سُوْرَةُ اٰلِ عِمْرٰنَ
Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 28
لَّا يَتَّخِذِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ فِى شَىْءٍ إِلَّآ أَن تَتَّقُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ تُقَىٰةً ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسَهُۥ ۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ﴿28﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliyâ (supporters, helpers) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allâh in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allâh warns you against Himself (His punishment), and to Allâh is the final return.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
لَّا
lā
(Let) not
يَتَّخِذِ
yattakhidhi
take
ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
l-mu'minūna
the believers
ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
l-kāfirīna
the disbelievers
أَوْلِيَآءَ
awliyāa
(as) allies
مِن
min
from
دُونِ
dūni
instead of
ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ
l-mu'minīna
the believers
وَمَن
waman
And whoever
يَفْعَلْ
yafʿal
does
ذَٰلِكَ
dhālika
that
فَلَيْسَ
falaysa
then not he (has)
مِنَ
mina
from
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
فِى
fī
in
شَىْءٍ
shayin
anything
إِلَّآ
illā
except
أَن
an
that
تَتَّقُوا۟
tattaqū
you fear
مِنْهُمْ
min'hum
from them
تُقَىٰةًۭ ۗ
tuqātan
(as) a precaution
وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ
wayuḥadhirukumu
And warns you
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
نَفْسَهُۥ ۗ
nafsahu
(of) Himself
وَإِلَى
wa-ilā
and to
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
ٱلْمَصِيرُ
l-maṣīru
(is) the final return
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
28. Believers should never take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. And whoever does so will have no connection with Allah—unless you do so as a precaution to protect yourselves from them [31]. And Allah warns you about Himself, and to Allah is the final return.
[31]
Exceptions in Friendship with Disbelievers:
In this verse, believers are addressed both individually and collectively. That is, no believer should take any disbeliever as a friend. The community of believers should not take the community of disbelievers as friends, nor should the government of believers take the government of disbelievers as its friend. The reason is that a disbeliever can never be a well-wisher of a believer. Whenever he gets the opportunity, he will only cause harm. One should not expect good from him, and the exception in this is that if, merely due to remaining aloof, you fear some danger from a disbeliever, then as a formality and for the sake of diplomacy, permission has been given to maintain friendship with him. Now, in this, there are countless matters that are left solely to the discretion of the believer. For example, is this danger to life, wealth, and honor, or is it something else? And is this danger actually present or merely imagined? Also, is the effect of this danger limited only to his own self, or could it become a cause of trial for other Muslims as well? Or, if by maintaining friendship with the disbelievers, he secures his own safety, will it not harm other Muslims? And so on. Now, see that the answers to all these questions are different. For example, the answer to the first question is that if indeed life, wealth, and honor are in danger, then one should take advantage of this permission. The answer to the second question is that imagined dangers should not be considered, and one should trust only in Allah. The answer to the third question is that if, by not taking precautionary measures and not maintaining formality with the disbeliever, harm comes to the Muslims, then certainly a way of protection and safety should be found. And the answer to the fourth question is that if by this friendship he himself is safe, but other Muslims are being harmed, then one should never do so. On such occasions, besides these questions, many other kinds of questions may also arise. For example, the danger he considers real may be nothing but a deception, and so on. The answers to these questions should be thought out in the heart with utmost honesty and piety, and then one should act accordingly. That is why, after granting this permission, Allah the Exalted has said:
﴿ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللّٰهُ نَفْسَهٗ﴾
That is, you should ponder over such matters fearing that Allah to whom you have to return, and He knows well the conditions and thoughts of your hearts, and He is also fully capable that if you do not fear the disbeliever but give precedence to the fear of Allah, He has full power to save you from their mischief and evil, and can create many other ways as well.
[31]
Exceptions in Friendship with Disbelievers:
In this verse, believers are addressed both individually and collectively. That is, no believer should take any disbeliever as a friend. The community of believers should not take the community of disbelievers as friends, nor should the government of believers take the government of disbelievers as its friend. The reason is that a disbeliever can never be a well-wisher of a believer. Whenever he gets the opportunity, he will only cause harm. One should not expect good from him, and the exception in this is that if, merely due to remaining aloof, you fear some danger from a disbeliever, then as a formality and for the sake of diplomacy, permission has been given to maintain friendship with him. Now, in this, there are countless matters that are left solely to the discretion of the believer. For example, is this danger to life, wealth, and honor, or is it something else? And is this danger actually present or merely imagined? Also, is the effect of this danger limited only to his own self, or could it become a cause of trial for other Muslims as well? Or, if by maintaining friendship with the disbelievers, he secures his own safety, will it not harm other Muslims? And so on. Now, see that the answers to all these questions are different. For example, the answer to the first question is that if indeed life, wealth, and honor are in danger, then one should take advantage of this permission. The answer to the second question is that imagined dangers should not be considered, and one should trust only in Allah. The answer to the third question is that if, by not taking precautionary measures and not maintaining formality with the disbeliever, harm comes to the Muslims, then certainly a way of protection and safety should be found. And the answer to the fourth question is that if by this friendship he himself is safe, but other Muslims are being harmed, then one should never do so. On such occasions, besides these questions, many other kinds of questions may also arise. For example, the danger he considers real may be nothing but a deception, and so on. The answers to these questions should be thought out in the heart with utmost honesty and piety, and then one should act accordingly. That is why, after granting this permission, Allah the Exalted has said:
﴿ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللّٰهُ نَفْسَهٗ﴾
That is, you should ponder over such matters fearing that Allah to whom you have to return, and He knows well the conditions and thoughts of your hearts, and He is also fully capable that if you do not fear the disbeliever but give precedence to the fear of Allah, He has full power to save you from their mischief and evil, and can create many other ways as well.
