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Ayah
Word by Word
لَّا
(Let) not
يَتَّخِذِ
take
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ
the believers
ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
the disbelievers
أَوۡلِيَآءَ
(as) allies
مِن
from
دُونِ
instead of
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَۖ
the believers
وَمَن
And whoever
يَفۡعَلۡ
does
ذَٰلِكَ
that
فَلَيۡسَ
then not he (has)
مِنَ
from
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
فِي
[in]
شَيۡءٍ
anything
إِلَّآ
except
أَن
that
تَتَّقُواْ
you fear
مِنۡهُمۡ
from them
تُقَىٰةٗۗ
(as) a precaution
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ
And warns you
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
نَفۡسَهُۥۗ
(of) Himself
وَإِلَى
and to
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
ٱلۡمَصِيرُ
(is) the destination
لَّا
(Let) not
يَتَّخِذِ
take
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ
the believers
ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
the disbelievers
أَوۡلِيَآءَ
(as) allies
مِن
from
دُونِ
instead of
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَۖ
the believers
وَمَن
And whoever
يَفۡعَلۡ
does
ذَٰلِكَ
that
فَلَيۡسَ
then not he (has)
مِنَ
from
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
فِي
[in]
شَيۡءٍ
anything
إِلَّآ
except
أَن
that
تَتَّقُواْ
you fear
مِنۡهُمۡ
from them
تُقَىٰةٗۗ
(as) a precaution
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ
And warns you
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
نَفۡسَهُۥۗ
(of) Himself
وَإِلَى
and to
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
ٱلۡمَصِيرُ
(is) the destination
Translation
Let not believers take disbelievers as allies [i.e., supporters or protectors] rather than believers. And whoever [of you] does that has nothing [i.e., no association] with Allāh, except when taking precaution against them in prudence.1 And Allāh warns you of Himself, and to Allāh is the [final] destination.
Footnotes
1 - When fearing harm from an enemy, the believer may pretend as long as his heart and intention are not affected.
Tafsir
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 (tuqaatan, '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.
"Encouraging Gratitude
Allah said,
قُلِ
Say,
O Muhammad, while praising your Lord, thanking Him, relying in all matters upon Him and trusting in Him.
اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ
O Allah! Possessor of the power,
meaning, all sovereignty is Yours.
تُوْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاء وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاء وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاء
You give power to whom You will, and You take power from whom You will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will.
meaning, You are the Giver, You are the Taker, it is Your will that occurs and whatever You do not will, does not occur.
This Ayah encourages thanking Allah for the favors He granted His Messenger and his Ummah. Allah transferred the Prophethood from the Children of Israel to the Arab, Qurashi, Makkan, unlettered Prophet, the Final and Last of all Prophets and the Messenger of Allah to all mankind and Jinn.
Allah endowed the Prophet with the best of qualities from the prophets before him. Allah also granted him extra qualities that no other Prophet or Messenger before him was endowed with, such as granting him (more) knowledge of Allah and His Law, knowledge of more of the matters of the past and the future, such as what will occur in the Hereafter.
Allah allowed Muhammad's Ummah to reach the eastern and western parts of the world and gave dominance to his religion and Law over all other religions and laws. May Allah's peace and blessings be on the Prophet until the Day of Judgment, and as long as the day and night succeed each other.
This is why Allah said,
قُلِ
اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ
(Say:""O Allah! Possessor of the power""),
meaning, You decide what You will concerning Your creation and You do what you will.
Allah refutes those who thought that they could decide for Allah,
وَقَالُواْ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانُ عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ
And they say:""Why is not this Qur'an sent down to some great man of the two towns (Makkah and Ta'if)!"" (43:31)
Allah refuted them by saying,
أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّكَ
Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord! (43:32),
meaning, ""We decide for Our creation what We will, without resistance or hindrance by anyone. We have the perfect wisdom and the unequivocal proof in all of this, and We give the Prophethood to whom We will.""
Similarly, Allah said,
اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُ
Allah knows best with whom to place His Message.
and,
انظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ
See how We prefer one above another (in this world). (17:21)
بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are able to do all things.
Allah said
تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي الْنَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ
You make the night enter into the day, and You make the day enter into the night,
meaning, You take from the length of one of them and add it to the shortness of the other, so that they become equal, and take from the length of one of them and add it to the other so that they are not equal. This occurs throughout the seasons of the year:spring, summer, fall and winter.
Allah's statement,
وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الَمَيَّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ
You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living.
means, You bring out the seed from the plant and the plant from the seed; the date from its seed and the date's seed from the date; the faithful from the disbeliever and the disbeliever from the faithful; the chicken from the egg and the egg from the chicken, etc.
وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
And You give wealth and sustenance to whom You will, without limit.
meaning, You give whomever You will innumerable amounts of wealth while depriving others from it, out of wisdom, and justice.
