, then anyhow one will get the bad smell. Befriending good people always has a good influence. And befriending bad people always has negative effect and it spoils the image of a person in the society. And it is normal that people judge one according to the environment that one befriends.

When we mention befriending, it is not restricted to physical friendship. It includes all kinds of contact. For example, it can be by phone, mobile phone, online chat and all other means of communication. Thus, it is very important to see well with whom we are communicating because there is a risk that it changes our tendency in a very bad way. It can affect our mind or reasoning if we make the wrong choice. And this probability of making a wrong choice exists at a very high percentage. Thus, it is not a mere assumption. It is almost certain. A bad contact is always bad even if it is done with a good intention. Sometimes we can fall into a trap by doing something good but making the wrong choice. For example, we visit a website to learn Deen. Unfortunately, we do not get whatever we should get. The local 'Ulama may be teaching authentic matters but one will continue to accept and believe whatever one got from the screen, especially if one got something which is in one's favour. Thus, one must be careful.

[English version of "Bonne frequentation" – Al Jamiat – Vol.6 No.10]