Does Islam Forbid Making Friends With Non-Muslims? Part – 1
By
Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
19 April
2024
Hardliners
And Islamophobes Often Claim That Islam Forbids Muslims From Forming
Friendships With Non-Muslims.
Main
Points:
1. The
distinction between Muwalaat and Mua’amlaat is significant, as they are not
related to one another.
2. The verses
which talk about the prohibition of Muwaalaat were revealed amid political
strife, not during a period of peace.
3. The popular
misconception that Islam prevents Muslims from establishing friends and forming
social interactions with others is flawed and contradicts both current reality
and Islamic history.
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(Representative photo from Files)
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Hardliners
and Islamophobes frequently assert that Islam forbids Muslims from forming
friendships with non-Muslims. Some claim that Allah Ta'ala prohibits believers
in the Quran from establishing Muwalaat, or friendship in matters of faith,
with Jews, Christians, disbelievers, polytheists, and apostates. They add that
Allah Ta'ala, the Almighty, has also shown His anger and displeasure to people
who associate with unbelievers. The following three verses are most frequently
cited by them:
“O People who Believe! Do not consider your
fathers and your brothers as your friends if they prefer disbelief over faith,
and whoever among you befriends them – then it is he who is unjust.” (9:23)
“O People who Believe! Do not take 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.”
(5:51)
“O People who Believe! Those who have made your
religion a mockery and a sport, and those who received the Book before you, and
the disbelievers – do not befriend any of them; and keep fearing Allah, if you
have faith.” (5:57)
They
frequently cite these verses in their talks and publications. Then, some people
want to know if the claims made by extremists and Islamophobes are accurate or
if they have added their own meanings to the Quran. They should carefully
analyse the meaning of Muwalaat/Awliya [roughly translated as friends] in these
verses and decide whether it is appropriate for them to accept and trust
non-Muslims as friends at this particular time.
The
following is a summary of Haris Aziz's treatise:
The word
Awliya means ‘Friends, protectors, and guardians, and if this means ‘friends’
in verse 5:51, it will appear to contradict the Islamic message of peace and
cooperation. David Dakake has provided a thorough explanation of the context
and historical history of this verse. In this verse, Awliya must be taken as
guardians or patrons in the strict military sense. This is because Muslims were
in a perilous position in Medina at the time this verse was revealed, with the
Makkans plotting an attack on them and some Christian and Jewish tribes scheming
against them. As a result, Muslims were told to strengthen themselves and not
rely on others unnecessarily. Al-Tabari, one of the oldest commentators on the
Quran, explains the entire context. Furthermore, if we read the verses
immediately after 5:51, verse 5:57 confirms the meaning even further:
“O you who have believed, take not those who
have taken your religion in ridicule and amusement among the ones who were
given the Scripture before you nor the disbelievers as Awliya. And fear Allah,
if you should [truly] be believers.” (5:57)
This
demonstrates that, while Muslims should cooperate with non-Muslims in general
and form friendships with well-intentioned non-Muslims, they should be wary of
appointing as a guardian someone who despises Islam or does not want Muslims
well. It's distressing to note that, despite the fact that a simple technique
leads to the correct interpretation, this verse is not only misused by
anti-Islamic organisations, but also by some hate-mongering Muslim groups.
Similarly, a warning (Quran 5:82) regarding the animosity of the Jews of Medina
toward Muslims must be viewed in its historical context and should not be taken
to mean that Muslims should be hostile to them.
(Islamic Political Radicalism – A European Perspective,
Edited by Tahir Abbas, Anti-Semitism Amongst Muslims – Haris Aziz, Edinburgh
University Press, p79-80, cited in What does Awliya mean in Quran 5:51 Can Muslims take non-Muslims
as friends? )
According
to Mufti Badruddoja, a classical Indian scholar,
These verses prohibit demonstrating Muwalaat (religious friendliness) to
Jews, Christians, Infidels, polytheists, and apostates, but they do not
prohibit Muamalat with them, that is, buying, selling, conducting transactions,
establishing peaceful cohabitation, and sitting together. These verses do not
prohibit people from engaging in worldly affairs as long as they do not damage
one another. Those who accuse the Quran of encouraging hatred and violence need
to comprehend the difference between Muwalaat and Mua’amalat. They are not
related to one other. It's possible that you do Mua’amalat (worldly affairs)
with someone all your life, such as transactions, buying and selling, but you
don't even have a nominal acquaintance with them. It's also possible that
you've developed a friendship, emotion, or propensity for someone but have
never transacted or coexisted with them. This distinction has revealed that
“neither friendship is indispensable for Mua’amlaat nor Muwalaat or friendship
for Mua’amlaat”. The distinction between Mua'amalat and Mua’amlaat is
significant. In the aforementioned verses, Allah Almighty prohibits Muwalaat
with Jews, Christians, unbelievers, polytheists, and apostates; however He
Almighty does not prohibit believers from establishing Mua'amalat, or trade or
peaceful coexistence with them. (The Verses of Jihad in The Quran - Meaning,
Denotation, Reason of Revelation and Background - Part 6 )
When we
examine the exegesis (Tafsir) of these verses critically, we can determine that
they are specifically referring to prohibiting an alliance with non-Muslims who
wished to damage the Muslim community. Furthermore, these verses were revealed
in the midst of political strife, not during a period of peace.
It is a
popular misconception that Islam prevents Muslims from establishing friends and
forming social interactions with others. It contradicts both current reality
and Islamic history. It's also a hazardous viewpoint, as some have claimed that
befriending non-believers can lead to Kufr. This line of thinking is extremely
flawed.
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Kaniz
Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular columnist for New Age Islam.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/forbid-friends-non-muslims-part-1/d/132162
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