Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 118

(Ayah 118) ➊ { ”بِطَانَةً“ } Hidden thing and the garment that is worn next to the body under the outer garment, meaning intimate friend, special confidant. This is a verbal noun from {’’ نَصَرَ‘‘}, and is used for both singular and plural. { ”مِنْ دُوْنِكُمْ“ } (except for your sincere Muslims) is connected to «يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اِنْ تُطِيْعُوْا فَرِيْقًا مِّنَ الَّذِيْنَ اُوْتُوا الْكِتٰبَ يَرُدُّوْكُمْ بَعْدَ اِيْمَانِكُمْ كٰفِرِيْنَ» [ آل عمران : ۱۰۰ ] and in this, inclination towards the disbelievers and friendship with them has been prohibited. Tabari has narrated with a sound chain from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Some men among the Muslims used to have relations and connections with the Jews, because before Islam they were neighbors and allies, so Allah revealed these verses and forbade them from making them their inner confidants and intimate friends. Because in this (disclosure of secrets and) there was a severe danger of tribulation from their side."

Ibn Abi Hatim has also mentioned with a sound chain that it was said to Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that there is a young scribe from the people of Hira who is trustworthy, you should appoint him as a scribe (secretary). He said: "Then I would be making { ”بِطَانَةً“ } (confidant) other than the believers." [ ابن أبی حاتم : 147/3، ح : ۴۰۸۷ ] Abu Musa Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: "I said to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): I have a Christian scribe." He said: "May Allah destroy you, what have you done? Have you not heard Allah's statement: «يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُوْدَ وَ النَّصٰرٰۤى اَوْلِيَآءَ بَعْضُهُمْ اَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ» [ المائدۃ : ۵۱ ] Why did you not appoint a Muslim?" I said: "O Commander of the Faithful! I only need his writing, his religion is for him." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When Allah has disgraced them, I cannot honor them; when Allah has humiliated them, I cannot give them respect; when Allah has distanced them, I cannot bring them near." [ السنن الکبریٰ للبیہقی : 127/10، ح : ۲۰۹۱۱، وھو حسن ]

The words { ”مِنْ دُوْنِكُمْ“ } (other than yourselves) are general, Jews, Christians, hypocrites, and polytheists are all included in { ”مِنْ دُوْنِكُمْ“ }, therefore, it is prohibited to appoint any hypocrite or non-Muslim (dhimmi) in administrative affairs. Because there is a danger of the secrets of the Muslims being exposed. In fact, it is not even permissible for a Muslim to live in the land of the polytheists. See Surah An-Nisa (97, 98)

It is unfortunate that at this time, the rulers of Muslim countries have set aside this command of Allah and non-Muslims are appointed to their key positions and are aware of almost all important secrets, the result is before everyone.

➋ {لَا يَاْلُوْنَكُمْ:} {’’ أَلَا يَأْلُوْ (ن)‘‘} To decrease, to fall short. { ”خَبَالًا“ } To cause corruption, to harm. {”مَا عَنِتُّم“ ’’عَنَتٌ‘‘} Hardship, difficulty, meaning "that which causes you hardship." This points to the reason for the command not to make intimate friends, that is, although these people, due to their hypocrisy, do not want to say such things to you by which you may know their enmity towards Islam, but due to intense enmity, such words do slip from their tongues, from which you can estimate that they are not your well-wishers but your worst enemies, and the feelings they hide in their hearts against you are much greater than this.

➌ {قَدْ بَيَّنَّا …:} That is, regarding not making friends with the disbelievers, we have explained in detail the malice and enmity of the Jews and hypocrites and their deep jealousy. Now it is your job to reflect and ponder.

118. 1 This subject has already been mentioned before. Here, due to its importance, it is being repeated. "Bitanah" refers to a close friend and confidant. The feelings and intentions that disbelievers and polytheists hold regarding Muslims—those which they express and those which they keep hidden in their hearts—Allah Almighty has pointed out all of them. In view of this and similar verses, scholars and jurists have written that it is not permissible to appoint non-Muslims to key positions in an Islamic state. It is narrated that Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari ؓ appointed a (non-Muslim) as a scribe (secretary). When this came to the knowledge of Hazrat Umar ؓ, he rebuked him severely and said, "Do not bring them close when Allah has distanced them. Do not honor them when Allah Almighty has humiliated them, and do not make them confidants when Allah has declared them untrustworthy." Hazrat Umar ؓ, using this verse as evidence, gave this instruction. Imam Qurtubi states that in his time, due to appointing People of the Book as secretaries and trustees, circumstances changed, and because of this, foolish people became leaders and chiefs (Tafsir Qurtubi). Unfortunately, even today in Islamic countries, this extremely important command of the Noble Quran is not being given due importance, and on the contrary, non-Muslims are appointed to very high and key positions, the harms of which are evident. If Islamic countries observe this command in both their internal and external policies, they can certainly be protected from many evils and harms.

118. 2 "La ya'lunakum" means they will not show any negligence or shortcoming. "Khabalan" means corruption and destruction. "Ma 'anittum" (that which puts you in hardship and difficulty); "Anat" means hardship.

118. O you who believe! Do not take anyone other than yourselves as confidants, for they will spare no effort to harm you. They love to see you in distress. Their hatred is evident from their tongues, but what their hearts conceal is far worse [106]. We have made the signs clear to you, if only you would understand.

[106]
Prohibition of Friendship with the Jews of Madinah:

This address is actually to the Ansar of Madinah. Their two major tribes, Aws and Khazraj, were settled in Madinah. Before Islam, these tribes were often at odds with each other, and the Jews of Madinah were also divided into three tribes. The practice of the Jews was that one of their tribes would become an ally of Aws and another of Khazraj, and in this way, they would keep Aws and Khazraj fighting among themselves and thus gain various benefits. For example, one benefit was that their weapons would be sold. Secondly, despite their small numbers, they maintained dominance over the Ansar of Madinah and had control over their economy and politics. When the tribes of Aws and Khazraj became Muslim, even after that, they continued their old relations with the Jews and met their former Jewish friends with the same previous affection and sincerity. But due to the malice and enmity the Jews had towards you and your mission, they were not willing to have sincere love for any Muslim. They had adopted a hypocritical attitude. Outwardly, they claimed friendship with the Ansar, but in their hearts, they had become their severe enemies. From this apparent friendship, they wanted to gain two kinds of benefits. One was to somehow create discord and mischief among the Muslims, as the Jew Shamas bin Qais had done, and the second was to convey the communal secrets of the Muslims to their enemies. For these reasons, Allah Almighty forbade Muslims from making friends with any non-Muslim and from making them confidants. As for the malice and enmity of the Jews, it was such that often something would slip from their tongues that would reveal their deep hostility towards the Muslims, and regarding jealousy and enmity, their tongues could not be controlled. And the malice filled in their hearts was much greater than that. That is why Allah Almighty, warning the Muslims, said that if you reflect, you will find nothing but loss in their friendship. Therefore, you must avoid friendship with disbelievers in any case.