Quran forbids Muslims from marrying People of the Book?

Someone (a Christian) on Youtube had responded to my comments in regards to making friends with non-Muslims, with a post about how Muslims are not allowed to marry people of the Book. Anyways here is an article in response to the article he had quoted from:

"Rebuttal to Sham Shamoun's article "On the Quran Contradiction of Marriage to Christian Idolaters" 

http://www.answering-christianity.com/karim/to_marry_or_not_marry_2.htm

Quran 3:28: Muslims can't take non-Muslim friends?

I will try and explore what I believe God meant by Quran 3:28  In order to find out what God meant by the verse it is important to quote the verse in question:

Translation of Quran 3:28 by Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan:

Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliya (supporters, helpers, etc.) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself (His Punishment), and to Allah is the final return.

The reason why I choose the above translation is because this one is the clearest as it has used the actual Arabic term and put the translator's interpretation of the meaning of the word in brackets.

We have already established in the previous post of what auliya means.

Tafseer Summary

The common theme throughout the tafseer's quoted below was the context of when this verse was revealed, according to the tafseer by Wahidi some Jews kept close to the helpers (which refers to those Muslims in Medina helping the Muslims who migrated from Mecca due to persecution to integrate into society in Medina) in order to make these Muslims lose their faith. This is a good reason for God to reveal this verse to warn the believers not make friends, allies, patrons etc with (such) unbelievers as God is good and that is God's "job" to advice the believers in what is right (after all why would God allow His sincere servants to go astray out of ignorance of what is going on?), whether the believers take notice and act on this guidance, that is up to them as there is no compulsion in religion.

Another thing which the tafseers point out was that some of the hypocrites (who were Muslim outwardly but did not believe inwardly) such as Abdullah Ibn Ubay and his companions mentioned by the last 2 tafseers, tried to supply information to those who were against the Prophet (pbuh) such as (some) Jews and (some of) the pagans in order to help them against the Prophet (pbuh) and to become mighty and honourable (possibly referring to being might in the eyes of the unbelievers?), rather than being pious and sincere in the eyes of the Muslims.

So to sum up: from what I understand this verse does not prohibit Muslims making friends with non-Muslims, but rather it warns Muslims from making friends, patrons etc with unbelievers (non-Muslims and hypocrites) that try to deliberately make you lose faith in Islam, and those hypocrites who are helping non-Muslims in their cause to make you lose faith in Islam in order to gain honour in the eyes of non-Muslims rather than trying to increase the faith of the Muslims.

Tafseer's on Quran 3:28

I will now quote some tafseers which I have referred to above taken from http://www.altafsir.com/

Here is a tafseer by Jalalayn:

Let not the believers take the disbelievers as patrons, rather than, that is, instead of, the believers — for whoever does that, that is, [whoever] takes them as patrons, does not belong to, the religion of, God in anyway — unless you protect yourselves against them, as a safeguard (tuqātan, ‘as a safeguard’, is the verbal noun from taqiyyatan), that is to say, [unless] you fear something, in which case you may show patronage to them through words, but not in your hearts: this was before the hegemony of Islam and [the dispensation] applies to any individual residing in a land with no say in it. God warns you, He instills fear in you, of His Self, [warning] that He may be wrathful with you if you take them as patrons; and to God is the journey’s end, the return, and He will requite you.

The following is a tafseer named as Tanwir al miqbas min tafsir ibn Abbas:

(Let not the believers take) the believers ought not to take [the hypocrites:] 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and his companions [and] (disbelievers) the Jews (for their friends) so as to become mighty and honourable (in preference to believers) who are sincere. (Whoso doeth that) seeking might and honour [by taking the hypocrites and disbelievers as friends] (hath no connection with Allah) has no honour, mercy or protection from Allah (unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them) save yourselves from them, (taking (as it were) security) saving yourselves from them by speaking in a friendly way towards them with, while your hearts dislikes this. (Allah bideth you beware (only) of Himself) regarding the shunning of unlawful killing, unlawful sex, unlawful property, consuming intoxicants, false testimony and associating partners with Allah. (Unto Allah is the journeying) the return after death.

The following is a tafseer named as Asbab al Nuzul by Al Wahidi:

(Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers…) [3:28]. Said Ibn 'Abbas: “A group of Jews including al-Hajjaj ibn 'Amr, Kahmas ibn Abi al-Huqayq and Qays ibn Zayd used to keep close company with a group of Helpers to try to make them renounce their religion. And so a group of people comprising Rifa'ah ibn al-Mundhir, 'Abd Allah ibn Jubayr and Sa'id ibn Khaythamah said to this group of Helpers: 'Stay away from these Jews and beware of keeping their company lest they drive you away from your religion'. The group of Helpers refused to stop seeing them or keep their company, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. And al-Kalbi said: “This verse was revealed about the hypocrites: 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and his companions. They allied themselves with the Jews and the idolaters, supplying them with information, hoping that they would have the upper hand over the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse, warning the believers against acting like them”. Juwaybir reported from al-Dahhak that Ibn 'Abbas said: “This verse was revealed about 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit who was among those who took part in Badr and a trusted man. He had allies from among the Jews. And when the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, marched to the Battle of the Confederates, 'Ubadah said: 'O Prophet of Allah! I have with me five hundred men from the Jews, and I am of the opinion to take them with me to impress the enemy. Because of this, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers)' ”.

If I have said anything you disagree with, or anything is incorrect please let me know, so I may look further and If I find that in my research that I was incorrect then I will correct anything that I had written, God willing. 

Quran 5:51: don't take non-Muslims as friends?

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

(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

Quran: do not take non-Muslims as friends?

Bismillah ArRahman ArRaheeem
(In the name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful)


Please note: I have edited and added an extra few sections to this post in order to make it flow better with the other posts in order to discuss the general stuff in relation to the verses of being friends with non-Muslims in this post, and I will discuss specifics of each of verses in the others posts, God willing.


Many verses of the Quran are often quoted by some non-Muslims in order to prove that Muslims and non-Muslims cannot be friends, the reason for this is to try and make Islam look like a religion which is incompatible with modern society or in fact any society in general where people of different faiths live together. However regardless of the person's intentions of quoting these verse I will try and explore what I believe God meant by these verses and their context. The word that is often used in these verses which are translated often as friend is auliya.

Meaning of auliya  (اولياء):

The word auliya (اولياء) used in this verse is a plural of the word "wali", the word wali has many meanings (this is the reason why there are different translations which have translated this word differently), which include:

• Friend
• Protector
• Sponsor
• Custodian

So the question that now is to be raised is that which meaning is correct? The meaning of the word depends on the context of the verse.

What is a friend?

Since we're talking about friends it makes sense to try and define what a friend is, here is one definition:

friend (a person you know well and regard with affection and trust) "he was my best friend at the university"

This definition is taken from http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=friend








The different view points


There are 2 view points:

• The first view is that Muslims should not take non-Muslims as friends (however crucially those that hold this view also believe they have to treat all non-Muslims kindly and justly -except for those who are attacking Muslims)
• The other viewpoint is that Muslims can take take non-Muslims as friends (and have to treat them kindly and justly except for those who attack Muslims)

http://www.khalidzaheer.com/essays/kzaheer/social%20issues/nonmuslim_friends.html










My understanding of this issue


In Islam when looking at a subject you have to look at what other verses in the Quran have to say on the subject, I understand the verses of the Quran in regards to making friends with non-Muslims in light of the verse quoted below which makes it clear if a person fights you because of your religion and drives you away from your houses, then a Muslim can not turn to that person for friendship and support etc, after all what friend what do that to you just because of your faith? However this prohibition is only limited to such people (who are enemies of God and the Muslims) and not to those people who don't fight Muslims.




The Quran 60:8-9 translation by Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan:


Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity.It is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out, that Allah forbids you to befriend them. And whosoever will befriend them, then such are the Zalimoon (wrong-doers those who disobey Allah).

