Four Stations of Believers by Prof.

Ghulam Azam

Khulafaullah Khulafaullah

Ibadullah Awliyaullah

In the Quran Allah has honoured the believers with four esteemed stations that they should strive for. Sadly, very few know and reflect on those stations. The lack of understanding of those stations causes us to not truly understand our responsibilities and fulfill them. Those four stations are: Ibadullah Awliyaullah Ansarullah, and Khulafaullah

In the Quran Allah has honoured the believers with four esteemed stations that they should strive for. Sadly, very few know and reflect on those stations. The lack of understanding of those stations causes us to not truly understand our responsibilities and fulfill them. Those four stations are: Ibadullah Awliyaullah Ansarullah, and Khulafaullah Believers need to strive to attain all of these stations since one cannot be separated from the other. It is interesting to note that the Arabic words used to describe those stations are in plural so as to indicate that they are stations where many believers will reach.

Ibadullah
The word ibad is derived from the Arabic root word abd (Ayn-ba-dal). The meaning of abd is to serve, worship, adore, venerate, obey with submissiveness or humility, devote, etc. Ibad are then those who serve, worship, adore, and devote themselves to a Mabud, another derivative of abd. Mabud is the one who is to be served, worshipped, adored, venerated, and obeyed with submissiveness or humility. Mabud is the one who gives orders, commands, and who is served. Those who become the ibad of Allah are able to reach the station of Ibadullah. Allah honours and raises the status of only those who serve, worship, adore and obey Him sincerely. The more sincere one is in obedience and servitude of Allah the more one is loved by Allah. That is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the most beloved to Allah due to his sincere obedience and servitude to Allahs commands. In every prayer we read at the end of Tashahud Abduhu wa Rasuluhu. The Prophet has taught us the Tashahud where he introduces himself as the servant of Allah first and foremost before he introduces himself as the Messenger of Allah. Allah has also informed us in the Quran that humans and jinns were created to worship and serve Allah only. (Quran 51: 56) This verse is very clear in informing us that our sole purpose in life is to be among the Ibadullah and the only way to gain that station is to worship, adore, serve, and obey Him and fulfil his commands.

Just as Allah has ordained for us prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, and charity He has also ordained for us the responsibility to uproot stealing, robbery, adultery, bribery, gambling, alcoholism, hypocrisy, oppression and other diseases from our societies through education and penal codes as necessary. Just as He has given us laws for marriage, divorce, inheritance He has also ordered us to remove and fight against all forms of injustices done to His creation. He has also made it clear that it is only Him who has the right to declare something lawful or unlawful, no one else. It becomes clear that the way to reach the station of Ibadullah is not only through the prayers, fasting, remembrance, and recitations but also through complete obedience and servitude to all of the commands of Allah. If we can appreciate this then we realize that to be among Allahs Ibad is the real status believers should strive for.

Awliyaullah
The word Awliya is plural of wali, which means protector, guardian, supporter, and friend. In the Quran the derivatives of the word wali is used for both Allah and His creation. The word wali when used as an attribute of Allah usually means protector, guardian: Allah is the protector and guardian of those who believe [Al-Baqara 2:257]. The same word when used in reference to humans usually refer to close friends: Know that the friends of Allah need not worry or be afraid [Al-Yunus 10:62]. One may wonder what is the difference between an abd of Allah and a wali of Allah. Allah explains the progression in a beautiful hadith Qudsi that when Allahs servants and admirers go beyond obeying all the commands of Allah and strive to get closer to Him through supererogatory acts then they become his friends and reach the station of Awliyaullah; consequently their ears, eyes, hands, and feet only do what Allah is pleased with [Bukhari, Book #76, Hadith #509]. They dont do anything that is against the wish of Allah. They are indeed the true Ibadullah and only those who have reached the level of Ibadullah in every aspect of their lives can reach the station of Awliyaullah. Those who do not feel any urge to enjoin what is good and stand up against what is evil in their societies through establishing a system of governance in light of the guidance from Allah cannot be the wali of Allah just through prayers, fasting and remembrance. This is evident from the hadith where Jibreel was commanded to destroy a city because of their disobedience and evildoing. When Jibreel inquired about a person living in that city that he thought never disobeyed Allah, Allah responded by saying, Destroy him as well, because he was not offended by their evildoing. [Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Bahaiqi] True remembrance of Allah is to always be active in serving the wishes of Allah and feel the urge to improve the condition of the society one lives in according to the guidance of Allah. When we do that and reach a state whereby all of our limbs act in accordance with Allahs command only then we have truly reached the station of Awliyaullah.

