Tafsir of Al-Mumtahanah 60:13

"O you who believe, do not take as allies a people with whom Allah has become angry." (Al-Hasan, Ibn Zayd, and Mundhir ibn Sa‘id hold that they are the Jews, for the Almighty has referred to them in places other than this verse as 'those with whom He is angry.' It is reported that some of the impoverished believers used to maintain contact with the Jews to obtain some of their fruits, so this was revealed. Others say: They are the Jews and the Christians. In a narration from Ibn Abbas, they are the disbelievers of Quraysh. Many others have said: They are the generality of disbelievers.)

This verse, according to al-Tibi, is connected to the conclusion of the story of the polytheists whom the believers were forbidden from taking as allies in the Almighty’s saying: "Do not take My enemy and your enemy as allies." It is the Almighty's saying: "And whoever does so among you has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way" [re-reading the implied context], and the Almighty's saying: "O you who believe, when the believing women come to you..." and so forth, is a digression. For when the discussion moved to the matter of dealings with those who do not fight the Muslims, and those who do fight them and have driven them out of their homes—concerning the command to treat the former with kindness and the prohibition of treating the latter with kindness—the discussion of dealings with their women followed. When that was finished, the conclusion was connected to the opening in the manner of returning the end to the beginning in terms of meaning. In al-Intisaf, it is suggested that this verse itself is a digression, which is apparent if one holds that the intent by 'the people' is the Jews and the People of the Scripture in general.

"They have despaired of the Hereafter" is an inception. The intent is that they have despaired of the good of the Hereafter and its reward due to their stubbornness against the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who is described in their Book and supported by clear signs and astounding miracles. If the intent by 'the people' is the disbelievers, then their despair of the Hereafter is due to their disbelief in it.

"...as the disbelievers have despaired of the inhabitants of the graves." That is, those who are the inhabitants of the graves; i.e., the deceased disbelievers. This is on the basis that "from" (min) is explanatory (bayaniyyah). The meaning is that the despair of these people regarding the Hereafter is like the despair of the disbelievers who died, inhabited the graves, and realized their deprivation of its abiding bliss. It is also said: It is like their despair that any good will reach them from these living ones. The intent is to describe them as having complete despair of the Hereafter. Taking "from" as explanatory is reported from Mujahid, Ibn Jubayr, and Ibn Zayd, and it is the choice of Ibn ‘Atiyyah and a group. Abu Hayyan chose the view that it denotes the beginning of the limit (ibtida’ al-ghayah), and the meaning is that these people with whom Allah is angry have despaired of the Hereafter just as they despaired of their own dead—that they would be resurrected and met in the life of this world. This is reported from Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Qatadah. Thus, 'the disbelievers' refers to those people; the apparent noun was used in place of their pronoun to record their disbelief and to signal the cause of their despair. Ibn Abi al-Zinad recited ka-ma ya’isa al-kafiru (the disbeliever) in the singular, intending the gender.

It is said that the Almighty’s saying, "O you who believe, do not take My enemy and your enemy as allies," etc., is an indication for the spiritual traveler (salik) to abandon the alliance of the 'commanding soul' (al-nafs al-ammarah) and to cast affection toward it, for it is the greatest enemy. As it is said: "Your greatest enemy is your soul which is between your two sides." It remains ever averse to the Truth, opposing the messenger of the intellect, and fleeing from it. It does not cease from this until it becomes a 'tranquil soul' (mutma’innah), pleased and pleasing.

To this is the indication in the Almighty’s saying: "Perhaps Allah will put, between you and those to whom you have been enemies among them, affection."

And His saying, "Allah does not forbid you..." [referring to the broader context of kindly treatment], is an indication that whenever the soul obeys and its wildness is secured, it is permissible to grant it its lawful portions. To this is the indication in what is narrated: "Your soul has a right over you."

In the Almighty’s saying, "O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you," etc., there is an indication of the sincere seeker's pledge to the spiritual guide—the soul that is believing. That is for him to pledge to abandon his own choice, to entrust affairs to Allah (the Almighty and Majestic), not to desire what he is not fit for, not to persist in the desires of the soul, not to bury the divinely inspired thought (al-warid al-ilahami) under the dust of natural inclination, and not to fabricate by claiming that the secret thought is a thought of the Spirit, and the thought of the Spirit is a thought of the Truth—and other things like this. It is also not to disobey in any virtuous deed that brings him knowledge of Allah (the Almighty and Majestic), and to seek from Allah (the Almighty) within the scope of striving that He veil His attributes with His attributes, and His existence with His existence. The essence of this is that he seeks for himself subsistence (al-baqa’) after annihilation (al-fana’). That is the bounty of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills.