I say, and success is by Allah, that befriending the unbelievers falls into three categories:
One: Friendship which is disbelief by consensus. It is being friends with the unbelievers, joining with them, and loving them because they are unbelievers out of hatred for the deen of Islam and the one who brought it. This friendship is meant by His words, “The believers should not take the unbelievers as friends rather than the believers. Whoever does that has nothing to do with Allah.” (3:28) He also says, “Give the hypocrites the good news that they will have a painful punishment, those who take the unbelievers as friends.” He says, “Whoever of you takes them as friends is one of them.”(5:51)
Two: Friendship which is rebellion, but not disbelief by consensus. It is maintaining ties to the unbelievers so as to obtain the wealth they possess. This friendship is what is being referred to when Allah says, “O you who believe, do not take as friends a people with whom Allah is angry” , meaning the Jews. The commentators say that it was revealed about a group of poor Muslims who used to make friends with the Jews in order to obtain some of their wealth. It is clear that simple friendship with the unbelievers and having ties to them in order to obtain some of the property they possess is not disbelief, but rebellion.
Abu Yahya Zakariyya al-Ansari said in the Fath al-Ansari that the words of
Allah, “Whoever of you takes them as friends is one of them,” (5:51) indicate
that love of the Prophet of the Book is disbelief. However, this is not the
case. I say that he said that as an exaggeration to encourage avoidance of
opponents of the deen or because the ayat was revealed about the hypocrites who are unbelievers.
Three: Friendship which is permitted. It is making friends with the unbelievers and befriending them with the tongue, not in the heart, because of fear of them. This is the friendship meant by Allah’s words, “If you have fear of them.” (3:28) Al-Baydawi said in his commentary on this ayat,
“This forbids taking the unbelievers as friends outwardly and inwardly at
all times, except in a time of fear. Displaying friendship at that time is
permitted.”
To explain the meaning of Allah’s words, Jalalu’din as-Suyuti said in the Takmila that this ayat means that if you fear them, you can befriend them with the tongue but not the heart. This was before Islam was strong and still applies to a land where Islam is not strong.
In the commentary on the Risala, the Fawakih ad-Dawani, an-Nafrawi says concerning the words of the author that the believer must ask for forgiveness for his parents if they are believers and must befriend the believers, “To befriend them and to avoid what creates aversion such as malice and envy. We seek refuge with Allah. What is meant here by befriending them does not mean mere physical contact with them without sincere love in the heart.”
Know that the submissiveness, which is known as humility, is of three kinds:
- Obligatory: like humility to Allah and His Messenger, and to rulers, scholars and parents.
- Forbidden: like humility towards the unjust and unbelievers because humility shown to these people is humiliation without honor and a baseness from which one cannot be raised up.
- Recommended: like humility towards the slaves of Allah other than those mentioned.
What is recognized by the believers is that the unbelievers should not be befriended in the above sense because Allah says, ‘You will not find people who believe in Allah and the Last Day loving those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even though they be their fathers, their sons, their brothers or their kin.’ (58:22)
Rather they should think badly of them and fight them if they are people of the abode of war (harbiyyun). But if they are dhimmis they should be interfered with except in case of necessity since it is forbidden to harm a dhimmi.
This is enough to achieve the answer to the point in question.
O Allah! Show us the true as true and make us follow it!
Show us the false as false and make us avoid it!
Intro and Summary
