Choosing Good Company

All of this is done to protect the soul, the īmān, from falling back into the same sin. What must be sought instead is the company of the pious, of God-fearing, God-conscious Muslims, whatever their background, people who are sincere, who have made tawbah themselves, and who carry knowledge. This is itself a commandment of Allah (swt):

Be in the company of the truthful, the righteous — in good company, good is done; in bad company, bad is done; this is simply the nature of things. Human beings are creatures of imitation, imitating one another to be accepted by the group, the friends, the surrounding environment. Silly things are done, stupid things — a stud put on the tongue, which no one in their right mind would otherwise choose to do; yet it is done, for no other reason than that friends at school are doing it, and there is a need to fit in, to be accepted. In good, righteous company, good is encouraged. Where good friends are not nearby, they should still be contacted, spoken to once or twice a week, their company kept even at a distance. Rasūlullāh (peace be upon him) says to choose one's neighbour before buying a house, just as a travelling companion is chosen before a journey — the neighbour matters even before the house itself. Where an environment has no good Muslims in it — not merely Muslims in name, whose children may do worse than anyone else — properties should be sold, rented accommodation taken instead, if that is what it takes to be among the righteous, for the sake of saving oneself or one's children. That is how human beings are made.

Involvement in daʿwah work helps too — finding a place of learning, seeking beneficial knowledge, ʿilm nāfiʿ, because it is only through knowledge that shayṭān is kept at bay; without it, however sincere a person may be, ignorance leaves him open to shayṭān's games — his waswasah, whispered suggestion, working on the heart and changing it, offering one scenario after another — if one ḥarām fails to take hold, another is negotiated instead, much as a used-car salesman never gives up until something is sold. Shayṭān has known humankind since Ādam (peace be upon him), even before, and is a master of his craft; he cannot simply be outrun, only kept off through knowledge of the dīn and the company of good people. Even someone who feels too old to learn much can still be useful in the company of good people, helping in whatever way is possible — everyone has something to offer, since Allah (swt) has given everyone some ability: a good voice for nashīds, a talent for cooking that can serve a barbecue — whatever it is, offered within good company. Without that company, no matter how uplifted a person feels after an evening of remembrance, that feeling will not hold; kept in bad company, a person always falls back onto his face, back into the same sin, back to square one.