In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

1- You who believe, do not take My enemies and yours as your allies, showing them friendship when they have rejected the truth that you have received, and have driven you and the Messenger out simply because you believe in God, your Lord – not if you truly emigrated in order to strive for My cause and seek My good pleasure. You secretly show them friendship – I know whatever you conceal and reveal – but any of you who do this are straying from the right path.

2- If they gain the upper hand (yathqafu) over you, they will revert to being your enemies and stretch out their hands and tongues to harm you. It is their dearest wish that you may renounce your faith.

3- On the Day of Resurrection, neither your kinsfolk nor your children will be of any use to you. He will separate you out. God sees everything that you do.

4- There has already been for you an excellent example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people, “Indeed, we have disassociated [ourselves] from you and from whatever you worship other than God. We have denied you, and there has appeared between us and you animosity and hatred forever until you believe in God alone” – except for what Abraham told his father, “I will surely ask forgiveness for you, but I have no power (to get) anything on your behalf from God.” (They prayed): “Our Lord, in You alone [do] we trust, and to You alone [do] we turn in repentance (tawbah), and to You is the final return (masir).”

5- Our Lord, make us not a trial for the disbelievers. Forgive us, Our Lord. Surely, you are the Mighty, the Wise.

6- Surely you have in them an excellent example for those whose hope is in God and the Last Day. And whoever turns away, God is All-Sufficient and Worthy of all Praise.

7- It may be that God will bestow love (and affection) between you and those whom you (now) hold as enemies. God is Mighty (Qadir), Forgiving, and Merciful.

8- God does not forbid you to deal kindly (tabarru) and justly (qist) with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes. God loves the just.

9- But God does (innama) forbid you to take as allies (tawallu) those who have fought against you for your faith, driven you out of your homes, and helped others to drive you out. Any of you who take them as allies (yatawalla-hum) will truly be wrongdoers.

10- O you who believe, test the believing women when they come to you as fugitives. God knows best about their faith. If you are sure of their belief, do not send them back to the disbelievers, [for] they are neither lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them. But give the disbelievers whatever bride-gifts they have paid. There is no blame upon you if you marry them once you have paid the bride-gifts. Do not hold on to marriage bonds with disbelieving women, but ask for repayment of the bride-gifts you have paid and let them [disbelievers] ask for what they have spent. This is God’s judgment. He judges between you. God is All-Knowing and Wise.

11- If any of you have wives who leave you for the disbelievers, and if your community subsequently acquires [gains] from them, then pay those whose wives have deserted them the equivalent of whatever bride-gift they paid. Be mindful of God, in whom you believe.

12- O Prophet! When believing women come and pledge to you that they will not ascribe any partner to God, will not steal, commit adultery, kill their children, lie about who has fathered their children (lit. they will not fabricate between their hands and feet), or disobey you in any righteous thing, then accept their pledge of allegiance and pray to God to forgive them. God is Most Forgiving and Merciful.

13- O you who believe, do not take as allies those with whom God is angry. They despair of the life to come, just as the disbelievers have despaired of (meeting) those buried in their graves.

This chapter, revealed duringthe final year of the Prophet’s life (631), takes its name from the tenth verse.Mumtahanah is from the same root as imtihān (trial; test). The main focus here is testing thebases of humanity’s beliefs and alliances.It is the story of our everyday struggles: What are we really seeking in life? For instance, why do we befriend some people and not others? Have we analyzed our own psyche to understand why we make such choices? Why do we like talking with some people and remain closed off to others? If we correctly analyze and think about these things, then we will realize that most of the time the root of suchfriendships and animosities lie within ourselves. I might dislike this person because he pays no attention to me, did not come to my house, did not give me a present on my birthday, or did not show up to help me. In other words, it is all egocentric. The reason I like to work with a certain person and befriend her is because she is good to me and speaks highly of me.

As such, weassociate (or not) and try to get close to them (or not)because of what they can (or cannot) do for us. If they take a substantial interest in us, then we befriend them; if not, we distance ourselves from them. We all love our parents and siblings.For instance; if anyone insults them we do not consider that person our friend. In some cultures, insulting someone’s wife or mother may cause the parties involved to fight each other, even to kill someone.Whether the accusation is true or not is irrelevant.

