“…for surely Allah is his Protector, and Gabriel, and the righteous believers.” ⦗Qur’an 66:4⦘

“The righteous believers” are all those among the believers whose conduct is sound; they are the God-fearing believers, the allies of Allah. Included among them are Abu Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, and the rest of the Companions who gave the Pledge of Riḍwān beneath the tree—one thousand four hundred in number—and every one of them is destined for Paradise, as is established in the authentic collection where the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“None of those who pledged beneath the tree will ever enter Hell.”

A similar narration states: “My true allies are the God-fearing, wherever they may be and whoever they may be.”

[No path other than the path of Islam]

Just as there are unbelievers who claim to be allies of Allah when in fact they are not His allies but His enemies, so too there are hypocrites who outwardly display Islam. They openly declare the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, affirming that he was sent to all mankind—indeed, to both species, humans and jinn—yet inwardly they hold beliefs that contradict all of this, such as