Verses 28–32

Chapter 3: Āl-Imrān (The Family of Imrān) · Printed edition: Volume 5, pp. 200–217

لَا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ ۗ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ ٢٨ قُلْ إِنْ تُخْفُوا مَا فِي صُدُورِكُمْ أَوْ تُبْدُوهُ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ ۗ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ٢٩ يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ سُوءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ أَمَدًا بَعِيدًا ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ ٣٠ قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ٣١ قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ ۖ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ ٣٢

28. Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends rather than the believers; and whoever does this, he shall have nothing [to do] with Allah, except [when] you guard yourselves against [them] for fear from them; and Allah cautions you of Himself; and to Allah is the eventual coming.
29. Say: Whether you hide what is in your hearts or manifest it, Allah knows it; and He knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth; and Allah has power over all things.
30. On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil; [it] shall wish that between it and that [evil] there were a long duration of time; and Allah cautions you of Himself; and Allah is Compassionate to the servants.
31. Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
32. Say: Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers.

Commentary

The verses are not disconnected with the preceding ones, which admonished the People of the Book and the polytheists. If the word “unbelievers,” coming at the beginning of these verses, covers the People of the Book too, then these verses forbid the believers to befriend, and fraternize with, the polytheists and the People of the Book all together; if it refers to the polytheists only, then the verses admonish the believers not to be friendly with them; instead they should join the party of God, loving Him and His Messenger.

لَا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ ۗ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ ٢٨

(3:28) Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends rather than the believers; and whoever does this, he shall have nothing [to do] with Allah, except [when] you guard yourselves against [them] for fear from them; and Allah cautions you of Himself; and to Allah is the eventual coming.

al-Awliyā (friends), the plural of al-walīy, is derived from al-wilāyah. The root word denotes authority to manage something, that is, guardianship. Guardian of a minor, insane or idiot is called his al-walīy, because he has the authority to manage their affairs and property, although the property belongs to the said ward.

Then the word was used—with increasing frequency—in the context of love; if two people love each other, each feels free to look after the other’s affairs. Love empowers the beloved to manage the affairs, and influence the life, of the lover.

In this verse, taking the unbelievers for friends means establishing a psychological rapport with them. Such a friendship would taint the believer’s vision, and would adversely affect his thoughts and character, encouraging him to follow his unbeliever friends in his life and manners. The clause, “rather than the believers,” points to this fact. It refers to a stage when the believer prefers the unbelievers rather than the believers as the object of his love and as the model for his life; the more he moves nearer to his unbeliever friends, the more he distances himself from the believers.

Many verses strictly forbid the believers to take the unbelievers, and the Jews and the Christians for friends; but in every instance, there are clauses which delineate which type of friendship is forbidden. For example, this verse contains the above-mentioned clause, “rather than the believers”; the verse: O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends (), goes on to say: they are friends of each other; and the prohibition: O you who believe! do not take My enemy and your enemy for friends … (), is further on explained by the words: Allah does not forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of your religion and have not driven you forth from your homes … ().

The adjectives used in the verse under discussion point to the reason of the prohibition. The believers should not take the unbelievers for friends rather than the believers. Belief and disbelief are diametrically opposed to each other; they can never reconcile. The same mutual repulsion would permeate the whole lives of the believers vis-a-vis the unbelievers. Their thoughts and deeds, their spiritual journey towards God, and in short their whole being would be totally different from the opposite party. Such a position is not in harmony with that of friendship; because friendship demands unity and rapport.

And when such a friendship begins and grows with complete disregard to the friendship with the believers, it first spoils the fruits of the faith, then damages its branches and finally destructs its very roots. That is why God warned them in the next sentence, “and whoever does this, he shall have nothing (to do) with God.” Then comes the exception of taqiyyah (dissimulation), because taqiyyah is only a show of love, not its reality.

… rather than the believers: Dūn is a proposition of place, meaning: below, under (in rank, value); this side of, short of; without, with the exclusion of; leaving aside. min dūn signifies, ‘beginning from a place below that of the believers,’ because the believers are far above them in rank. Originally this preposition denoted nearness combined with lowness, for example, dūnaka Zayd (Zayd is near you but below; he does not measure up to you). Then it was used for ‘other than,’ ‘besides,’ for example, … two gods besides Allah … (); … and forgives what is besides that to whomsoever He pleases … (). Also, it is used as a nomen verbi; in this sense, dūnaka Zayd would mean: adhere to Zayd. These later usages are based on some association with the original meaning, not that the word was made for them.

