O believers, do not hold Jews and Christians as your allies. They are allies of one another; and anyone who makes them his friends is surely one of them; and God does not guide the unjust.
O People who Believe! Do not make the Jews and the Christians your friends; they are friends of one another; and whoever among you befriends them, is one of them; indeed Allah does not guide the unjust.
O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Whoso of you makes them his friends is one of them. God guides not the people of the evildoers.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies: they are but allies of one another and whoever of you allies himself with them becomes, verily, one of them; behold, God does not guide such evildoers.
O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Nazarenes as friends: friends they are to each other: and whosoever of you befriendeth them, verily he is of them; verily Allah guideth not a wrong-doing people.
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya' (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya' to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliya', then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers and unjust).
O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are allies of one another. Whoever of you allies himself with them is one of them. God does not guide the wrongdoing people.
Believers! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies. They are the allies of each other. And among you he who takes them for allies, shall be regarded as one of them. Allah does not guide the wrong-doers.
O you who believe! Do not take friends from the Jews and the Christians, as they are but friends of each other. And if any among you befriends them, then surely, he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the wrongdoers.
O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
O you who have faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for allies: they are allies of each other. Any of you who allies with them is indeed one of them. Indeed Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.
Believers, take neither Jews nor Nazarenes for your guides. They are guides of one another. Whosoever of you takes them for a guide shall become one of their number. Allah does not guide the wrongdoers.
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.
Believers, do not consider the Jews and Christians as your intimate friends for they are only friends with each other. Whoever does so will be considered as one of them. God does not guide the unjust people.
O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.
Y<u>a</u> ayyuh<u>a</u> alla<u>th</u>eena <u>a</u>manoo l<u>a</u> tattakhi<u>th</u>oo alyahooda wa<b>al</b>nna<u>sa</u>r<u>a</u> awliy<u>a</u>a baAA<u>d</u>uhum awliy<u>a</u>o baAA<u>d</u>in waman yatawallahum minkum fainnahu minhum inna All<u>a</u>ha l<u>a</u> yahdee alqawma a<b>l</b><i><u>thth</u></i><u>a</u>limeen<b>a</b>
Believers, do not take the Jews and Christians as allies. They are allies with one another. Whoever of you takes them as an ally shall become one of them. God does not guide the wrongdoers.
O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies and close friends whom you support. The Jews will only support those of their religion, and the Christians will do the same. Both groups will unite against you. Whoever from you takes them as friends is one of them. Allah does not guide those who do wrong by supporting the disbelievers.
O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies and close friends whom you support. The Jews will only support those of their religion, and the Christians will do the same. Both groups will unite against you. Whoever from you takes them as friends is one of them. Allah does not guide those who do wrong by supporting the disbelievers.
<p>Explanation in Brief</p><p>The verses cited above take up three important subjects which are the basic principles of unity among Muslims as a collectively organized community.</p><p>1.	Muslims can deal with non-Muslims in the spirit of tolerance, sympathy, goodwill, equity, justice, favour and kindness, almost every-thing within that line of conduct. In fact, they should do that for they have been taught to do that. But, what is not permitted is the kind of fast friendship and indiscriminating intimacy which may garble the distinctive hallmarks of Islam. This is the issue known as the ` Tack al-Muwalat' to refrain from deep (friendship) in Islamic terminology.</p><p>2.	The second principle stressed upon is that should the Muslims of any time and place shift away from the first principle stated above and develop an intimacy of this nature with non-Muslims, then, let them not be under the impression that their conduct could harm Islam in any manner whatsoever - because Allah Almighty has Himself taken the responsibility of seeing that Islam remains duly protected. It cannot be eliminated by anyone. However, if a set of people still go out of their minds, break the limits of Islamic modality of doing things and, let us presume, decide to leave the very pale of Islam, then, Allah Ta` ala will bring in another set of people who will uphold and establish the principles and laws of Islam.