This view is also backed by http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC0608-3072




Argument

One of the best arguments put forward by scholars on this issue is that:

• If Islam prohibits having friendship with non-Muslims, then why does God permit marrying some People of the Book? How can you be a husband to your wife if your not allowed to be friends (having affection, intimacy and trust) with your wife?

However I would like to say one thing, please do your own research on this topic to verify whether what I say is correct (since mistakes can happen etc) and see other opinions also and arrive to your own opinion since we are all responsible for the use of our own intellect etc.

The Middle East Problem: The Palestinians?

This post is in response to the following video:

I have made some points which address some of the points that the person made in the video made.


*NOTE: According to Islam, there are some good Jews and some bad Jews, just like any other group of people be they Arab, Muslim, Christian, Sikh etc, so I would like to clarify this post is about the points made against the Palestinians in regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and it does not reflect my thoughts on Jews in general. Also I would just like to point out one of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) wives was also a Jew.






Israel recognises the right of Palestine to exist?


If Israel is willing to accept the Palestinian state (which is meant to be West Bank and Gaza) why is Israel building settlements all over the proposed state (please see a map of those settlements and you will realise no feasible Palestinian state could exist there), does that have any logic?





Israel has no peace partner?

The leaked documents completely discredit the claim that there is "no peace partner" made by the leader of the newly formed Atzmaut faction, Ehud Barak, and his boss, Benjamin Netanyahu. The documents are testimony that the Palestinians are willing to go the distance for peace: They will relinquish their claims on the Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, the Etzion settlement bloc and the settlements along the Green Line. This would all be in return for territories on the western side of this line, including the region of Gilboa and Mount Hebron... The documents in Al-Jazeera’s hands also confirm that the Palestinian leadership would be willing to abdicate sole autonomy in the Old City of Jerusalem and keep it under special rule.

This is according to http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-palestine-papers-al-jazeera-trumps-wikileaks-1.338875






Greater Israel

There was no mention of Greater Israel.


There is a minority of people who want a Greater Israel (I would like to stress this is not the view of all Israelis but rather a small amount but never the less they exist) who want Israel to expand its borders from the Nile (in Egypt) to the Eurphrates (in Iraq). Many of the settlers do have this vision of a Greater Israel which is why they are settling in the West Bank (the proposed Palestinian state). 


Many such as Netanyahu even held that belief even though they may have abandoned it (for now). "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that he has to adjust his dream for building a Greater Israel because of the Oslo accords." 


This is according to http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18069725.html





One side (the Palestinians) want the other (Israelis) dead?

This gives the impression that all the Palestinians are blood thirsty extremists and want all the Israeli Jews dead yet every Israeli wants to have peace.


Yes while some on the Palestinian side may want the Israeli's dead but most just want to get on with their lives and do want peace (please see next heading). However the author makes no mention of the other minority of extremists who want the other side (Palestinians) dead.


For example please read articles about the book called "The King's Torah" where the book by a Rabbi (which was then recommended by other Rabbis) which sold like "hotcakes" justifies the killing of Gentiles and even killing the enemies babies, why were these minority of extremists not mentioned and only the Palestinians white washed as extremists based on some people?



This according to the following links:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/west-bank-rabbi-jews-can-kill-gentiles-who-threaten-israel-1.4496
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/the-king-s-torah-a-rabbinic-text-or-a-call-to-terror-1.261930





Palestinians don't want peace?

Most Palestinians do want peace with Israel:

The majority of Palestinians support a peace agreement with Israel and believe that the Palestinian Authority should use non-violent means to achieve their political goals, a new Fafo poll revealed Fafo, a Norwegian based international multidisciplinary research foundation, found that 73 percent of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza were in favour of peace negotiations with Israel, but stressed that a settlement freeze should be a precondition to talks. The poll also revealed a rise in Palestinian support for halting rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel, rising from 53 percent in favour of a halt in 2009 to 61 percent in 2010. 

This is according to http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/poll-most-palestinians-want-peace-with-israel-1.297196





The Jews accepted UN partition plan and the Arabs rejected it?