… and whoever does this, he shall have nothing [to do] with Allah: “Does this,” that is, takes the unbelievers for friends in preference to the believers. This misconduct is hated so much by the Speaker that He does not like to mention it in words, and just alludes to it; people often use pronouns to refer to indecent things. Also God did not say, whoever of the believer does this; it was far beneath the dignity of the believers to attribute such a misconduct to them.

The clause, he shall have nothing [to do] with God, literally means, he is not from God in anything. Idiomatically, this expression shows that he is not of the group or party of God. God says: And whoever takes Allah and His Messenger and those who believe for a guardian, then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant (). Also Abraham is quoted as saying: … then whoever follows me, he is surely of me … ().

Anyhow, the sentence means: Whoever does this, he shall in no way remain with the party of God; his thoughts and deeds will be those of the enemies of Islam.

… except [when] you guard yourselves against [them] for fear from them: al-Ittiqāʾ (to seek protection because of fear); the word is sometimes used for fear, by association; probably taqiyyah has the same connotations.

The exception in this sentence is disjoined: To show attachment to someone because of his fear without loving him in reality is quite different from befriending him and having a rapport with him; love and fear are two opposite feelings and have opposite effects on the heart; how can they be found in one place?

The verse clearly allows taqiyyah, as is shown by the traditions of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt. Also, it is clearly proven by the verse revealed about ʿAmmār, and his parents, Yāsir and Sumayyah: He who disbelieves in Allah after his having believed—not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith, but he who opens [his] breast for disbelief—on these is the wrath of Allah, and they shall have a grievous chastisement ().

The Qur’an and the sunnah both agree that taqiyyah is permissible in places. Also, reason supports it. The main purpose of the religion and the Messenger is to keep the truth alive; and sometimes this purpose can be achieved by practising taqiyyah, by keeping good relations with the enemies of the religion, while discarding taqiyyah would serve no purpose at all. It is a reality which no reasonable man can deny. We shall further write about it under ‘Traditions,’ and also under the verse mentioned just now (… not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith …).

… and Allah cautions you of Himself: al-Taḥdhīr is the transitive of al-ḥadhar (to beware of a frightful thing). God has warned His servants of His chastisement, as He says: … surely the chastisement of your Lord is to be dreaded of (). And He has warned them of the hypocrites and the mischief of the unbelievers, as He says: … they are the enemy, therefore beware of them (); … and be cautious of them, lest they seduce you … (). But in this verse as well as in a following one He cautions them of His Own Self. The crime of befriending the unbelievers to the exclusion of the believers is so serious that no curtain or protection remains between God and the criminal, there is nothing to save him from God, there is no helper or intercessor to intercede on his behalf; he is left without any shield, to face directly the chastisement of God. This style puts utmost emphasis to the threat, and its repetition in a following verse further intensifies it; then it has been further highlighted by the concluding clauses, “and to God is the eventual coming” (in this verse) and “God is Compassionate to the servants” (in the other), as we shall explain later on.

Look at this verse and the others obliging the Muslims not to take the unbelievers for friends. You will see that this sin is tantamount to rejecting the guardianship of God, going out from the band of His servants, and joining the party of His enemies—to damage the affairs of the religion. This transgression is a dry-rot that destroys the fibre of religion; it is more damaging and harmful to Islam than the open disbelief and polytheism of the unbelievers and pagans. One can easily prepare for an open enemy and can repulse his attacks on one’s fortress; but it is not so easy if the enemy is inside and poses as a friend. If a Muslim establishes fraternal bonds with the enemies of Islam, his character is gradually influenced by their manners, deeds and thoughts. A time comes when disbelief replaces the belief; the Muslims slowly discard the tenets and symbols of Islam one after the other, and before they realize it, Islam loses its hold on the society. It is death without any hope of revival, perdition without any chance of resurrection.

It is “the transgression”; and his case is directly in the hands of God: Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with ʿĀd, [the people of] Iram, possessors of many columned buildings, the like of which were not created in the cities; and with Thamūd, who hewed out the rocks in the valley, and [with] Pharaoh, the lord of stakes; who transgressed in the cities, so they made great mischief therein? Therefore your Lord let fall upon them the whip of chastisement. Most surely your Lord is on watch (). The transgression leads the transgressor to a place where God is on watch—and where there is no one but God; and He smites the guilty with the whip of His chastisement—and there is no one to protect the transgressor from Him.

