Here is the verse in question:
Translation of Quran 5:51 by Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan:
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliya, then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust).
I have chosen this particular translation for the same reason for choosing this translation for the previous post (and I have already defined what auliya is in a previous post).
Now I am going to quote the next few verses after this verse Quran 5:52, 57 (using the same translation):
And you see those in whose hearts there is a disease (of hypocrisy), they hurry to their friendship, saying: "We fear lest some misfortune of a disaster may befall us." Perhaps Allah may bring a victory or a decision according to His Will. Then they will become regretful for what they have been keeping as a secret in themselves.
O you who believe! Take not for Auliya (protectors and helpers) those who take your religion for a mockery and fun from among those who received the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before you, nor from among the disbelievers; and fear Allah if you indeed are true believers.
Quran 5:51 verse context
By quoting the following verses immediately after Quran 5:51 the context comes clear, this verse was revealed under the context where some people i.e. Muslims (who were hypocrites) were taking Jews and Christians as auliya (please see definition provided in earlier post) because they feared that a disaster may fall upon them (i.e. the Muslim's being defeated). Therefore they (the hypocrites) thought by becoming an auliya of Jews and Christians they would be safe if the Muslims were defeated as they could easily switch sides. The question is, if they (the hypocrites) had faith in Islam why would they not trust God in the case of defeat or otherwise rather than go to those people from among those Jews and Christians who mock Islam and are the enemies of God? (Please note not all Jews and Christians are the enemies of God as many of them will attain Heaven Quran 2:62). Quran 5:57 clarifies in my opinion further about which people Muslims are not allowed to take as auliya- those who mock Islam and therefore the previous verse (Quran 5:51) does not prohibit taking Jews and Christians as friends in general- i.e. in my opinion this is not a blanket ban. Rather this in my opinion could refer to not taking Jews, Christians and other non-believers as allies or patrons (esp. those who mock Islam) *instead of or in preference* to Muslims, since Muslim should turn to each other Muslims for support just like Christians support their own community as do the Jewish people. The support within a community is what creates a strong bond among a community.
Summary: So from what I understand Quran 5:51 forbids Muslims from taking friends, protectors, allies etc among the Jews and Christians (who mock Islam based on Quran 5:57) and even if the Muslims did fear a misfortune upon them mention in Quran 5:52 (i.e. if they thought the Muslim community are going to be defeated don't turn to them just to save your own back) but rather Muslims should turn to each other for support like Christians support their own community and the Jews support their own. I do not think this verse is referring to making friends with Jews and Christians in general.
Tafseer summary
The tafseer by Yusuf Ali shows the context of the verse that many Jews and Christians actually united against Muslims and fought against the Muslim community many a times, so why would Muslims want to take these Jews and Christians as allies, would it not be best if the Muslims actually supported each other instead, which would also strengthen the ties of brotherhood among Muslims and strengthen the community as a whole? The tafseers also expand on what the Quran 5:52 said about the hypocrites such as Abd Allah ibn Ubayy (who has been mentioned frequently in other tafseers of other verses too in relation to being auliya of non-Muslims) who wanted to gain guardianship and friendship with the Jews and Christians in the case of Muslims being defeated.
Tafseer named as asbab al Nuzul by Al-Wahidi
The following is a tafseer by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi of Quran 5:52:
This tafseer is by Yusuf Ali
Some interesting sites, which address this issue:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/friends.htm
http://www.imranhosein.org/articles/understanding-islam/73-neither-friends-nor-allies.html
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaEAskTheScholar&cid=1119503543362
Translation of Quran 5:51 by Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan:
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliya, then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust).
I have chosen this particular translation for the same reason for choosing this translation for the previous post (and I have already defined what auliya is in a previous post).
Now I am going to quote the next few verses after this verse Quran 5:52, 57 (using the same translation):
And you see those in whose hearts there is a disease (of hypocrisy), they hurry to their friendship, saying: "We fear lest some misfortune of a disaster may befall us." Perhaps Allah may bring a victory or a decision according to His Will. Then they will become regretful for what they have been keeping as a secret in themselves.
O you who believe! Take not for Auliya (protectors and helpers) those who take your religion for a mockery and fun from among those who received the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before you, nor from among the disbelievers; and fear Allah if you indeed are true believers.