</p><p>3. Once we know the positive and negative aspects in perspective, it becomes evident that the real friendship of a Muslim - deep, intense, profound and reliance-worthy - can only be with Allah, the Highest of the high, His Messenger, and with those who believe in them.</p><p>After this brief introduction of the subject, we can now move to the detailed explanation of the verses.</p><p>Commentary</p><p>In the first verse (51), Muslims have been commanded not to enter into "Muwalat" (deep friendship) with Jews and Christians as is the customary practice of non-Muslims in general and, of Jews and Christians in particular, who reserve deep friendship for their own people only. They do not deal with Muslims at the same wave length.</p><p>After this clear instruction, should a Muslim do otherwise and en-ter into an intimate friendship with a Jew or Christian, then, in the sight of Islam, he is fit to be counted as one of them - and not as a Muslim.</p><p>The Background of Revelation</p><p>Reporting from ` Ikrimah, Ibn Jarir ؓ has said that this verse was revealed in the background of a particular event. After the Holy Prophet ﷺ had settled in Madinah, he had entered into a treaty with Jews and Christians living nearby which required that they would neither fight against Muslims nor help any other tribe at war with them, rather, they would join Muslims to fight against them. Similarly, Muslims will not fight them nor help anyone against them, rather, would de-fend them against the aggressors. For some time, both parties kept adhering to the treaty. But, the Jews could not observe the terms of the treaty any longer because of their conspiratorial nature and anti-Islam temperament. They made a secret deal with the pagans of Makkah against Muslims and wrote them a letter inviting them to their fortress. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ came to know about this conspiracy, he dispatched a posse of Mujahidin to confront them. These Jews from Banu Qurayzah were, on the one hand, conspiring with the disbelievers of Makkah, while on the other, having infiltrated among Mus-lims, they had succeeded in making pacts of friendship with many of them. This was their front of spying for the disbelievers of Makkah against Muslims. Revealed thereupon was this verse which stopped Muslims from indulging in deep friendship with Jews and Christians, so that they could be deprived of having access to sensitive information about Muslims. At that time, some noble Companions, including Sayyidna ` Ubadah ibn Samit ؓ ، openly announced the cancellation of their treaty obligations as well as their support for abandonment of any close friendship in the future. As for the hypocrites who had their pragmatic relationship with Muslims, or people whose hearts had yet to taste the sweetness of genuine faith, they apprehended dangers in breaking relationships with Jews and Christians lest the conspiracy hatched by the disbelievers and the Jews succeeded and Muslims were overpowered in which case it would be necessary that they keep their relationships balanced both ways to avoid any problems Tor them later on. It was on this basis that ` Abdullah ibn Ubaiyy ibn Salul ؓ had said that he saw danger in cutting off relationship with these people and, therefore, he cannot do that. Revealed thereupon was the second verse (52):</p>
Explanation in BriefThe verses cited above take up three important subjects which are the basic principles of unity among Muslims as a collectively organized community.1.	Muslims can deal with non-Muslims in the spirit of tolerance, sympathy, goodwill, equity, justice, favour and kindness, almost every-thing within that line of conduct. In fact, they should do that for they have been taught to do that. But, what is not permitted is the kind of fast friendship and indiscriminating intimacy which may garble the distinctive hallmarks of Islam. This is the issue known as the ` Tack al-Muwalat' to refrain from deep (friendship) in Islamic terminology.2.	The second principle stressed upon is that should the Muslims of any time and place shift away from the first principle stated above and develop an intimacy of this nature with non-Muslims, then, let them not be under the impression that their conduct could harm Islam in any manner whatsoever - because Allah Almighty has Himself taken the responsibility of seeing that Islam remains duly protected. It cannot be eliminated by anyone. However, if a set of people still go out of their minds, break the limits of Islamic modality of doing things and, let us presume, decide to leave the very pale of Islam, then, Allah Ta` ala will bring in another set of people who will uphold and establish the principles and laws of Islam.3. Once we know the positive and negative aspects in perspective, it becomes evident that the real friendship of a Muslim - deep, intense, profound and reliance-worthy - can only be with Allah, the Highest of the high, His Messenger, and with those who believe in them.After this brief introduction of the subject, we can now move to the detailed explanation of the verses.CommentaryIn the first verse (51), Muslims have been commanded not to enter into "Muwalat" (deep friendship) with Jews and Christians as is the customary practice of non-Muslims in general and, of Jews and Christians in particular, who reserve deep