Friends

The Noble Quran chapter 5 verse 51 reads: "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."

M.A.S. Abdel Haleems translation of the Qur'an translates the word 'awliya' to allies rather then friends (The word translates to: Friends, protectors, allies, guardian. This is more faithful to the context in which the true Qur'an, in the revealed language meant for it. This translation reads as follows:

51: "You who believe, do not take the Jews and Christians as allies: they are allies only to each other. Anyone who takes them as an ally becomes one of them -God does not guide such wrongdoers-"

Contributed by Moayidd:

Regarding the word Awliyaa' which was translated to friends: Awliyaa' really means guardian or a person you delegate your affairs to (as in Leader). It really carries the meaning of a person whom you 'follow'. Another way of putting it is: 'those whom you entrust your affairs to'. The meaning 'friend' is not really within the range of definitions for the word 'Waleyy' (singular of awliyaa'). As a further example, Ameer Al Mu'mineen (the Khalifa) appointed a Waleyy for Syria, a Waleyy for Egypt and so on. These are called Awliyaa' (Plural of Waleyy) and as can bee seen has no bearing on the meaning: Friend.

It is quite clear that the verse is talking about taking Christians and Jews as friends in the battlefield, or for the sake of a better word, allies. This can be seen by keeping the verse in context with the following verses:

52: "yet you [Prophet] will see the perverse at heart rushing to them for protection, saying, 'We are afraid fortune may turn against us.' But God may well bring about a triumph or some other event of His own making: then they will rue the secrets they harboured in their hearts,

53: and the believers will say, 'Are these the men who swore by God using their strongest oaths that they were with you?' All they did was in vain: they have lost everything.

54: You who believe, if any of you go back on your faith, God will soon replace you with people He loves and who love Him, people who are humble towards the believers, hard on the disbelievers, and who strike in God's way without fearing anyone's reproach. Such is God's favour. He grants it to whoever He will. God has endless bounty and knowledge.

55: Your true allies are God, His Messenger, and the believers -those who keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, and bow down in worship.

56: Those who turn for protection to God, His Messenger, and the believers [are God's party]: God's party is sure to triumph.

57: You who believe, do not take as allies those who ridicule your religion and make fun of it -whether people who were given the Scripture before you, or disbelievers -and be mindful of God if you are true believers.

58: When you make the call to prayer, they ridicule it and make fun of it: this is because they are people who do not reason.

59: Say [Prophet], 'people of the Book, do you resent us for any reason other than the fact that we believe in God, in what has been sent down to us, and in what was sent before us, while most of you are disobedient?'

By reading up to verse 59, it is clear that the ones not to be taken by allies are the ones that "ridicule your religion and fun of it." Also, if you cross-reference to Chapter 4, verse 144, we read: "You who believe, do not take the disbelievers as allies and protectors instead of the believers: do you want to offer God clear proof against you?" This tells us not to take the disbelievers as allies in preference of Muslims.

What does the Qur'an teach about relationship with Jews and Christians? Let us review the verses that apply:

Chapter 5, Verse 5: "Today all good things have been made lawful for you. The food of the people of the Book is lawful for you as your food is lawful for them. So are chaste, believing, women as well as chaste women of the book who were given the Scripture before you, as long as you have given them their bride-gifts and married them, not taking them as lovers or secret mistresses. The deeds of anyone who rejects faith will come to nothing, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers."

This verse makes it lawful for a Muslim to marry a Christian or Jewish woman. How can two people fall in love and marry without ever becoming friends? Let's move to another verse:

Chapter 3, verse 113: "But they are not all alike. There are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God's revelations during the night, who bow down in worship.

114: Who believe in God and the Last Day, who order what is right and forbid what is wrong, who are quick to do good deeds. These people are among the righteous."

Chapter 3, verse 199: "Some of the People of the Book believe in God, in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down to them: humbling themselves before God, they would never sell God's revelation for a small price. These people will have their rewards with their Lord: God is swift in reckoning."

The Qur'an tells us that some of the People of the Book (ie, Jews, Christian) are righteous, so why would we not be allowed to befriend such person? The reason for being forbidden to alliance with them is explained by the following verse:

Chapter 3, verse 72: "Some of the People of the Book say, 'At the beginning of the day, believe in what has been revealed to these believers [the Muslims], then at the end of the day reject it, so that they too may turn back"

This verse tells us that there were Jews and Christians that would pretend to accept Islam, then later desert it to cause the impression that it was the wrong religion. Finally, consider the following verse:

Chapter 60, verse 8: "and He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes: God loves the just.

9: But God forbids you to take as allies those who have fought against you for your faith, driven you out of your homes, and helped others to drive you out: any of you who take them as allies will truly be wrongdoers."

In the above verse, the same word, friend is used in the translations that use the wrong context, and read as:

Chapter 60, verse 8: "Allah does not forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of [your] religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show “Birr” with them and deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of justice.