Quran 5:51 verse context
By quoting the following verses immediately after Quran 5:51 the context comes clear, this verse was revealed under the context where some people i.e. Muslims (who were hypocrites) were taking Jews and Christians as auliya (please see definition provided in earlier post) because they feared that a disaster may fall upon them (i.e. the Muslim's being defeated). Therefore they (the hypocrites) thought by becoming an auliya of Jews and Christians they would be safe if the Muslims were defeated as they could easily switch sides. The question is, if they (the hypocrites) had faith in Islam why would they not trust God in the case of defeat or otherwise rather than go to those people from among those Jews and Christians who mock Islam and are the enemies of God? (Please note not all Jews and Christians are the enemies of God as many of them will attain Heaven Quran 2:62). Quran 5:57 clarifies in my opinion further about which people Muslims are not allowed to take as auliya- those who mock Islam and therefore the previous verse (Quran 5:51) does not prohibit taking Jews and Christians as friends in general- i.e. in my opinion this is not a blanket ban. Rather this in my opinion could refer to not taking Jews, Christians and other non-believers as allies or patrons (esp. those who mock Islam) *instead of or in preference* to Muslims, since Muslim should turn to each other Muslims for support just like Christians support their own community as do the Jewish people. The support within a community is what creates a strong bond among a community.
Summary: So from what I understand Quran 5:51 forbids Muslims from taking friends, protectors, allies etc among the Jews and Christians (who mock Islam based on Quran 5:57) and even if the Muslims did fear a misfortune upon them mention in Quran 5:52 (i.e. if they thought the Muslim community are going to be defeated don't turn to them just to save your own back) but rather Muslims should turn to each other for support like Christians support their own community and the Jews support their own. I do not think this verse is referring to making friends with Jews and Christians in general.
Tafseer summary
The tafseer by Yusuf Ali shows the context of the verse that many Jews and Christians actually united against Muslims and fought against the Muslim community many a times, so why would Muslims want to take these Jews and Christians as allies, would it not be best if the Muslims actually supported each other instead, which would also strengthen the ties of brotherhood among Muslims and strengthen the community as a whole? The tafseers also expand on what the Quran 5:52 said about the hypocrites such as Abd Allah ibn Ubayy (who has been mentioned frequently in other tafseers of other verses too in relation to being auliya of non-Muslims) who wanted to gain guardianship and friendship with the Jews and Christians in the case of Muslims being defeated.
Tafseer named as asbab al Nuzul by Al-Wahidi
(O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends…) [5:51]. Said ‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfi: “‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit went to see the Prophet and asked him: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I have numerous clients from amongst the Jews, who are ever ready to support me. However, I stand before Allah and His Messenger to absolve myself from the guardianship of the Jews. And I turn, instead, to Allah and His Messenger’. Hearing this, ‘Abd Allah ibn Ubayy said: ‘I am a man who fears the turn of events and will not absolve myself from the guardianship of the Jews’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then said: ‘O Abu’l-Hubab, that which you reserve to yourself of the guardianship of the Jews apart from ‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit is all yours and none of it is his’. He said: ‘I accept’. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed about the two of them: (O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another) up to His saying (And thou seest those in whose heart is a disease) [5:52], i.e. ‘Abd Allah ibn Ubayy (race toward them) for support (saying: We fear lest a change of fortune befall us)”.
The following is a tafseer by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi of Quran 5:52:
This refers to the condition of the hypocrites during the period when the conflict between Islam and kufr had not yet come to any decisive conclusion. Although Islam had become a power by dint of the sacrifices of its followers, the opposing forces were also very powerful and there were equal chances of the victory of either side. The hypocrites, while living among the Muslims, wanted to keep good relations with the Jews and the Christians so that if the conflict ended in the defeat of the Muslims, they might safely take refuge with their enemies. Then there was also the economic factor; at that time the Jews and the Christians were economically the most powerful people in Arabia. The money-lending business was almost entirely in their hands and they had a strong economic hold upon the people. Moreover, the most fertile regions of Arabia were in their possession. This also led the hypocrites to preserve their old relations with them. In short, they considered it very dangerous to break relations with these people because of the conflict between Islam and kufr, for they feared that it might ruin them economically and politically.This is according to http://www.searchtruth.com/tafsir/tafsir.php?chapter=5
This tafseer is by Yusuf Ali
That is, look not to them for help and comfort. They are more likely to combine against you than to help you. And this happened more than once in the lifetime of the Prophet, and in after-ages again and again. He who associates with them and shares their counsels must be counted as of them.Taken from http://www.islamitexts.org/?noar=&t=9&k=5:51
Some interesting sites, which address this issue:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/friends.htm
http://www.imranhosein.org/articles/understanding-islam/73-neither-friends-nor-allies.html
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaEAskTheScholar&cid=1119503543362
No comments:
Post a Comment