friendship for their own people only. They do not deal with Muslims at the same wave length.After this clear instruction, should a Muslim do otherwise and en-ter into an intimate friendship with a Jew or Christian, then, in the sight of Islam, he is fit to be counted as one of them - and not as a Muslim.The Background of RevelationReporting from ` Ikrimah, Ibn Jarir ؓ has said that this verse was revealed in the background of a particular event. After the Holy Prophet ﷺ had settled in Madinah, he had entered into a treaty with Jews and Christians living nearby which required that they would neither fight against Muslims nor help any other tribe at war with them, rather, they would join Muslims to fight against them. Similarly, Muslims will not fight them nor help anyone against them, rather, would de-fend them against the aggressors. For some time, both parties kept adhering to the treaty. But, the Jews could not observe the terms of the treaty any longer because of their conspiratorial nature and anti-Islam temperament. They made a secret deal with the pagans of Makkah against Muslims and wrote them a letter inviting them to their fortress. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ came to know about this conspiracy, he dispatched a posse of Mujahidin to confront them. These Jews from Banu Qurayzah were, on the one hand, conspiring with the disbelievers of Makkah, while on the other, having infiltrated among Mus-lims, they had succeeded in making pacts of friendship with many of them. This was their front of spying for the disbelievers of Makkah against Muslims. Revealed thereupon was this verse which stopped Muslims from indulging in deep friendship with Jews and Christians, so that they could be deprived of having access to sensitive information about Muslims. At that time, some noble Companions, including Sayyidna ` Ubadah ibn Samit ؓ ، openly announced the cancellation of their treaty obligations as well as their support for abandonment of any close friendship in the future. As for the hypocrites who had their pragmatic relationship with Muslims, or people whose hearts had yet to taste the sweetness of genuine faith, they apprehended dangers in breaking relationships with Jews and Christians lest the conspiracy hatched by the disbelievers and the Jews succeeded and Muslims were overpowered in which case it would be necessary that they keep their relationships balanced both ways to avoid any problems Tor them later on. It was on this basis that ` Abdullah ibn Ubaiyy ibn Salul ؓ had said that he saw danger in cutting off relationship with these people and, therefore, he cannot do that. Revealed thereupon was the second verse (52):
<h2 class="title">The Prohibition of Taking the Jews, Christians and Enemies of Islamas Friends</h2><p>Allah forbids His believing servants from having Jews and Christians as friends, because they are the enemies of Islam and its people, may Allah curse them. Allah then states that they are friends of each other and He gives a warning threat to those who do this,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ</div><p>(And if any among you befriends them, then surely he is one of them.) Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Umar ordered Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari to send him on one sheet of balance the count of what he took in and what he spent. Abu Musa then had a Christian scribe, and he was able to comply with `Umar's demand. `Umar liked what he saw and exclaimed, "This scribe is proficient. Would you read in the Masjid a letter that came to us from Ash-Sham" Abu Musa said, `He cannot." `Umar said, "Is he not pure" Abu Musa said, "No, but he is Christian." Abu Musa said, "So `Umar admonished me and poked my thigh (with his finger), saying, `Drive him out (from Al-Madinah).' He then recited,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَآءَ</div><p>(O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends...)" Then he reported that `Abdullah bin `Utbah said, "Let one of you beware that he might be a Jew or a Christian, while unaware." The narrator of this statement said, "We thought that he was referring to the Ayah,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَآءَ</div><p>(O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends, )" Allah said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ</div><p>(And you see those in whose hearts there is a disease...) A disease of doubt, hesitation and hypocrisy.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يُسَـرِعُونَ فِيهِمْ</div><p>(they hurry to their friendship,) meaning, they rush to offer them their friendship and allegiances in secret and in public,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَى أَن تُصِيبَنَا دَآئِرَةٌ</div><p>(saying: "We fear lest some misfortune of a disaster may befall us.") They thus offer this excuse for their friendship and allegiances to the disbelievers, saying that they fear that the disbelievers might defeat the Muslims, so they want to be in favor with the Jews and Christians, to use this favor for their benefit in that eventuality! Allah replied,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِالْفَتْحِ</div><p>(Perhaps Allah may bring a victory...) referring to the conquering of Makkah, according to As-Suddi.