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. ---- (Representative photo from Files) ----- 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. ----- Kaniz Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular columnist for New Age Islam. 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