The Prohibition of Supporting the Disbelievers
Allah says;
لااَّ يَتَّخِذِ الْمُوْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاء مِن دُوْنِ الْمُوْمِنِينَ
Let not the believers take the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers,
Allah prohibited His believing servants from becoming supporters of the disbelievers, or to take them as comrades with whom they develop friendships, rather than the believers.
Allah warned against such behavior when He said,
وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ
And whoever does that, will never be helped by Allah in any way,
meaning, whoever commits this act that Allah has prohibited, then Allah will discard him.
Similarly, Allah said,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا لَاا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاء
تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِم بِالْمَوَدَّةِ
O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as friends, showing affection towards them, until,
وَمَن يَفْعَلْهُ مِنكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاء السَّبِيلِ
And whosoever of you does that, then indeed he has gone astray from the straight path. (60:1)
Allah said,
يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْكَـفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَأءَ مِن دُونِ الْمُوْمِنِينَ أَتُرِيدُونَ أَن تَجْعَلُواْ للَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَاناً مُّبِيناً
O you who believe! Take not for friends disbelievers instead of believers. Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves! (4:144)
and,
يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَـرَى أَوْلِيَأءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَأءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends, they are but friends of each other. And whoever befriends them, then surely, he is one of them. (5:51)
Allah said, after mentioning the fact that the faithful believers gave their support to the faithful believers among the Muhajirin, Ansar and Bedouins,
وَالَّذينَ كَفَرُواْ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَأءُ بَعْضٍ إِلاَّ تَفْعَلُوهُ تَكُنْ فِتْنَةٌ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَفَسَادٌ كَبِيرٌ
And those who disbelieve are allies of one another, (and) if you do not behave the same, there will be Fitnah and oppression on the earth, and a great mischief and corruption. (8:73)
Allah said next,
إِلاَّ أَن تَتَّقُواْ مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً
unless you indeed fear a danger from them,
meaning, except those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers.
In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly.
For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda' said,
""We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.""
Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said,
""The Tuqyah is allowed until the Day of Resurrection.""
Allah said,
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللّهُ نَفْسَهُ
And Allah warns you against Himself.
meaning, He warns you against His anger and the severe torment He prepared for those who give their support to His enemies, and those who have enmity with His friends.
وَإِلَى اللّهِ الْمَصِيرُ
And to Allah is the final return.
meaning, the return is to Him and He will reward or punish each person according to their deeds.
Allah Knows What the Hearts Conceal
Allah says;
قُلْ إِن تُخْفُواْ مَا فِي صُدُورِكُمْ أَوْ تُبْدُوهُ يَعْلَمْهُ اللّهُ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الارْضِ
Say:""Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it, and He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth.
Allah tells His servants that He knows the secrets and apparent matters and that nothing concerning them escapes His observation. Rather, His knowledge encompasses them in all conditions, time frames, days and instances. His knowledge encompasses all that is in heaven and earth, and nothing not even the weight of an atom, or what is smaller than that in the earth, seas and mountains, escapes His observation.
Indeed,
وَاللّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
And Allah is able to do all things.
and His ability encompasses everything.
This Ayah alerts Allah's servants that they should fear Him enough to not commit what He prohibits and dislikes, for He has perfect knowledge in all they do and is able to punish them promptly. And He gives respite to some of them, then He punishes them, and He is Swift and Mighty in taking account.
This is why Allah said afterwardsيَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُّحْضَرًا
On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the good he has done,
meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah brings the good and evil deeds before the servant, just as He said,
يُنَبَّأُ الاِنسَـنُ يَوْمَيِذِ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ
On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward, and what he left behind. (75:13)
When the servant sees his good deeds, he becomes happy and delighted. When he sees the evil deeds he committed, he becomes sad and angry. Then he will wish that he could disown his evil work and that a long distance separated it from him. He will also say to the devil who used to accompany him in this life, and who used to encourage him to do evil;
يلَيْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ بُعْدَ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ فَبِيْسَ الْقَرِينُ
""Would that between me and you were the distance of the two easts ـ a horrible companion (indeed)! (43:38)
وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِن سُوَءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ أَمَدًا بَعِيدًا
and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between him and his evil.
Allah then said, while threatening and warning,
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللّهُ نَفْسَهُ
And Allah warns you against Himself,
meaning, He warns you against His punishment.
Allah then said, while bringing hope to His servants, so that they do not despair from His mercy or feel hopeless of His kindness,
وَاللّهُ رَوُوفُ بِالْعِبَادِ
And Allah is full of kindness with the servants.
Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,
""Allah is so kind with them that He warns them against Himself."" Others commented, ""He is merciful with His creation and likes for them to remain on His straight path and chosen religion, and to follow His honorable Messenger."
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