The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 65
PT. 11 YŪNUS au (friends of God) referred to in the preceding verse. They are (1) perfect in faith and (2) observe the highest standard of righteousness. The Holy Prophet has also given a description of the "friends of God," which may be taken as an explanation of this verse and may therefore be given here. He is reported to have said: "On the Day of Judgement the 'friends of God' will be brought in the presence of God in three classes. First of all, a person from among the first group will be presented to God Who will say to him, 'O My servant, wherefore didst thou do good works?' To this question he will reply, 'O my Lord, Thou didst create Heaven, its trees and its fruits, its flowing streams and beautiful maids, its manifold bounties and sundry other things. Thou hast prepared these for those who are obedient to Thee. So in order to attain these blessings, O my Lord, I passed my nights praying and my days fasting. Upon this God will say to him, 'O My servant, thou didst good works in order to get Heaven. So here it is, enter it and please thyself. It is an act of grace on My part that I have saved thee from the Fire, and it is an act of grace on My part that I have granted thee Heaven. So enter it and those that are with thee. ' Then a person from among the second group will be presented before God Who will say to him, 'O My servant, wherefore didst thou do good works?' To this he will reply, 'O my Lord! Thou didst create Hell and its burning fire, its hot winds and boiling water, and Thou didst prepare many other dreadful things for those who CH. 10 are disobedient to Thee. So out of the fear of these things, I stood up praying at night and fasted during the day. ' Then God will say to him, 'O My servant, thou didst good works, fearing Hellfire; so I have liberated thee from it and it is an act of grace on My part that I caused thee to enter Heaven. ' So he and those with him will enter Heaven. Then a person out of the third group will be presented before God Who will say to him, 'O My servant, wherefore didst thou do good works?' To this he will reply by saying, 'O my Lord, I did all I did solely out of love for Thee and out of a yearning to meet Thee. By Thy glory, I stood up praying at night, and fasted during the day, out of a yearning for Thee. ' Then God will say to him, 'Thou didst good works out of love for Me and out of a yearning for Me. So have your reward. ' Then the Lord of Glory and Majesty will manifest Himself to him and say, Here I am, have a look at Me,' and will say, 'As an act of grace, I liberate thee from the Fire and I grant thee Paradise. I will send to thee My angels to visit thee and will Myself greet thee with the greeting of peace. ' Upon this he and his companions will enter Paradise" (Kathīr, v. 5, p. 122). It is, of course, apparent that the person chosen from each group will be the best man in the group and will be presented to God as its 1273 representative. There are also other sayings of the Holy Prophet bearing on the different grades of the "friends of God. " The following saying is quoted by Abū Dawūd on the authority of Abū