It is part of the belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah based on the Quraan and authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allaah has Awliyaa and that whatever has been authentically reported of their Karaamaat is true.
The Awliyaa
A waliyy (singular form of Awliyaa) of Allaah, generally translated as the friend of Allaah, is the one who rightly believes in Allaah, fears Him, and devoutly serve Him with all sincerity in accordance to the teachings of the exemplary life of the leader of Awliyaa- Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Out of the favours of Allaah on this servant, all these make him earn His Love and Friendship. For this class of people, Allaah assures them:
"No doubt! Verily, the Awliya of Allaah [i.e. those who believe in the Oneness of Allaah and fear Allaah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which he has forbidden), and love Allaah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)], no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve, Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allaah, Islamic Monotheism), and used to fear Allaah much .For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present world and in the Hereafter. No change can there be in the Words of Allaah. This is indeed the supreme success. " (Q 10:62).
Hence, those who claim to be awliyaa of Allaah but practice sorcery, fortune telling and magic by working hand-in-glove with the jinn to mislead the people, abandoning the daily obligatory congregational prayers amongst others are liars. This can be seen from these actions of theirs! May Allaah protect us all from these (Aameen).
Their Karaamaat
Amongst the blessings of Allaah on the awliyaa is that He honours them with Karaamaat or amazing favours (wonderful occurrences out of ordinary day-to-day human experiences). Sometimes He gives them these Karaamaat in response to their serious but humble request for it at the time of need and at other times. In either of the situations, as pious servants of Allaah, the true Awliyaa thank Allaah for the favour and never attribute the power and ability to bring about the occurrences to any special might from themselves. Concerning the Messenger Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him), Allaah says:
"Say (O Muhammad): I didnt tell you that with me are the treasures of Allaah, nor (that) I know the unseen; nor did I tell you that I am an angel. But I follow what is revealed to me by inspiration. (Q 6 vs 50).
This shows the difference between the true awliyaa and the false claimants who keep making friendship with shaytaan and his agents. For such people even when Allaah grants them general favours since He is The Most Gracious, they say:
"This has been given to me only because of knowledge Ipossess." (Q 28 vs78).
Else where Allaah says:
"Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful (over them). As for man, when his Lord tries him by giving him honour and gifts, then he says (puffed up): My Lord has honoured me. But when He tries him, by straitening his means of life, he says: "My Lord has humiliated me!" (Q 89vs 14-16)
Not Over the Prophets As honoured and blessed the as awliyaa are, no waliyy is to be given any preference to over any of the Prophets (peace be upon them). A single prophet is preferable to all the awliyaa. This is evident in the statement of Allaah:
"We send no messenger but to be obeyed by Allaahs leave... " (Q 4: 64).
As the Prophets are to be followed by Allaahs leave, the awliyaa are to follow the Prophets and Messengers (Peace be upon them) and the virtue of the one who is to be followed over the one who must follow is clear.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited