THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaum Arbaā, 25th day of Zul Hijjah 1439, (Wednesday 5th September, 2018). KEEPING GOOD FRIENDSHIP. BismilLaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. One of the most important things we must do, which sadly many people neglect, is that we should avoid bad company or at least be the good model for your friends to emulate. We should avoid taking as friends who speak too freely, who miss Salaah, who do not dress modestly, who backbite, slander etc. The company of such people is poison; just even sitting and talking with them will lead one to commit sins. Just as a person who sits for a long time with a perfume seller begins to smell nice, and a person who sits by a rubbish collector may begins to smell awful, similarly a person who spends time in the company of the wicked eventually gets affected badly by them. Rather, we should seek out pious friends who fear Allah Ta'ala and who have the qualities of humility, charity, compassion, modesty and knowledge. If we sit with them we will always benefit and they will be a means for us to get closer to Allah! Remember: “All friends will be enemies of one another on that Day (Day of Judgment) except those of the virtuous.” (al-Qur’an 43:67). Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is one of the greatest principles of Islam. Some scholars regard it as a pillar of Islam. What every Muslim must do is enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. This does not apply only to some Muslims and not others, rather it is obligatory upon every Muslim who knows anything of the religion of Allaah to convey it, whether it is a command or a prohibition. It must be done with wisdom and knowledge anyway without any insult or looking down upon any other Muslim. May ALLAH keep guiding us all and protect us from any satanic influences. Aameen.