Surah Al-Mumtahana (60) — Ayah 1

In Surah Al-Hashr, the friendship of the hypocrites with the disbelievers among the People of the Book and its evil consequences was mentioned; in this Surah, friendship with the polytheists is forbidden, especially for those emigrants whose wives, children, or relatives remained in Makkah, and who wished to maintain relations with the polytheists in the hope that the polytheists would take care of their wives, children, and relatives for this reason.
In the 6th year of Hijrah, at the place of Hudaybiyyah, a peace treaty was made between the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the disbelievers of Quraysh for ten years. One clause of this treaty was that whichever tribes wished could become allies of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and whichever wished could become allies of the disbelievers of Quraysh, and neither party would attack the allies of the other, nor help those who attacked them. Thus, among the tribes living near Makkah, Banu Bakr became allies of Quraysh, and Banu Khuza‘ah became allies of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Only about a year and a half had passed since the treaty when Banu Bakr attacked Banu Khuza‘ah, the allies of the Muslims. Quraysh helped them with men and weapons; when they fled to the Haram, they did not spare them even there, but killed them. A delegation from Banu Khuza‘ah came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah with their complaint. This was a clear breach of the treaty by Quraysh. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) firmly resolved to punish them and attack Makkah, and began preparations for this secretly. The purpose was that in a sudden attack, the disbelievers would not be able to resist, and there would be no bloodshed. The precious lives of the Muslims would also be saved, and among the disbelievers, those destined for happiness could become Muslims and later participate in the elevation of Islam. Hatib bin Abi Balta‘ah (may Allah be pleased with him) was an emigrant Companion and a participant of Badr; his children and property were in Makkah. He was not originally from Quraysh, but their ally. He wrote a letter to Quraysh to inform them of the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) intentions and sent it with a woman.
The details of this are mentioned in Sahih Bukhari. Thus, ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me, Zubair, and Miqdad, saying: “Go until you reach the garden of Khakh (a garden named Khakh), there will be a woman riding a camel, bring the letter from her.” So we set off at full speed until we reached that garden. We saw the woman riding a camel there. We said to her: “Hand over the letter.” She said: “I have no letter.” We said: “You will hand over the letter, or we will strip your clothes.” So she took the letter out from her braid and gave it to us. We brought it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It was written that this letter was from Hatib bin Abi Balta‘ah to some people in Makkah, who were among the polytheists. In it, he had informed them of some matters concerning the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يَا حَاطِبُ! مَا هٰذَا ؟ ] “Hatib! What is this?” He said: “O Messenger of Allah! Do not be hasty with me. I was a man attached to Quraysh, their ally, not originally from them, and those emigrants with you have many relatives there, through whom they protect their families and wealth. So I wished, since I have no blood relation with them, to do them a favor so that they would protect my family. I did not do this out of apostasy from my religion, nor out of preference for disbelief after accepting Islam.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أَمَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ صَدَقَكُمْ ] “Listen! He has certainly told you the truth.” ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “O Messenger of Allah! Allow me to strike the neck of this hypocrite.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّهُ قَدْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا وَمَا يُدْرِيْكَ لَعَلَّ اللّٰهَ اطَّلَعَ عَلٰی مَنْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا قَالَ اعْمَلُوْا مَا شِئْتُمْ فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكُمْ ] “He participated in Badr, and what do you know, perhaps Allah looked at the people of Badr and said: ‘Do as you wish, for I have forgiven you.’” So Allah revealed this Surah: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَتَّخِذُوْا عَدُوِّيْ وَ عَدُوَّكُمْ اَوْلِيَآءَ ........ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ السَّبِيْلِ » “O you who have believed! Do not take My enemies and your enemies as friends... then surely he has strayed from the straight path.” [ بخاري، المغازي، باب غزوۃ الفتح : ۴۲۷۴ ]
(Ayah 1) ➊ { يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَتَّخِذُوْا عَدُوِّيْ وَ عَدُوَّكُمْ اَوْلِيَآءَ: ’’ عَدُوٌّ ‘‘ ’’عَدَا يَعْدُوْ عَدْوًا وَعَدَاوَةً‘‘} is on the pattern of { ’’ فَعُوْلٌ ‘‘} meaning {’’فَاعِلٌ‘‘ }, enemy. {’’فَعِيْلٌ‘‘} and {’’ فَعُوْلٌ ‘‘} are both forms that can be used for singular, dual, plural, and masculine and feminine, so the translation is “My enemies.” Allah Almighty, instead of saying “Do not befriend the disbelievers and polytheists,” said, “Do not take My enemies and your enemies as friends.” Then {’’ عَدُوِّيْ ‘‘} (My enemies) is mentioned first and {’’ عَدُوَّكُمْ ‘‘} (your enemies) after. This shows that disbelievers and polytheists can never be friends of Muslims, because the basis of their enmity is neither homeland, nor lineage, nor wealth, but they have adopted enmity with Muslims only because of their enmity with Allah Almighty. Enmity with Allah means that they do not accept Allah’s oneness, His religion, or His Messenger, and for this reason, they have adopted severe opposition and enmity. The appropriateness of bringing {’’ عَدُوِّيْ ‘‘} before {’’ عَدُوَّكُمْ ‘‘} seems to be that they are first enemies of Allah’s religion, and then, because of this, they are enemies of the Muslims. In the verse, by referring to the enmity of the disbelievers and polytheists, Muslims are forbidden from befriending them. In many places in the Qur’an, friendship with the disbelievers is forbidden, and along with the prohibition, a reason is also mentioned. See Surah Al ‘Imran (28), Nisa’ (144), Ma’idah (57, 51), and Surah Tawbah (24, 23). The fundamental point in all these reasons is that they are your enemies and the enemies of your religion; as long as you do not become disbelievers, they can never be your friends. See Surah Al-Baqarah (120) and Surah Nisa’ (89).