9: Allah only forbids you respecting those who made war upon you on account of [your] religion, and drove you forth from your homes and backed up [others] in your expulsion, that you make friends with them, and whoever makes friends with them, these are the unjust."

The word “birr” is the same word used to describe a Muslim’s relationship with their parents which is considered the most sacred blood relationship in Islam. Therefore, Muslims are clearly commanded to deal with peaceful non-Muslims is a friendly and peaceful manner. The third point is that the specific groups being referred to in this verse were those hostile to Islam, and not all Jews and Christians in general. Concerning the historical context, the verse was revealed during a time when the Muslims were being attacked from many directions, including the Christian Roman empire and the Jews of Madinah. The Muslims had originally made a pact with the Jews of Madinah, but they were betrayed twice. So in this context, the Qur'an was telling the believers to be cautious in dealings with such enemies who oppose Islam, and not to trust them as protectors. As Jasser Auda writes:

It was revealed in certain historic circumstances, in which there was a war between the infant Islamic state on different occasions on four different fronts: the Romans, the Persians, the pagans of Arabia, and the Jews of Madinah. So, the historic context of the revelation of this verse is a situation of war between Muslims and the People of the Book (Jews, internally in Madinah, and Christians, through a Roman crusade). So, yes, Muslims were not allowed to make friends with the enemies who were fighting them and wishing to eliminate them from the face of the earth. Some Muslims say that since the verse has this historic context, then it is part of history and no longer applies. This is not correct! It is true that the verse has a history behind it, but this does not mean that it is no longer relevant. It is totally relevant but only in a context similar to the historic context. So today Muslims are not to make friends with Jews or Christians (or followers of any other religion for that matter) if they try to kill Muslims, kick them out of their homes, etc. (SOURCE)

The Qur'anic verse is relevant in a similar context to the historical context. A Muslim cannot take Jews or Christians or anyone as protectors if they oppose their religion and its teachings. The Muslims are encouraged to rely on each other for support. Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi writes:

It is obvious that Jews patronize the Jews and Christians patronize the Christians, so why not Muslims patronize Muslims and support their own people. This verse is not telling us to be against Jews or Christians, but it is telling us that we should take care of our own people and we must support each other. In his Tafsir, (Qur’an exegesis) Imam Ibn Kathir has mentioned that some scholars say that this verse (i.e. the one you referred to) was revealed after the Battle of Uhud when Muslims had a set back. At that time, a Muslim from Madinah said, "I am going to live with Jews so I shall be safe in case another attack comes on Madinah." And another person said, "I am going to live with Christians so I shall be safe in case another attack comes on Madinah." So Allah revealed this verse reminding the believers that they should not seek the protection from others, but should protect each other. (See Ibn Kathir, Al-Tafsir, vol. 2, p. 68) (SOURCE)[/

The groups prohibited for Muslims to take as protectors are described in the Qur’an:

The Holy Qur'an, 60:1 O ye who believe! Take not my enemies and yours as protectors,- offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes), (simply) because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does this has strayed from the Straight Path. 60:2 If they were to get the better of you, they would behave to you as enemies, and stretch forth their hands and their tongues against you for evil: and they desire that ye should reject the Truth.

So the Qur'an forbids taking those as protectors who expel the Muslims from their homes and who would betray and attack as soon as the opportunity arises. Those who have no respect for a Muslim’s beliefs and desire that the Muslim leaves their faith - they cannot be taken as protectors. This is the correct interpretation based on the context of the verse. To conclude, we once again quote Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi:

Muslims are allowed to have non-Muslims as friends as long as they keep their own faith and commitment to Islam pure and strong. You are correct in pointing out that a Muslim man is also allowed to marry a Jewish or Christian woman. It is obvious that one marries someone for love and friendship. If friendship between Muslims and Jews or Christians was forbidden, then why would Islam allow a Muslim man to marry a Jew or Christian woman? It is the duty of Muslims to patronize Muslims. They should not patronize any one who is against their faith or who fights their faith, even if they were their fathers and brothers. Allah says:

“O you who believe! Take not for protectors (Awliya') your fathers and your brothers if they love unbelief above faith. If any of you do so, they are indeed wrong-doers.” (Al-Tawbah : 23)

In a similar way, the Qur'an also tells Muslims that they should never patronize the non-Muslims against other Muslims. However, if some Muslims do wrong to some non-Muslims, it is Muslim’s duty to help the non-Muslims and save them from oppression . The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said that he himself will defend a Dhimmi living among Muslims to whom injustice is done by Muslims. But Islam also teaches that Muslims should not seek the patronage of non-Muslims against other Muslims. They should try to solve their problems among themselves. (SOURCE)

Islam is a religion of peace and compassion, therefore it requires its adherents to act in the best possible manner to other human beings. Verse 5:51 does not refer to friends, but protectors, and the historical context reveals that this verse prohibits Muslims from seeking the protection and allegiance of those who are hostile to the Islamic faith. It is not a reference to all Non-Muslims, as the scholars of Islam have clarified.