It is for the same reason that those who take the unbelievers for friends have been warned of God Himself: Such a friendship is open transgression, a transgression that damages and destroys the religion of God.

The same theme has been explained in the verse: Stand fast then [in the right path] as you are commanded, as also he who has turned [to Allah] with you, and do not transgress [O men!], surely He sees what you do. And do not incline to those who are unjust, lest the Fire touch you, and you have no guardians besides Allah, then you shall not be helped (). This verse, according to the traditions, is the one which, the Prophet said, had aged him.

However, this verse and the one under discussion, clearly show that inclination towards the unjust and the unbelievers is a transgression which throws one into the Fire where he will not find any helper; it is the chastisement given by God Himself, and no one can save from it.

The sentence, and God cautions you of Himself, shows that the threatened punishment is a firmly-decreed affair which cannot be cancelled. What the offender has been warned of is God Himself; there is nothing between God and the culprit; and there is no protector from God; He has threatened to punish this offender, and what He has said is surely to happen. The same thing appears from the verse quoted above: … lest the Fire touch you … then you shall not be helped.

… and to Allah is the eventual coming: You cannot escape from Him; nobody can stop you from this eventual return to God. As mentioned earlier, it reemphasizes the threat.

These verses, “Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends …,” are among those which, in the form of admonition, contain a prediction of what was to happen in this ummah in the coming days; we shall explain it in detail, God willing, in Chapter 5 (The Table).

قُلْ إِنْ تُخْفُوا مَا فِي صُدُورِكُمْ أَوْ تُبْدُوهُ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ ۗ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ٢٩

(3:29) Say: Whether you hide what is in your hearts or manifest it, Allah knows it; and He knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth; and Allah has power over all things.

The theme is the same as in the verse: … and whether you manifest what is in your souls or hide it, Allah will call you to account for it (). Nevertheless, a fine difference in style attracts our attention. The verse talks about calling to account, and accounting is more often than not a manifest affair; therefore in this verse ‘manifesting’ comes before hiding. But the verse under discussion talks about the knowledge of God, and knowledge is more germane to what is hidden in the hearts; therefore this verse has reversed the order, mentioning first what is hidden in the hearts, then coming to what is manifest.

God ordered His Messenger to convey this message to the offending servants; it is because He did not like to address directly those who, He knew, would surely disobey His order and would befriend the unbelievers. It shows His displeasure in the same way as the words in the preceding verse: “and whoever does this …”

… and He knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth; and Allah has power over all things: It has the same connotation as the verse , mentioned above.

يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ سُوءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ أَمَدًا بَعِيدًا ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ ٣٠

(3:30) On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil; [it] shall wish that between it and that [evil] there were a long duration of time; and Allah cautions you of Himself; and Allah is Compassionate to the servants.

Apparently, it is a part of the message which the Prophet was to convey. “On the day” may refer to a deleted but understood verb, “remember” or “describe”—Remember (or Describe) the day that every soul … Alternatively this adverb of time may qualify the preceding verb, “God knows it” or “He knows,” that is, God shall know on that day what is in your hearts; or He will know on that day what is in the heavens and the earth. There is no difficulty in this interpretation; it is not that He would not know these things before the Day of Judgment; what the expression means is this: We, the servants of God, will manifestly see the effects of His all-encompassing knowledge on that day. According to this explanation, this verse describes the manifestation of His knowledge on that day in the same way as the following verses describe manifestation of His power on that very day: [of] the day when they shall come forth; nothing concerning them shall remain hidden to Allah. To whom belongs the Kingdom this day? To Allah, the Subduer [of all] (); … there is no protector today from Allah … (); … and 0 that those who are unjust could see, when they see the chastisement, that the power is wholly Allah’s … (); … and the command on that day shall be entirely Allah’s (). Obviously, to God belongs all the Kingdom, power and command, always—before and after the Day of Judgment as well as on that day. But these verses especially refer to that day in this connection, because it will be on that day that we, the servants of God, will clearly see His Kingdom and rule, without any doubt about His exclusive authority and power.

Likewise, if the verb, “He knows,” is qualified by the adverb, “that day …,” it would not mean that God would not know the hidden secrets of His servants or their good and evil deeds before the Day of Judgment.

