What is a good acquaintance?
Ulama Institute #1
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- An acquaintance is someone whom you know. There are many types of acquaintances such as a friend, a colleague, a neighbor, a companion, a workmate or an assistant. Some acquaintances are good and others are bad. Those who are good have a positive effect on people. They help people do good things and keep them away from doing bad deeds. Good acquaintances tell the truth, they remind people to remember Allah, they pray Salah and encourage others to do good deeds. It is very important to choose who to associate with and who not to. If a person mixes with good people, then their good characteristics will rub off on her/him. Prophet Muhammad explained the effect of good and bad acquaintances.
عن أبي موسى عن النبي قال: ((مثل الجليس الصالح والسوء كحامل المسك ونافخ الكير. فحامِلُ الْمُسكَ إمَا أَنْ يُحذيك، وإما أن تبتاع مِنْهُ، وإما أن تجد منه ريحاً طيبة. ونافخ الكير إما أن يُحرق ثيابك ، وإما أن تجد ريحاً خبيثةً .)) ( البخاري )
Aboo Moosa narrated: The Prophet said, “The example of a good pious companion and an evil one is that of a person carrying musk and another blowing a pair of bellows. The one who is carrying musk will either give you some perfume as a present, or you will buy some from him, or you will get a good smell from him; but the one who is blowing the bellows will either burn your clothes or you will get a bad smell from him”. (Bukhaari)
- This hadeeth shows the influence that a good acquaintance can have. The hadeeth states that even if a person does not buy from the musk seller or get some as a gift, she/he will still enjoy its good smell. This means that even if people do not do the actions of a good acquaintance, they will still benefit by being with them. The same hadeeth states that even if a person does not participate in the actions of a bad acquaintance, she/he will still be affected.
- One of the main characteristics of a good acquaintance is that he/she always tries to correct people when they make mistakes. A very famous example is that of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab. On his deathbed, he saw a boy wearing a thawb which was dragging below his ankles. Knowing that Prophet Muhammad forbade this, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab told the boy to raise his thawb.
- It is very important to try and associate with good people and copy all the good things they do. These types of people will benefit us and make us better Muslims.
A clear sign to know if someone is good or not is if they increase the Iman of those around them.
What we learn from the lesson:
- Muslims must try and associate with good acquaintances.
- Good acquaintances can help us become better people.