What do we do if our friend insults another person?We may shrug it off and say it is none of our business, that we will not cut our ties with him or her over some unknown person. And yet we may sever ties with those near to us for petty reasons. In any case, the test is to see whether we are maintaining our friendships and cutting our ties due toour own self-interest or because doing that which is right and justis important to us.

Monotheists base their likes and dislikes on what God has commanded, love those who dowhat is right and just, and do not seek close alliances (wilāyah)with those who oppose truth and what is right. Enmity with God is tantamount to animosity toward divine values. Someone who oppresses God’s servants and violates their rights is Hisenemy. This chapter focuses on this very prioritization.One hadith from the Prophet states that those who base theirintimate friendships and animosities upon what God wills have a complete faith. In other words, they love what is just and right, dislike what is unjust, and do not base their actions and decisions on self-interest. Even if they withhold their help, this decisionis based on what is just and right.

This issue was of greatimportance and relevance when the Muslims returned to Makkah in triumph about eleven years after their flight (hijrah) to Madinah in which they abandoned everything.The Prophet,sensing an imminent threat to his life, fled Makkah in the dark of the night after arranging with Ali to take his place in bed to fool their enemies. The danger was so great that if he had tarried for another night he would surely have been killed. When the unbelievers realized what had happened, they pursued him in order to murder him. Under these conditions, the Muslims had gradually left their homes to seek shelter in Yathrib (Madinah).

This chapter was revealed when the Muslims were in a position of power and had decided to return to their hometown not just to retrieve what they had lost, but to free their people from oppression and let them choose the path of Godwithout worrying about the unbelievers’ hostile reaction.

A Muslim named Hātib ibn Abī Baltaʻah wrote a letter to the Makkansandsecretly entrusted it to a woman for delivery. In it, heinformed the Makkans that the Prophet and his Companions were preparing to return in full force and that they should prepare themselves. A devout Muslim and warrior who had fought at Badr with great courage, he was nevertheless concerned that the potential battle would harm his family and relatives. And so he sent this letter to ensure that the unbelievers would grant them safe haven. He was the only one in his family to have converted and emigrated.

When the Prophet learned of this, he sent men after the woman so that the letter could be retrieved.She was caught halfway to Makkah, and the letter, hidden in her hair, was confiscated.Hātib confessed and explained his motivation.Pursuant to this debacle, this chapter was revealed towarn those Muslims who, because of their faith, hadabandoned everything in His cause and chosen what is right, not to make alliances and communicate with their and God’s enemies. It reminds them that thosewho had forced you into exile and had killed some of youwill surely show you no mercy if they manage to dominate you. Given this reality, do not portrayyourself as a close ally and try to remain in both camps.

In fact, this admonition is primarily addressed to those Muslims who, regardless of time and place, continue to establish and maintain close alliances based on familial or tribal relationships rather than on faith and belief.They still fail to understand how to prioritize their relationships, especially if there is a conflict between their various bases. We all know people who ridicule others in public because of their faith and religion, who refer to it with sarcasm. And yet nobody takes offense,and the close bonds among them remainunaffected.Has God given us two hearts– one for loving that which is right and moral and another one for adoring all that is in conflict with them? How can we sever ties with somebody who offends us or our family but remain indifferentwhen they violate the rights of God’s servants and mock our moral and religious values? Is this not a symptom that there is something wrong with our faith and understanding of religion? Is this not a sign of hypocrisy?

“You will not find a people who believe in God and the Last Day giving their loyalty to those who oppose God and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers, sons, brothers, or kindred.These are the people in whose hearts God has inscribed faith, and whom He has strengthened with His spirit” (58:22).

This verse indicates that God and the Prophet are more important for us than our parents.

[60:1] You who believe, do not take My enemies and yours as your allies, showing them friendship when they have rejected the truth that you have received, and have driven you and the Messenger out simply because you believe in God, your Lord – not if you truly emigrated in order to strive for My cause and seek My good pleasure. You secretly show them friendship – I know whateveryou conceal and reveal – but any of you who do this are straying from the right path.

This verse cautions the community of the faithful against forming close alliances with God’s enemies on the grounds that His enemiesare also theirenemies. It also reminds themof how the unbelievers had treated them before they fled - daring to say “no” to the lords of this world,refusing to surrender to them, and taking only God as their Lord and Savior. The unbelievers, they are told, view your greatest accomplishment as an egregious crime and your faith in God’sdivinity as your greatest sin and crime. Do you still wish to maintain intimate relations with them, forwhoever does so will eventually deviate from the path of righteousness and justice. God knows that which you hide better than you do.

[60:2]If they gain the upper hand (yathqafū)over you, they will revert to being your enemies and stretch out their hands and tongues to harm you.It is their dearest wish that you may renounce your faith.

Thaqāfih means doing something masterfully and skillfully,thiqāfis understood asdominance, and thaqāfahrefers to higher culture. If things take a turn for the worse and they somehow manage to dominate you, they will be your enemies, show you no mercy, and harm you. They want you to join them, to return to your former unbelief.And yet you still care about them and warn them of the Muslims’ intention to return?

This Qur’anic prediction has become a reality today, for non-Muslims have attained cultural, political, and military dominance over Muslims. Do the superpowers show them any mercy? Just look at what happened at AbuGhraib prison: Muslim men were stripped naked and piled on top of each other, suffered cruel and inhuman treatment, were put on a leash and forced to crawl around like dogs by a young woman. Public opinion is the sole restraint in such matters, butall it can do is force the perpetrators to mind their behavior to a certain extent.

[60:3]On the Day of Resurrection, neither your kinsfolk nor your children will be of any use to you. He will separate you out. God sees everything that you do.

What was Hātib’sintent? If it was to protect his family by forging alliances with God’s enemies, he should have known that on the Day of Judgment his family wouldbe of no use to him becauseone will be responsible only for oneself.This is similar to school, for no student can take an exam for another. In short, this verse lets the Muslims know that God is aware and cognizant of our actions and that we should not betray Him. Note that God obliges Muslims to take care oftheir spouse and family members, warns them against cutting such ties, and stresses the importance of strengthening the bonds of kinship. Nevertheless, He declares that if these people commit evil and oppression and lean toward that which is unjust, justice and righteousnessmust take priority over family ties.

Thus, this chapter revealsthe driving force(s) behind alliances and affection. Given that human beings always need a role model who had to deal with the same situations that they do, the next verse provides us with one:Prophet Abraham, the Qur’anicmodel of a complete human being in terms of monotheism, religiosity, and piety. The Qur’an repeats his name sixty-nine times and highlights certain aspects of his life and character in twenty-five chapters. Moreover, he was the first personto pass all of God’s trials and become the first imam or model for humanity: “And [remember] when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands and fulfilled them. He [God]said, ‘I will make you a leader (imam) of people’” (2:124).

[60:4]There has already been for you an excellent example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people, “Indeed, we have disassociated [ourselves] from you and from whatever you worship other than God. We have denied you, and there has appeared between us and you animosity and hatred forever until you believe in God alone” – except for what Abraham told his father, “I will surely ask forgiveness for you, but I have no power (to get) anything on your behalf from God.” (They prayed): “Our Lord, in You alone [do] we trust, and to You alone[do] we turn in repentance(tawbah), and to You is the final return(masīr).”

When peopledisassociate themselves from a thought or a practice, they are absolved. This does not mean that they hate it, but ratherthat they seek to distance themselves from it. ThusAbraham’s followers abandoned the worship of their people’s rock and wooden idols, for they viewed those practices as false and the antithesis ofmonotheism. The verse does not say that they considered the idolaters to be enemies in every case, but that their idolatry had created animosity between them. In other words, although the believers have no personal issue with the unbelievers, the latternevertheless forced them out of their homes and cities because their faith in God caused them to distance themselves from idolatry. Given that polytheism and monotheism are mutually exclusive, there can be an alliance only if the polytheists embrace monotheism.

One might ask why Abraham shows kindness and friendship toward his father, a sculptor of idols, by saying that he will ask God to forgive himeven though he knows that he is powerless and his petition maybe futile. In other words, if his father continues to practice idolatry then Abraham will not be able to intercede for him before God in spite of the father-son relationship.

If we are to exhibit enmity toward those who oppose what is right, then why is Abraham showing kindness and friendship toward his father?The Qur’an replies:“Abraham’s prayer that his father be forgiven was the fulfillment of a promise that he had made to him.But when it had become clear to him that he [his father] was an enemy of God, he (Abraham) disowned him. Surely, Abraham was soft-hearted and forbearing” [9:114].Since keeping promises is extremely important in Islam, Abraham fulfills his promise. But when he becomes certain that his father is an enemy of that which is right, he disassociates himself from him.

“Our Lord, in You alone [do] we trust.”When do we rely on someone?Not when everything is going according to plan and our mind is at ease, but when we are confused and worried. Hātib sensed danger but forgot that he should rely only on God at exactly such times. The Qur’an proclaims that we should always rely onHim, put our trust in Him, and be steadfast on His path. Some people prefer to have allies on all sides so they can maintain their status if circumstances change. This verse tells such people not to be afraid, but to rely only upon God at all times.

“You alone[do] we turn in repentance(tawbah), and to You is the final return (masīr).” Tawbah means to return to God via repentance, that we have disassociated ourselves from falsehood because You are our destination. Masīr means movement and moving toward perfection. The world is moving toward Him, and He is the final destination of all struggles.

[60:5]Our Lord, make us not a trial for the disbelievers.Forgive us, Our Lord. Surely, you are the Mighty, the Wise.

Perhaps we consider ourselves to be in the right, but in practice we spend our life on the path of falsehood. Which path we choose and how we spend our time, life, and assetsare extremely important.

[60:6]Surely you have in them an excellent example for those whose hope is in God and the Last Day. And whoever turns away, God is All-Sufficient and Worthy of all Praise.

Abraham serves as a model from whom we can learn about close friendships and strong alliances. Muslims should have clear and well-defined criteria about these types of relationships.As God does not need our obedience,all of these admonitions are for our own good. If we show unity and are steadfast, our enemies will be unable to dominate us. God is Hamīd, intrinsically praised and thanked, and, as such, does not need our praise and gratitude. Thus, all that He saysabout observing the limits and bounds of friendship, alliances, and enmityis designedto ensure the strength of our community.

[60:7]It may be that God will bestow love (and affection) between you and those whom you (now) hold as enemies. God is Mighty(Qadīr), Forgiving, and Merciful.

These animosities and delineations are only temporary, forif you remain true to your beliefs and values and steadfast in your path, they will soon make peace with you. As such, you will have maintained your dignity and clarified your parameters. Therefore, nothing prevents a close friendship between a devout Muslim and a devout Christian. In fact, they can exchange thoughts and ideas. But if their beliefs are unclear, it will be hard to establish real peace between them.

Qadīr is from the same root as miqdār and qadr(i.e., there is order and moderation in the world). Righteous people who remain ontheir path will have the upper hand over others and not be dominated.Furthermore, if they deviate from that path, God, who is Forgiving and Merciful, will forgive them.

The next two verses are extremely important, for they focus on the sensitive issue of relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims.The media spends a great deal of time propagating untruths against the Qur’an and the Prophet. In one of these programs, the anchor was saying that the Qur’an has declared: “Believers, do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies and protectors (awliyā)” (5:51), which was mistranslated and explained as prohibiting such friendships and actually ordering hostility toward them. Then, in dramatic fashion, he stated that the Qur’an commands all Muslims to kill Christians, Jews, and anyone who disagrees with Islam, to show no mercy to any of them, regardless of age!These two verses clarify how Muslims are to treat such people.

[60:8]God does not forbid you to deal kindly(tabarrū) and justly(qist) with anyone who has not fought you for your faith or driven you out of your homes. God loves the just.

The verb tabarrū(from the root barr) refers to unlimited kindness. If people are kind only to their parents,theirkindness is limited. Even if it is expanded to other relatives, it is still limited. In fact, the kindness identified bybarr is the one extended to everyone without regard to any particular relationship.

The verse asks when has God ever preventedMuslims from showing kindness to non-Muslims?God has never ordered Muslims to adopt such an attitude toward those who did not take up arms against them and force them into exile, nor has He everproscribed Muslims from being righteous toward others. The concept of qist(justice and fairness) is usually found in economic and trade relations. Thus, based on these conditions, trade between Muslims and non-Muslims has never been prohibited. God loves those who are just and fair.


[60:9]But God does (innamā) forbid you to take as allies(tawallū) those who have fought against you for your faith, driven you out of your homes, and helped others to drive you out.Any of you who take them as allies(yatawalla-hum) will truly be wrongdoers.

Innamāmeans exclusively and solely. In other words, God has told you not to associate only with those who have fought you, forced you out of your homes, and supported each other in doing so solely because of your faith. They did not allow you to choose your own religion and denounce idolatry.In fact, the Makkan unbelievers killed some converts, tortured others, and eventually forced the entire communityto flee.But in the absence of such hostility, He commands us to be kind and just toward them. He has not told us just to greet them, but to show them barr, kindness that expects nothing in return.

The Qur’an does not command Muslims to fight unbelievers until they convert or are killed, but simply “Do not associate with them.”Tawallū, whichis from the same root as wilāyah, denotes guardianship and protectorship – something far more than friendship.Whosoever establishes strong alliances with such people will be considered a wrongdoer and an oppressor, because they are supporting an oppressor.Whoever thinks that the Qur’an orders Muslims to treat non-Muslims as enemies should read these two verses and understand what they are really saying.

[60:10] O you who believe, test the believing women when they come to you as fugitives. God knows best about their faith. If you are sure of their belief, do not send them back to the disbelievers, [for] they are neither lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them. But give the disbelievers whatever bride-gifts they have paid. There is no blame upon you if you marry them once you have paid the bride-gifts. Do not hold on to marriage bonds with disbelieving women, but ask for repayment of the bride-gifts you have paid and let them [disbelievers] ask for what they have spent. This is God’s judgment. He judges between you. God is All-Knowing and Wise.

This verse appears to be concerned with another subject matter; however, this is true only at a superficial level. Severalfemale Muslimsmarried to polytheistic men wanted to join the Muslims in Madinah. This was extremely unpalatable for their husbands, given that women at that time had no rights whatsoever and that their husbands decided everything for them. Male privilege and paternalism has always been rife. For example, in most countries women gained the right to vote only in the early part of twentieth century. In the United Kingdom, with the onset of the feminist movement, voting rights were legislated for women thirty-years old and higher but was still conditional upon other criteria. Women’s suffrage was extended toFrance, Germany, and then the United States in 1920.

Susan Moller Okin (d. 2004), the late philosophy professor at Stanford and world-renowned feminist, has an excellent book on this subject:Women in Western Political Thought(Princeton University Press: 1979).In it, she describes these views from Plato (d. 348/347 BCE) and Aristotle (d. 322 BCE)to Thomas Hobbes (d. 1679), John Locke (d. 1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (d. 1778), and in the philosophy of the West’s major political thinkers. She explains why women are perceived as second-class citizens in modern-day America, a country considered by many to representthe peak of modern civilization despite its ongoing sexism and misogyny to one degree or another. And yet there is a widespread propaganda campaign that Islam violates women’s rights,althoughthe Qur’an declaredfourteen centuries ago –in a tribal and undeveloped society where womenhad no status and killing newborn girls was the norm –that women have a right to vote and are independent of their menfolkin regards choosing their faith and swearing fealty to the Prophet.

The beginning part of the verse calls upon believers to examine these women to make sure that they were not seeking worldly gain or working as spies for the Makkans.Those who were shown to have emigrated for Islam and due to their faithwere allowed to stay.

In the Treaty ofHudaybiyyah, both the Prophet and Makkah’s leadershipagreed to two things: (1) if anyone reached Madinah and converted, the Muslims would send him back but (2) if any of the MadinahMuslims wanted to return to Makkah, the Muslims would allow him to do so. Some of the Muslims found this a hard pill to swallow and chided the Prophet for bringing such dishonor uponthe community. They objected that it was disgraceful to forcibly return someone who had become a Muslim and their brother in faith to the unbelievers. They were also questioning the merit of forcing people who had emigrated to Madinah to return to Makkah. In response, he reminded them of several facts: (1) there is no compulsion in faith, (2) God would protect the new Muslim and show him the right path, and (3) such a person would serve as the community’s spokesman among the Makkan polytheists.

In any case, nothing had been said about female emigrants in the peace treaty. And so these verses were revealed to make an exception in their case andto show that God also extended to them the freedom of belief and religion. If this were not the case, surely a verse would have been revealed to the effect that they could only change their religion if they received permission from their husband, father, or male guardian. Despite this, in Iran and other Muslim countries, even today a woman must receive her husband’s official permission to travel abroad!