On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done: The word translated here as “present” is muḥḍaran (which literally means, presented, brought in). The choice of this word, rather than ḥāḍiran (present), points to the fact that the good and bad deeds are existent and safe from extinction, because only such a thing may be brought in and presented which already exists (even if out of sight); God will bring the deeds in on the Day of Judgment. But who would be preserving them all these days, if not God? This too shows that His power, authority and Kingdom are not confined to the Day of Judgment. He says: and your Lord is the Preserver of all things (); and with Us is a writing that preserve ().

Tajid (shall find) is derived from al-wijdān (to find); its opposite is to lose. “Of good” and “of evil”: “of” describes the thing that will be presented. “Good” and “evil” have been used as common noun, to show its generality—he will find there every good however trivial and every evil however insignificant. It appears from the context that the second clause, “what it has done of evil” is in conjunction with the preceding one, “what it has done of good.”

It is one of those verses which prove embodiment of deeds, as we have described in detail in a previous volume.

… [it] shall wish that between it and that [evil] there were a long duration of time: The subject of this sentence is a deleted pronoun referring to the soul. Law (if) is a conjunctive, as a rule introducing hypothetical conditional clauses; law followed by anna (if) introduces nominal clauses; this combination has frequently been used in the Qur’an; therefore, no attention should be paid to the claim of a writer that this combination was not correct.

al-Amad denotes distance of time. al-Rāghib has said in his al-Mufradāt al-Qur’an:

“al-Amad and al-abad have nearly the same meaning; but al-abad denotes the eternal duration, without an end; that is why it is never restricted by a limit, it cannot be said, to this or that al-abad. On the other hand, al-amad generally signifies a limited duration but with unknown limit; sometimes the limit is specified, for example, amada kadhā (such and such period), as they say this or that time. The difference between al-amad (span of time) and al-zamān (time) is that al-amad looks at the terminus of time while al-zamān looks at the whole period from beginning to end. That is why some have said that al-amad and al-madd (space of time, distance) are nearly similar in meaning.”

The wish of the evil-doer, that there should be between him and his deed a long duration of time, shows that the presence of that evil would cause him sorrow; it follows that the presence of good deed would make the good-doer happy.

He will only wish for a long duration of time between himself and his deed, and not for its complete disappearance. Why? He will see how God has preserved it from the day it was done to the Day of Judgment; he will realize that it was of no avail to wish that a thing under such Divine protection should disappear; therefore, he will only wish for the next “best” thing: Would that it had not appeared at the most awkward time, in that most difficult situation. He will wish the same for the evil companion: And whoever turns himself away from the remembrance of the Beneficent Allah, We appoint for him a Satan, so he becomes his associate … Until when he comes to Us, he says: O would that between me and thee there were the distance of the East and the West, so evil is the associate! ().

… and Allah cautions you of Himself: The repeated warning emphasizes the threat beyond any doubt. Also, it may be that this warning refers to the punishment of the Day of Judgment (as that is the subject of this verse), while the first warning related to the result of that offence in this life or in both lives.

… and Allah is Compassionate to the servants: It reminds the servants of their relation to God—they are His servants and slaves, and He is their Compassionate Master. Nevertheless, this clause makes the preceding threat doubly emphatic. Such expressions are used for warning someone in the severest term. The import of such clause will be like this: Do not do such a thing, because I have firmly decided not to forgive such offence; I warn you before hand because I have compassion for you.

The meaning then will be as follows: God is Compassionate to the servants; that is why He has warned them before hand not to go near this evil; because if they did so, they would have to undergo the punishment; and they would find no intercessor or protector to intercede on their behalf or to save them.

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ٣١

(3:31) Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

When writing about the verse (… and those who believe are stronger in love of Allah …), we had explained the meaning of love, and said that in reality it relates to God, and after that it may relate to others.

No doubt, God in His Book invites His servants to believe in Him, to worship Him with sincere devotion, and to steer clear of polytheism. He says: Now, surely, sincere religion is for Allah [alone] (); And they were not enjoined anything except that they should worship Allah, being sincere to Him in religion … (); Therefore call upon Allah, being sincere to Him in religion, though averse be the unbelievers (). This theme is found in many other verses.

Sincerity in religion can truly be achieved only when man’s heart is not attached to anything other than God—be it another deity or some desired object; be it a worldly ambition or even some other worldly goal like entering the garden or protection from the Fire. When the heart cuts all links with such things and attaches itself exclusively to God, then the man attains the sincerity of religion, and the love of God.

