Surah Al-Mumtahana: Verse 9 - إنما ينهاكم الله عن الذين... - English

إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَ‌جُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِ‌كُمْ وَظَاهَرُ‌وا عَلَىٰ إِخْرَ‌اجِكُمْ أَن تَوَلَّوْهُمْ (Allah forbids you only from having friendship with those who fought you on account of faith, and expelled you from your homes, and helped (others) in expelling you....60:9) This verse speaks of those unbelievers who fought the Muslims in the matter of religion, drove them from their homes or supported their expulsion. These are hostile disbelievers and the Divine injunction in connection with them is abstain from having friendly or cordial intimacy with them. This verse does not forbid just and friendly or cordial intimacy with them. It merely forbids friendly intimacy and relations. Prohibition of having such friendly intimacy is not restricted only to those enemies who actively wage war against Muslims, but it is extended to ahludh- dhimmah [ non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic State ] and to اَھلُ الصُّلح ahlus-sulh [ non-Muslims with whom there is a peace pact ]. Intimate and heart-felt friendship is not allowed with them too. On the basis of this juristic principle, Mazhari has ruled that justice, equity and fairness are necessary even with the hostile disbelievers who are at war with Muslims. Prohibition applies only in the case of cordial and friendly intimacy, not in the case of courteous attitude and kindness. This shows that it is permissible to be police and courteous to those hostile enemies who are at war with Muslims. However, treating them with tenderness and courtesy should not cause danger, threat, or loss to Muslims. Wherever courtesy or tenderness might pose such a danger, it is not permitted to be tender or courteous towards them. Of course, justice and equity in all cases and under all circumstances are necessary and imperative. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best!]

Perhaps Allah will make a Friendship between You and Those, whom You hold as Enemies

Allah said to His faithful servants, after ordering them to be enemies with the disbelievers,

(Perhaps Allah will make friendship between you and those, whom you hold as enemies.) meaning affection after animosity, tenderness after coldness and coming together after parting from each other,

(And Allah has power (over all things),) Allah is able to gather opposites and bring together hearts, after feeling hostility and hardness. In this case, the hearts will come together in agreement, just as Allah said when He mentioned His favor on the Ansar,

(And remember Allah's favor on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His grace, you became brethren and were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it.) (3:103) Also the Prophet said to them,

(Did I not find you misguided, and Allah guided you through me; and divided, and Allah united your hearts through me) Allah the Exalted said,

(He it is Who has supported you with His help and with the believers. And He has united their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them. Certainly He is Almighty, All-Wise.) (8:62,63) And in the Hadith:

(Love your loved one moderately, because one day, he might become your enemy. Hate your hated one moderately, because one day, he might become your loved one.) Allah's statement,

(And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) means, Allah forgives the disbelief of the disbelievers if they repent from it, returned to their Lord and surrendered to Him in Islam. Surely, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful to those who repent to Him from their sins, no matter what type of the sin it is.

The Permissibility of being Kind to Disbelievers who do not fight against the Religion And Allah's statement;

(Allah does not forbid you with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes,) means, those who did not have a role in your expulsion. Therefore, Allah does not forbid you from being kind to the disbelievers who do not fight you because of the religion, such as women and weak disbelievers,

(to deal kindly) to be gentle with them,

(and justly with those) to be fair with them

(Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Asma' bint Abu Bakr said, "My mother, who was an idolatress at the time, came to me during the Treaty of Peace, the Prophet conducted with the Quraysh. I came to the Prophet and said, `O Allah's Messenger! My mother came visiting, desiring something from me, should I treat her with good relations' The Prophet said,

(Yes. Keep good relation with your mother.)" The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin Zubayr said, "Qutaylah came visiting her daughter, Asma' bint Abi Bakr, with some gifts, such as Dibab, cheese and clarified (cooking) butter, and she was an idolatress at that time. Asma' refused to accept her mother's gifts and did not let her enter her house. `A'ishah asked the Prophet about his verdict and Allah sent down the Ayah,

(Allah does not forbid you with those who fought not against you on account of religion) until the end of the Ayah. Allah's Messenger ordered Asma' to accept her mother's gifts and to let her enter her house." Allah's statement,

(Allah loves those who deal with equity.) was duly explained in the Tafsir of Surat Al-Hujurat. We also mentioned the authentic Hadith,

(The just, who are fair in their decisions, families and those under their authority, will be on podiums made of light, to the right of the Throne.)

The Prohibition of being Kind towards Combatant Disbelievers

(It is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out that Allah forbids you to befriend them.) (60:9) means, `Allah forbids you from being kind and befriending with the disbelievers who are openly hostile to you, those who fought against you, expelled you and helped to expel you. Allah the Exalted forbids you from being their friends and orders you to be their enemy.' Then Allah stresses His threat against being friends with them, by saying,

(And whosoever will befriend them, then such are the wrongdoers.) As He said;

(O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as protecting friends, they are but protecting friends of each other. And if any among you takes them (as protecting friends), then surely, he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the wrongdoers) (5:51)