Question:
as salamu 3alaykum yaa shuyoukh, bismillahir rahmanir rahim,
I live in Belgium and there is a group here called Sharia4Belgium who use Quran 5:51 as an argument and evidence to prohibit Muslims to be friends with non-believers. They claim that wala wal bara means to hate all non-Muslims and to love only the Muslims. Is this a correct belief? If not, what’s the correct belief and what are the evidences for it?
Please help me as I am confused, because these groups come with so many evidences, as they call it and I have a very limited knowledge.
Thank you very much
Answer:
`Alaykum Salam,
No, it means do not take non-Muslim as allies at the exclusion of Muslims. If it means what they claim then what are they doing in Belgium? The bread they eat is harvested, milled, and produced by non-Muslims and the water they drink reaches them through the good work of non-Muslims, so they are more than friends with them and are eating in the palm of their hands even if they do not like it. Furthermore the Salaf al-Salih not only had non-Muslim friends but plenty of non-Muslim parents, wives, in-laws, neighbors, etc. whom they respected and befriended or even loved. Their behavior and advice is not from Islam or the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (upon him blessings and peace) but rather from the Khawarij.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