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِّنْ عِندِهِ</div><p>(or a decision according to His will) requiring the Jews and Christians to pay the Jizyah, as As-Suddi stated,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَيُصْبِحُواْ</div><p>(Then they will become) meaning, the hypocrites who gave their friendship to the Jews and Christians, will become,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">عَلَى مَآ أَسَرُّواْ فِى أَنفُسِهِمْ</div><p>(for what they have been keeping as a secret in themselves) of allegiances,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">نَـدِمِينَ</div><p>(regretful,) for their friendship with the Jews and Christians which did not benefit them or protect them from any harm. Rather, it was nothing but harm, as Allah exposed their true reality to His faithful servants in this life, although they tried to conceal it. When the signs that exposed their hypocrisy were compiled against them, their matter became clear to Allah's faithful servants. So the believers were amazed at these hypocrites who pretended to be believers, swearing to their faithfulness, yet their claims were all lies and deceit. This is why Allah said, s</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَهُـؤُلاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُواْ خَـسِرِينَ </div><p>(And those who believe will say, "Are these the men who swore their strongest oaths by Allah that they were with you" All that they did has been in vain, and they have become the losers.)</p>
The Prohibition of Taking the Jews, Christians and Enemies of Islamas FriendsAllah forbids His believing servants from having Jews and Christians as friends, because they are the enemies of Islam and its people, may Allah curse them. Allah then states that they are friends of each other and He gives a warning threat to those who do this,وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ(And if any among you befriends them, then surely he is one of them.) Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Umar ordered Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari to send him on one sheet of balance the count of what he took in and what he spent. Abu Musa then had a Christian scribe, and he was able to comply with `Umar's demand. `Umar liked what he saw and exclaimed, "This scribe is proficient. Would you read in the Masjid a letter that came to us from Ash-Sham" Abu Musa said, `He cannot." `Umar said, "Is he not pure" Abu Musa said, "No, but he is Christian." Abu Musa said, "So `Umar admonished me and poked my thigh (with his finger), saying, `Drive him out (from Al-Madinah).' He then recited,يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَآءَ(O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends...)" Then he reported that `Abdullah bin `Utbah said, "Let one of you beware that he might be a Jew or a Christian, while unaware." The narrator of this statement said, "We thought that he was referring to the Ayah,يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَآءَ(O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends, )" Allah said,فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ(And you see those in whose hearts there is a disease...) A disease of doubt, hesitation and hypocrisy.يُسَـرِعُونَ فِيهِمْ(they hurry to their friendship,) meaning, they rush to offer them their friendship and allegiances in secret and in public,يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَى أَن تُصِيبَنَا دَآئِرَةٌ(saying: "We fear lest some misfortune of a disaster may befall us.") They thus offer this excuse for their friendship and allegiances to the disbelievers, saying that they fear that the disbelievers might defeat the Muslims, so they want to be in favor with the Jews and Christians, to use this favor for their benefit in that eventuality! Allah replied,فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِالْفَتْحِ(Perhaps Allah may bring a victory...) referring to the conquering of Makkah, according to As-Suddi.أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِّنْ عِندِهِ(or a decision according to His will) requiring the Jews and Christians to pay the Jizyah, as As-Suddi stated,فَيُصْبِحُواْ(Then they will become) meaning, the hypocrites who gave their friendship to the Jews and Christians, will become,عَلَى مَآ أَسَرُّواْ فِى أَنفُسِهِمْ(for what they have been keeping as a secret in themselves) of allegiances,نَـدِمِينَ(regretful,) for their friendship with the Jews and Christians which did not benefit them or protect them from any harm. Rather, it was nothing but harm, as Allah exposed their true reality to His faithful servants in this life, although they tried to conceal it. When the signs that exposed their hypocrisy were compiled against them, their matter became clear to Allah's faithful servants. So the believers were amazed at these hypocrites who pretended to be believers, swearing to their faithfulness, yet their claims were all lies and deceit. This is why Allah said, sوَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَهُـؤُلاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُواْ خَـسِرِينَ (And those who believe will say, "Are these the men who swore their strongest oaths by Allah that they were with you" All that they did has been in vain, and they have become the losers.)