Ansarullah
The meaning of the word ansar is helpers, supporters. When Isa (peace be upon him) called out to his nation asking, who are my helpers for Allah? some of them responded by saying, We are helpers of Allah. [As-Saff 61:14] They showed their servitude to Allah by offering themselves as helpers of Allah (Ansarullah). In another place in the Quran Allah says, O you who believe, if you help Allah, He will help you and make your feet firm. [Muhammad 47:7] Why would Allah, the owner of the universe, who does not need anything from His creations, ask for help from the believers? Allah has decreed laws that govern all of His creations. The sun, the moon, stars, galaxies, plants, trees, rivers, oceans, fire, water, air, birds, insects and animals all of them are governed by the laws prescribed by Allah. These laws that needed no Messenger govern every aspect of those creations. Allah has not given those creations the free will to accept or defy the laws that govern them. Indeed, Allah has subjected all of His creations to the divine laws, except for humans. Allah has not forced the acceptance and obedience of divine laws on humans. He does not even reach out to every single human being with the divine message, instead he sent down Messengers with His divine guidance and has given humans the choice to accept or defy His guidance. This is why the help of humans are needed to establish a system in accordance with the guidance from Allah. Allah has done so not because He is incapable but to reward humans who offer themselves to be His helpers. Those who offer themselves as helpers of Allah to establish the Divine guidance among humans are given the station of Ansarullah. One who serves Allah only in personal life and does not work towards establishing Divine laws sent by Allah through His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cannot reach the station of Ansarullah. Even if a person is known to be pious and a scholar, he or she cannot reach the station of Ansarullah without working towards establishing a system based on divine guidance. Allah has reminded the Prophet (peace be upon him) of this important task in several places of the Quran (At-Tawba 33, Al-Fath 28, As-Saff 9) saying, It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the true way of life, to prevail over all other ways of life. The Quran, the life of the Prophet and his companions, show that the responsibility to establish a divine way of life is not solely the responsibility of Prophets. Those who believe in the last Prophet also bear the same responsibility. That is why those who did not aid the Prophet in his attempt to establish the divine way of life were labelled as hypocrites despite their prayers and fasting.

Khulafaullah
Khalifa is a representative, delegate, vicegerent, and ambassador. A khalifa must only exercise delegated power on behalf of a sovereign and not follow his or her own whims. A khalifa establishes the commands, wishes and guidance of the one who sent him or her. Given how Allah does not establish His divine way of life among humans directly, those who fulfil that responsibility and establish the divine way of life are considered as the Khulafa of Allah. We know that those who try their utmost to establish the divine way of life are the Ansarullah (helpers of Allah). Ansarullah may or may not be successful in establishing the divine way of life. However, if the Ansarullah become successful in establishing the divine way of life then they reach the station of Khulafaullah. Only through the establishment of divine way of life can the station of Khulafaullah be achieved. When Allah decided to send humans to the earth He mentioned to the angels that He wanted to send His khalifa to the earth [Baqara 2:30]. Being a khalifa is the ultimate success of a believer in this world. Allah loves those who strive to reach this station of being His khalifa. Therefore, those who do not strive for this station have failed themselves. The Ansarullah who are striving to establish the divine way of life have the opportunity to reach the station of Khulafaullah. One cannot reach any of the four stations offered by Allah at the expense of ignoring the rest. In reality, the true station of a believer is to be close to Allah and gain His pleasure. Only those who try to please Allah by reaching the station of Ibadullah, Waliullah, and Ansarullah are granted the station of Khulafullah as a reward of their struggle in this world. May Allah give us the ability to reach all of the four stations.

Professor Ghulam Azam is a renowned political leader in Bangladesh. He is held in great respect by many Bangladeshis
but has been subject to a relentless campaign against his reputation, which he believes is politically motivated. He was the prime organiser of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (now Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami) and one of the key players of historic events of the nation including the Language Movement and the movement for democracy in the sixties and eighties. He presented the Caretaker Government formula which became a foundation stone of Bangladeshs democracy, though the currently ruling Awami League government has recently abolished it. The current Awami League government in Bangladesh led by Sheikh Hasina has arrested a number of individuals in order to try them for war crimes during the 1971 war. They claim that Prof Azam was involved in crimes against humanity in 1971. The War Crimes Tribunal has received criticism from international lawyers and human rights organisations who are gravely concerned that the trial is merely a political tool to remove dissent and legitimate political debate. Professor Ghulam Azam has spoken frankly about his role in 1971 and has openly challenged anyone to bring evidence to prove their unfounded allegations against him for his role in 1971