Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Friendship with Non-Muslims: Difference between revisions

Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Friendship with Non-Muslims (view source)

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 {{QuranHadithScholarsIndex}}
-The Quran and other Islamic sources prohibit certain degrees of relationship with non-Muslims, including with the "People of the Book". Its stance appears to have evolved over time at various stages of Muhammad's prophetic career, occurring in a context when the believers had been driven out from Mecca and there was a degree of enmity between them, as recorded in such verses as Quran 60:1. Certain hadiths too portray Muhammad as being skeptical of inter-faith friendships. Some contemporary views emphasize contextual issues and use particular verses and examples from Muhammad's life to argue that friendship with non-Muslims is permitted in some circumstances.
+The Quran and other Islamic sources prohibit certain degrees of relationship with non-Muslims, including with some from among the "People of the Book". Its stance appears to have evolved over time at various stages of Muhammad's prophetic career, occurring in a context when the believers had been driven out from Mecca and there was a degree of enmity between them, as recorded in such verses as Quran 60:1. Certain hadiths too portray Muhammad as being skeptical of inter-faith friendships. Some contemporary views emphasize contextual issues and use particular verses and examples from Muhammad's life to argue that friendship with non-Muslims is permitted in some circumstances.
 ==Qur'an==
-===Do not take non-Muslims as intimate friends or guardians / allies===
+===Do not take disbelievers as intimate friends or guardians / allies===
 A word common in many of these verses is awliyaa (plural of وَلِيٌّ [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000314.pdf waliyyun], from which we also have 'wali' - the male guardian of a female). It is often translated as friends and protectors, or allies.
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 {{Quote|{{Quran|3|118}}|O ye who believe! Take not for intimates [[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000258.pdf bitanatan]] others than your own folk, who would spare no pains to ruin you; they love to hamper you. Hatred is revealed by (the utterance of) their mouths, but that which their breasts hide is greater. We have made plain for you the revelations if ye will understand.}}
+The prohibiton in the above verse does not apply to all people of the book, some of whom are contrasted with "those who disbelieve" in the preceding verses {{Quran-range|3|113|114}}. This may be considered alongside verses 5:51, 5:57 and 5:82 quoted below.
 {{Quote|{{Quran|4|139}}|Those who chose disbelievers for their friends [awliyaa] instead of believers! Do they look for power at their hands? Lo! all power appertaineth to Allah.}}
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 {{Quote|{{Quran-range|60|7|9}}|It may be that Allah will ordain love [[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000185.pdf mawaddatan]] between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers. Allah forbiddeth you only those who warred against you on account of religion and have driven you out from your homes and helped to drive you out, that ye make friends of them [tawallawhum]. Whosoever maketh friends of them - (All) such are wrong-doers.}}
-===Do not take your non-Muslim family members as guardians / allies, and disassociate from them and do not love them if they are enemies of Allah===
+===Do not take your disbelieving family members as guardians / allies, and disassociate from them and do not love them if they are enemies of Allah===
-Surah 9 (at-Tawbah) came later chronologically than surah 60 in the section above, after the conquest of Mecca. By this time it seems Muhammad had hardened his stance again. Now we see that even family can't be a Muslim's awliya if they love disbelief more than faith, and a Muslim is not allowed even to have love for them if they oppose Allah and Muhammad. Presumably love is allowed if they don't oppose Allah and Muhammad, though it seems that a Muslim still can't take them as awliya either way if they are disbelievers.
+Surah 9 (at-Tawbah) traditionally came later chronologically than surah 60 in the section above, after the conquest of Mecca (though it is important to note that this is disputed by some modern academic scholars, who date the surah from internal and other evidence before that event). On the traditional chronology, it would seem that by this time Muhammad had hardened his stance again. Now we see that even family can't be a Muslim's awliya if they love disbelief more than faith, and a Muslim is not allowed even to have love for them if they oppose Allah and Muhammad. Presumably love is allowed if they don't oppose Allah and Muhammad, though it seems that a Muslim still can't take them as awliya either way if they are disbelievers.
 {{Quote|{{Quran|9|23}}|O ye who believe! take not for protectors [yatawallahum] your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity [kufra] above Faith: if any of you do so, they do wrong.}}