This gives the impression that all the Jews accepted this plan because they wanted peace, and all the Arabs rejected it because they don't want peace. However things are not as black and white as the person suggests:


Yes, many Jews did accept the UN partition plan, but many did reject it... such as the militant organisations such Irgun and Lehi. 


Yes, many Arabs did reject the UN partition plan, but many did accept it including Fakhri Nashashibi and Ragheb Bey Nashashibi (the latter being the mayor of Jerusalem). 

Ian Bickerton says that few Palestinians joined the Arab Liberation Army because they suspected that the other Arab States did not plan on an independent Palestinian state. Bickerton says for that reason many Palestinians favoured partition and indicated a willingness to live alongside a Jewish state

Why did many of the Arabs reject the UN plan?

John Wolffe says that while Zionists tend to attributed Palestinian rejection of the plan to a mere intransigence, Arabs have always reiterated that it was rejected because it was unfair: it gave the majority of the land (56 percent) to the Jews, who at that stage legally owned only 7 percent of it

This is according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine


Summary: Yes there are some extremists on the Palestinian Muslim side but there are also extremists on the Israeli Jewish side too, however most people on both sides just want to get on with their lives. In order for their to be peace, neither side (Palestinian nor Israeli) should white wash the other side by focusing on the extremists on the other side otherwise both populations will judge the other side based on these extremists... which will only result in more hatred and violence. And for those people who think all Israelis are bad people please look up Israeli Jewish human rights groups who are helping Palestinians such as B'Tselem and those Israeli Jews speaking up for Palestinian rights. And for those who think all Palestinians are bad those polls which have been cited by an Israeli news site speak for themselves that most Palestinians do want peace.

Muslim on Church bombing: “We either live together, or we die together”

We often here that Muslims don't stand up against terrorism and protecting minorities when innocent non-Muslims are about to be hurt within Muslim countries.

On new years day 2011 in the Western calendar, a Coptic Church was bombed by terrorists in Alexandria, Egypt in which many Christians died. However in the wake of these attacks the Muslims had promised to go to the Coptic Eve mass (6 January 2011) to act as "human shields" according to http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3216.aspx.



Protest against attack


The following image is of Christians and Muslims in Cairo protesting against the attack of the Church.

The above image is taken from: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/Muslims+protect+churches/4078614/story.html#ixzz1AYkJ5kbw





Christmas Eve Mass

The following image is of Christians and Muslims standing side by side forming a human shield around a Church:

Above image taken from: http://www.shoah.org.uk/2011/01/16/muslim-human-shield-to-protect-egyptian-christians

Above image taken from http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3365.aspx

Above 2 images taken from http://www.hibeesbounce.com/forum/showthread.php?103245-Egyptian-muslims-form-human-shield-around-Coptic-Christmas-masses

The government has increased tightened security measures around all churches but nothing alleviated the sense of impending danger the Christians felt except the ingenious idea of an Egyptian Muslim artist – Mohamed El Sawy- who called for Egyptian Muslims to form human shields – by standing close to each other joined hand in hand in large circles -that would encircle and practically shield every church in a clear message to the world that solidarity between Egyptian Christians and Muslims is hard to be interrupted or sabotaged.

 The above quote is taken from: http://www.shoah.org.uk/2011/01/16/muslim-human-shield-to-protect-egyptian-christians

“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular Muslim televangelist and preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.

The above quote is taken from  http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/95/3365/Egypt/Attack-on-Egypt-Copts/Egypts-Muslims-attend-Coptic-Christmas-mass,-servi.aspx



To sum up: All Muslims are not terrorists (and neither are all terrorists Muslims) and many Muslims do stand up against injustice and unjust killing which is proved by these Muslims who were willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to save the lives their fellow Christian brothers in humanity, in a land where Muslims are the majority (90%). This reminds me of this verse of the Quran:




Quran 5:32:  


On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.

Introduction

I intend to create this blog to share my thoughts about Islam and general stuff which is related to it and God willing remove any misconceptions.

Anything that I say please try to confirm for youself, as I am still learning myself.


I liked this quote, so I thought I'd quote it (taken from Khalid Zaheer's website):

I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i