“God knows best about their faith.” In other words, do not be too stringent when examining them because only God knows who has truly become faithful. Just do some research and make sure they are there because of their faith. Furthermore, do not return herbecause shecannot be married to a non-Muslim. Thus their marriage contract is dissolved and whatever the husband had spent for marrying her should be returned to him.

Note that this Qur’anic directive was given at a time when the Muslims were at war with the unbelievers. This should not be taken lightly, becausethe circumstances were not normal: One side was fighting to establish justice, righteousness, humane values and virtues, as well as to ensure that morals would reign supreme. As this group cannot violate any person’s rights, herformer husband has the right to claim the wedding-related costs. On the other hand, hisformer wife has the right to choose her own life.

“There is no blame upon you if you marry them once you have paid the bride-gifts.”Thesewomen may now be courted and married because they areconsidered divorcees.The three-month waiting period still applies,their bride-gift should be paid, and they should be treated with respect and dignity. Also, if the husband converts and his wife does not, but rather joins the unbelievers, do not be upset or try to win her back – she has made her choice. Instead, do not be overly concerned with saving your marriage and claim the relevant expenses from the unbelievers. If the joint covenant of values between a legally married husband and wife ends, sustaining the marriage is pointless. Simply claim what you have spent and move on.

Some people ask ifa female Muslimmaymarry a man from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). In principle and based upon the Qur’an’s express statements,there is no objection to such a union.However, if each spouse is serious about practicing his or her faith, conflicts will clearly eventually begin to emerge: Will the children go to the church or the mosque?Will they be baptizedor be raised in the Islamic tradition?If one of them has only a weak faith,then probably there will be no such conflicts. What matters in a marriage is sympathy and companionship. What God has commanded in these verses is based on His wisdom, is meant to preserve order in society and to maintain the economic and material rights of all parties.

[60:11]If any of you have wives who leave you for the disbelievers, and if your community subsequently acquires [gains] from them, then pay those whose wives have deserted them the equivalent of whatever bride-gift they paid. Be mindful of God, in whom you believe.

If awoman married to a Muslim joins the unbelievers, the Islamic communityis duty-bound to compensate him for the bride-giftif the unbelievers and polytheists refuse to do sodueto an ongoing war. One cannot use the excuse of war to violate another person’s rights. In modern times, insurance companies provide compensation for many types of damage or harm, but back then there was no such thing. Such damages are to be restricted to the actual costs incurred. The verse also admonishes the believers to keep God in mind in order to prevent fraud, because it is hard to assess how much a person actually spent. The last two verses address the same issue.

[60:12]O Prophet! When believing women come and pledge to you that they will not ascribe any partner to God, will not steal, commit adultery, kill their children, lie about who has fathered their children (lit. they will not fabricate between their hands and feet), or disobey you in any righteous thing, then accept their pledge of allegiance and pray to God to forgive them. God is Most Forgiving and Merciful.

This verse shows that women individually pledged their fealty to the Prophet, which, in reality, is the same as voting. Note that when men did so and became Muslims, they incurred the duty of jihad. To wage jihad and forsake your life and property for Islam is considered the greatest act of worship. However, women were exempted from this duty and toldto put aside all superstitious rites and beliefs and pledge not to steal. Stealing is not restricted to taking somebody else’s property. In pre-Islamic times, many women stole from their husbands or their homes. For example, when Hind, the wife of Abū Sufyān, pledged her allegiance in her husband’s presence, she confessed that she had often stolen from his property. The Prophet responded by saying that the past is the past, but that from now on the properties and rights of each spouse are exclusively their own and that neither one may spend from it without the other’s permission.And so the modern concept of communal property does not accord with Islam’s conception of private property.

Women also had to pledge that they would not commit adultery, have an abortion (before Islam only men carried out the heinous crime of female infanticide), or slander others. In short, the verse obliges female Muslims to abstain from their pre-Islamic animosities and conspiracies.

A rough translation of“they will not fabricate between their hands and feet”may be “mundane issues”(e.g., clothing and furniture). Although it is hard to translate this phrase into English,“slandering others during idle chit-chat” may be a close approximation. Some commentators contend thatthis verse concerns the commonpre-Islamic practice of a woman falsely attributinga child’s paternity to her husband.

