Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:125

ومن أحسن دينا ممن أسلم وجهه لله

And who can be better in religion than one who submits his face to Allah. meaning, performs the good actions in sincerity for his Lord with faith and awaiting the reward with Allah.

وهو محسن

and he is a Muhsin, following the correct guidance that Allah legislated in the religion of truth which He sent His Messenger with. These are the two conditions, in the absence of which no deed will be accepted from anyone; sincerity and correctness. The work is sincere when it is performed for Allah alone and it becomes correct when it conforms to the Shariah. So, the deed becomes outwardly correct with following the Sunnah and inwardly correct with sincerity. When any deed lacks either of these two conditions, the deed becomes null and void. For instance, when one lacks the pillar of sincerity in his work, he becomes a hypocrite who shows off for people. Whoever does not follow the Shariah, he becomes an ignorant, wicked person. When one combines both pillars, his actions will be the deeds of the faithful believers whose best deeds are accepted from them and their errors erased. Consequently, Allah said,

واتبع ملة إبراهيم حنيفا

And follows the religion of Ibrahim the Hanif (Monotheist). referring to Muhammad and his following, until the Day of Resurrection. Allah said,

إن أولى الناس بٳبرهيم للذين اتبعوه وهذا النبى

Verily, among mankind who have the best claim to Ibrahim are those who followed him, and this Prophet. (3:68) and,

ثم أوحينا إليك أن اتبع ملة إبرهيم حنيفا وما كان من المشركين

Then, We have sent the Revelation to you (saying): "Follow the religion of Ibrahim the Hanif (Monotheist) and he was not of the Mushrikin. (16:123) The Hanif, intentionally and with knowledge, avoids Shirk, he goes attentively to the truth, allowing no one to hinder him or stop him from it. Ibrahim is Allah's Khalil Allah's statement,

واتخذ الله إبراهيم خليﻼ

And Allah did take Ibrahim as a Khalil (an intimate friend)! encourages following Ibrahim Al-Khalil, because he was and still is an Imam whose conduct is followed and imitated. Indeed, Ibrahim reached the ultimate closeness to Allah that the servants seek, for he attained the grade of Khalil, which is the highest grade of love. He acquired all this due to his obedience to His Lord, just as Allah has described him,

وإبرهيم الذى وفى

And of Ibrahim, the one who fulfilled, (53:37)

وإذ ابتلى إبرهيم ربه بكلمت فٲتمهن

And (remember) when the Lord of Ibrahim tried him with (certain) commands, which he fulfilled). (2:124) and,

إن إبرهيم كان أمة قنتا لله حنيفا ولم يك من المشركين

Verily, Ibrahim was an Ummah, obedient to Allah, a Hanif, and he was not one of the Mushrikin. (16:120) Al-Bukhari recorded that `Amr bin Maymun said that; when Mu`adh came back from Yemen, he led them in the Fajr prayer and recited,

واتخذ الله إبراهيم خليﻼ

(And Allah did take Ibrahim as a Khalil!) One of the men present commented, "Surely, the eye of Ibrahim's mother has been comforted.'' Ibrahim was called Allah's Khalil due to his Lord's great love towards him, on account of the acts of obedience he performed that Allah loves and prefers. We should mention here that in the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said that; when the Messenger of Allah gave them his last speech, he said,

ما بعد أيها الناس فلو كنت متخذا من أهل اﻻرض خليﻼ ﻻتخذت أبا بكر ابن أبي قحافة خليﻼ ولكن صاحبكم خليل الله

O people! If I were to take a Khalil from the people of the earth, I would have taken Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafah as my Khalil. However, your companion (meaning himself) is the Khalil of Allah. Jundub bin Abdullah Al-Bajali, Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As and Abdullah bin Mas`ud narrated that the Prophet said,

إن الله اتخذني خليﻼ كما اتخذ إبراهيم خليﻼ

Allah has chosen me as His Khalil, just as He has chosen Ibrahim as His Khalil. Allah's statement,