A Good Friend?

''No! No! I wanna go home, I'll do it later'' I cried out loud to Amina as we walked out of an Abaya mall and she suggested we pray Isha at the masjid near the parking lot.

''Lets do it now and then you can go home, go to sleep directly! you'd feel too tired to pray once your home!'' she insisted while making me walk by pulling my arm.

This scene between us is quite common, when we are at the mall during the weekend or at the islamic centre or at her home. She just wants to get done with it on time, IT being the Prayer. Allah knows I am a fan of Salah, the only times when I get lazy is during Isha, so I delay it as much as I can, or promise myself to get up in the middle of the night to pray..

Anyhow, looking at her pleading eyes behind her ninja niqab made me feel guilty about what I was begging her for, I was begging her to delay her prayer although we were right in front of the masjid, I felt like Shaitan in person! So I agreed, we went in the masjid prayed isha and when I went back home, I was dead-tired, I hit the bed and every muscle in my body was screaming for some rest because it was a long day!

Then I started to wonder about the kind of friend that I may have been to others even before coming close to religion. I would be the first person to volunteer to go for movies and the last person to pray the friday prayer.. Alhamdulillah, Allah Al-Hadi guided me back so I am trying to be steadfast but the ''old'' me sometimes springs back into action causing emaan problems like the one mentioned above!

Post Prayer common scene between Amina and I on our way out from the masjid or the prayer room goes like this

Me - I love you SOOO much!

Amina - I know you do! Don't you feel so much better?

Me - Yes I do!

Lesson - If you really love your friend, you would save them from hell! :D (or in my case procrastination)

On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (رضي الله عنه ), the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) said:A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace.[sahih al-Bukhari, vol 3, #314 and Muslim]