اَللّـهُمَّ وَفِّقْني فيهِ لِمُوافَقَةِ الأبرار،

O Allah, on this day, grant me compatibility with the good,

وَجَنِّبْني فيهِ مُرافَقَةَ الأشرار،

keep me away from patching up with the evil,

وَآوِني فيهِ بِرَحْمَتِكَ اِلى دارِ الْقَـرارِ،

lead me in it, by Your mercy, to the permanent abode,

بإلهيّتك يا اِلـهَ الْعالَمينَ.

by Your Godship, O the God of the worlds.

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Who are the Abrār [the ever-obedient]?

Abrār are those men and women who have a great soul, a powerful will, and an unshakeable faith in Allah which is reflected in their many good deeds. In an Islamic tradition, Imam al-Ḥassan (‘a) has explained more about the referents of the Quranic term “Abrār”:

كلما فى كتاب اللَّه عز و جل من قوله ان الأبرار فو اللَّه ما اراد به الا على بن ابى طالب و فاطمة و اناو الحسين.

“Wherever the term al-Abrār is used in the Quran, it is, by Allah, a reference made to Ali ibn Abī-ṭālib, Fatimah, me, and Ḥusayn.”

The Grave Consequences of being in the Company of the Unrighteous

Negative character qualities can be likened to a contagious disease which can quickly spread from a bad person to anyone who associates with them and is in their company.

There are many examples of the good and bad people whose fates changed due to their association with bad and good people. A bad person can learn to change oneself and one’s fate by learning to be good through associating with righteous people. Similarly, a good person might fall in to transgressions due to associating with unrighteous people.

Usually bad friends try to change their friends through bombardments of negative ideas so that they turn in to someone like themselves. Therefore, after associating with bad friends for some time, one might feel that even the most evil actions are not so bad and that they are entitled to do them. In other words, being in the company of bad people can utterly confuse one’s sense of recognition of goodness and badness.