➋ { تُلْقُوْنَ اِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ:} can have two meanings: one is that {’’اَلْمَوَدَّةُ ‘‘ ’’ تُلْقُوْنَ ‘‘} is the object and the “ba” is for emphasis; in this case, the meaning is that you send a message of friendship to them. The second meaning is that {’’ تُلْقُوْنَ ‘‘} has an omitted object: {’’أَيْ تُلْقُوْنَ إِلَيْهِمُ الْأَخْبَارَ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ‘‘} “That is, because of friendship, you convey information to them (which Allah’s enemies and your enemies should in no way know).”
➌ { وَ قَدْ كَفَرُوْا بِمَا جَآءَكُمْ مِّنَ الْحَقِّ:} means they have refused to accept the truth that has come to you, and you are sending messages of friendship to them.
➍ Before {يُخْرِجُوْنَ الرَّسُوْلَ وَ اِيَّاكُمْ اَنْ تُؤْمِنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ رَبِّكُمْ: ’’ اَنْ تُؤْمِنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ رَبِّكُمْ ‘‘}, “lam” is omitted, meaning they did not suffice with disbelief and minor enmity, but cut off all ties of kinship and love, and caused so much harm to the Messenger and to you that they forced you all to leave Makkah, only because you believe in your Lord. For verses with similar meaning, see Surah Al-Buruj (8) and Surah Al-Hajj (40). {’’ يُخْرِجُوْنَ ‘‘} The use of the present tense means that not only did they expel you, but they are still intent on expelling you and still do not allow you to return to your homes. In this, Muslims are incited to recognize the enmity of the disbelievers: how astonishing it is that they are expelling your Messenger and you, and you are extending a hand of friendship to them.
➎ { اِنْ كُنْتُمْ خَرَجْتُمْ جِهَادًا فِيْ سَبِيْلِيْ … : ’’ جِهَادًا ‘‘} and {’’ ابْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِيْ ‘‘} are both objects of cause (maf'ool lahu) for {’’ خَرَجْتُمْ ‘‘}, and {’’ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ ‘‘} has an omitted result clause, which is understood from the first sentence of the verse {’’ لَا تَتَّخِذُوْا عَدُوِّيْ وَ عَدُوَّكُمْ اَوْلِيَآءَ ‘‘}, i.e., if you have set out for jihad in My way and seeking My pleasure, then do not take My enemies and your enemies as friends.
➏ { تُسِرُّوْنَ اِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ … :} means it is astonishing that you secretly send messages of friendship to them, even though I know better than anyone what you conceal and what you reveal. So you should avoid such actions, considering that your Master is fully aware of all your deeds, and you cannot hide anything from Him in any way.
➐ {وَ مَنْ يَّفْعَلْهُ مِنْكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ السَّبِيْلِ:} means this is not just the matter of Hatib (may Allah be pleased with him) or any emigrant’s friendship with the polytheists of Makkah, but whoever among the Muslims until the Day of Judgment does this, he has surely strayed from the straight path.
➑ In this verse, Allah Almighty’s boundless mercy upon the sincere is also expressed, that even those who committed such a great mistake are addressed with {’’ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا ‘‘}. From this, it is understood that a person does not become a disbeliever because of any sin or disobedience; therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forgave the mistake of Hatib (may Allah be pleased with him). It is also understood that a person’s past life will also be taken into account in his affairs.