These women are not to disobey the Prophetin that which is moral and right. In other words, this verse does not require absolute and unquestioned obedience to him. This is a very delicate point. However,this does not mean that the Prophet may have issued an unjust and immoral command, for hereGod is stressing good and righteous deeds.

Commentators have written that the women’s pledge of fealty differed from that of the men. The latter would shake the Prophet’s hand, as was customary at that time, whereas the former would cover their hands with a cloth or a glove and then shake his hand. Some have also relatedthat a pan wouldbe filled with water and that the women would pledge their allegiance by dipping their hands into itat the same time that the Prophet did. In any case, it appears that it was not customary for men and women to shake hands.

As a side note, breaking an oath ofallegiance was extremely dishonorable in the pre-Islamic era, and doing so stained the guilty party’s family for a very long time. Such sensitivities seem to have dissipated in our own day and age, but back then they preferred death to loss of honor.

[60:13]O you who believe, do not take as allies those with whom God is angry.They despair of the life to come,just as the disbelievers have despaired of (meeting) those buried in their graves.

Who are the people who have angered God? Several passages indicate that these are the Jews, for despite God’s blessings (e.g., plentiful bounty and sending Moses to rescue them from Pharaoh by parting the Red Sea and giving them safe passage), they returned to their former idolatry and killed a number of prophets instead of being thankful. But this is cited only for illustrative purposesand therefore is not confined to the Jews. For instance, the Qur’an says that the hypocrites are God’s enemies, for they have incurred His wrath by conspiring against the believers.But always bear in mind that God is neither influenced or affected, nor literally angered or pleased,by what people do. In short, following a path that is contrary to what God has commanded will cause us tomeet with an unfortunate end.

“They despair of the life to come.”People who hold this conviction have no logical answer for the sacrifices they make, even though they may do so out of a sense of empathy or social upbringing. If our life is limited to this world and our death results in oblivion, why should we control our baser instincts? If we only live once, why should we sacrifice our life or something or somebody else? Why should we die so that other people may have a better life? Does this make any sense? Why should I give to others? Why should one generation be sacrificed so that the next one can live in comfort and happiness? What is the difference between them?Surelyboth of them want to enjoy and benefit from life.

“The disbelievers have despaired of (meeting) those buried in their graves.”The disbelievers’ worldview maintains that there is nothing after death.Thus how can Muslims make allies of thosewho have directly or indirectly taken up arms against them and enter into a relationship that may entail their eventual domination? This chapter begins and ends with this same message.To clarify this further, the Qur’an gives other examples: “O you who believe, do not take for intimate friends(bitānah) those who are outsiders and spare no effort to ruin you and want to see you suffer.Their hatred is evident [in the words issuing] from their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is far worse” (3:118). Bitānah has the same root as batn, which today means undergarments that stick to one’s body. Therefore, it signifies a confidant and a very close friend, someone who is privy to everything in a person’s life and, as such, dominates him or her.Here is another example: “… Do not take any others instead of His Messenger and the believers as trusted allies (walījah)” (9:16). Walījah means an intimate and trusted friend. Wulūj is from the same root and means influence.

It is truly unfortunate that some mediapersonalities comment on these issues without having anyreal understanding of them.Someone who has lived in an Arabic-speaking country for a couple of years and speaks a few words of Arabic now claims to have become a commentator of the Qur’an, and, amazingly, the audience thinks that this person is well-informed and fully competent to do so. He or she picks up the Qur’an and “interprets” it as commanding all Muslims to kill all non-Muslims. How can this person, who cannot translate even one verse correctly, understand the concept of wilāyah? Arabic has several wordsfor friend: sadīq, sāhib, musāhib, qarīn,and khalīl. Numerous Arabic words are synonymous with “friend,”although they are all different and unique. Ordinary friendships are referred to as mawaddah, not wilāyah. Such so-called commentators do not know that wilāyah refers to an extremely close bond and trusted friendship that entails a form of domination. It is, therefore, important to note these conceptual nuances in order to acquire a proper understanding of the Qur’an and of Islam.

Translator: Hooman Movasagh
Editor: Hamid Mavani