ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.
Tafsir
Verse range: 5:51
"Do not take them as allies" Meaning: Do not support them, do not seek their support, do not fraternize with them, do not treat them with sincere affection, and do not associate with them as one associates with the believers.
"Some of them are allies of others" He justifies the prohibition with this statement: meaning they only ally with one another due to the unity of their creed and their gathering in disbelief. Therefore, one whose religion is different from theirs has no business allying with them.
"And whoever among you takes them as allies, then he is one of them" His ruling is their ruling. This is a severe warning from Allah and an emphasis on the obligation to distance oneself from and avoid those who differ in religion, as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Let not their two fires be visible to one another" (i.e., do not live in such proximity that you can see each other's campfires).
From this is the statement of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to Abu Musa regarding his Christian scribe: "Do not honor them, for Allah has humiliated them; do not trust them, for Allah has deemed them treacherous; and do not bring them near, for Allah has cast them far away."
It is narrated that Abu Musa said to him, "The affairs of Basra cannot be sustained without him." Umar replied, "Consider the Christian dead, and peace be upon you." Meaning: Suppose he has died; what would you do then? Do that now and suffice yourself with someone else.
"Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people" Meaning: Those who have wronged themselves by allying with the disbelievers. Allah denies them His grace and abandons them out of indignation toward them.
"They hasten among them" They are eager in their alliance and desire it, excusing themselves by saying they fear that a "turn of fortune" (a change in the tides of time or a shift in political power) might befall them, thus needing the disbelievers and their assistance.
It is narrated from Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "I have many allies among the Jews, and I declare to Allah and His Messenger that I am free from their alliance, and I ally myself with Allah and His Messenger." Abdullah ibn Ubayy said, "I am a man who fears the turns of fortune; I will not renounce the alliance of my allies," referring to the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa.
"But perhaps Allah will bring about victory" For the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) over his enemies, and the manifestation of the Muslims.
"Or a command from Him" That uproots the Jews and expels them from their lands, so the hypocrites will wake up regretting what they whispered to themselves. They used to doubt the affair of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), saying, "We do not think his affair will be completed, and it is more likely that power and victory will belong to these [the Jews]."
It is also said: "Or a command from Him" means the Prophet (ﷺ) is commanded to expose the secrets of the hypocrites and kill them, so they regret their hypocrisy. Or, it refers to a command from Allah in which humans have no role, like the Banu al-Nadir, whom Allah cast terror into their hearts, so they surrendered without a single horse or camel being spurred against them.
"And those who believe will say" It is read in the accusative (nasb) as a conjunction to "bring about," and in the nominative (raf') as a new sentence. It is also read as "Say!" (qul) without the "and" (wa), as found in the codices of Mecca, Medina, and Syria, as a response to a questioner who asks, "What will the believers say then?" It is said: The believers will say, "Are these the ones who swore...?"
If you ask: To whom are they saying this? I say: Either they are saying it to one another in astonishment at the hypocrites' state and in gratitude for the success Allah granted them in sincerity; or they are saying it to the Jews, because the hypocrites had sworn to the Jews that they would support and aid them, as Allah recounted: "If you are fought, we will surely help you" (Al-Hashr: 11).
"Their deeds have become worthless" This is part of the believers' statement, meaning: The deeds they performed to show off to people have been invalidated. It carries a sense of astonishment, as if to say, "How worthless their deeds have become! How great is their loss!" Or, it is a statement from Allah (Exalted be He) testifying to the nullification of their deeds and expressing astonishment at their wretched state.