Love is the only link that connects a lover to his beloved; it attracts and pulls the lover to the beloved. The lover wants to make up through the beloved the defects and imperfections that he finds in his own life. The biggest news for him is that his beloved requites his love. At this stage, both love each other; both become lovers, both become beloved.

Man loves food, and gets it to make up the deficiency which shows itself in hunger; he loves the opposite sex, to satisfy a biological need; he loves his friend for genial companionship. A servant loves his master for his kind patronage. Look at the instances of love, read the stories of well-known lovers—you will find everywhere the truth of what we have mentioned.

When a sincere servant loves God, his only ambition is to attract the love of God to himself; would that God should love him as he loves God; would that God should become his, as he has become of God. This is the reality of God’s love.

Love, as mentioned above, is a link that joins one thing to the other. But God does not count every love as true love. True love demands that the lover—in this case, the believer—should love all that is related to God; he should devoutly accept all that comes from Him. On God depends everything in its existence and in all its affairs; everything seeks a medium to Him; and every big and small thing ultimately returns to Him. In this background, true love of God, sincerity in that love, can be achieved only through believing in the religion of monotheism, that it, Islam, and surely the religion with God is Islam. It is the religion which His representatives brought and which His apostles and prophets taught. It is especially true about the religion brought by Muḥammad; it teaches a sublime devotion, an unsurpassed sincerity; it is the natural religion which contains the last law, brought by a Law-giver with whom the chain of the prophets came to its end. All these facts may easily be inferred from the Qur’an, if one ponders on it.

The Prophet introduced his path as the path of monotheism, the path of sincerity; as he was ordered by God to say: Say: This is my way: I invite (you) to Allah; with clear sight (are) I and he who follows me; and glory be to Allah; and I am not of the polytheists (). Accordingly, his way was to invite people to God, with clear sight, with sincerity, without ascribing any partner to God. His way was the way of invitation to God and of sincerity about God. Anyone who wants to follow him, should proceed on the same highway.

Then God said that the way of invitation and sincerity can be found only in the shariah brought by Muḥammad: Then We have made you follow a shariah in the affair, therefore follow it … (); also He said that it means total submission to Him: But if they dispute with you, say: I have submitted myself [entirely] to Allah and [so has] everyone who follows me… (); then He attributed this way to Himself and declared that it was His straight path: And [know] that this is My path, the straight one, therefore follow it (). If we read all these verses together, it will be clear that Islam (that is, the shariah brought by the Prophet, containing fundamental beliefs, moral teachings, practical laws, and having his own sacred life as its model) is the path of sincerity, that is based on love. It is the religion of sincerity, the religion of love.

The above discourse makes clear the meaning of the verse under discussion: Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you. It gives the following import—and God knows better: If you want to be sincere to God in your servitude, truly basing it on His love, then follow this shariah; it is based on love, and is the embodiment of sincerity and submission; it is the straight path of God, whoever proceeds on it is sure to reach nearer to God. If you follow me in this path, then God will love you; reaching this stage you will get what you want. Your love will be requited.

This is the general import of the verse if looked in isolation. But the context gives it some particular implications too. It comes soon after the verses forbidding the believers to befriend the unbelievers. Friendship is love between the friends. Therefore, the verse exhorts the believers to follow the Prophet if they are sincere in the claim that they love God and belong to His party. Love of God cannot be reconciled with following the unbelievers in their vain desires and unhealthy views; remember that friendship certainly makes a friend follow the other friend in thoughts and deeds. One who loves God should not run after the worldly trinkets found with the unbelievers, and should not set his eyes on their worldly honor and wealth. If you love God you should follow His Prophet in his religion, as He declares: Then We have made you follow a shariah in the affair, therefore follow it, and do not follow the low desires of those who do not know. Surely they shall not avail you in the least against Allah; and surely the unjust are friends of each other, and Allah is the guardian of those who guard [against evil] (). It should be noted how smoothly the verse goes from the theme of “following” to that of “friendship,” showing that both are, in fact, one and the same.

In short, anyone claiming to love God, to belong to God, must follow the Prophet, in order that it may take him to the stage where God requites his love and loves him.

The verse mentions only the love of God, and not His guardianship because guardianship is founded on love. Also, it mentions only God’s love, because the love of the Prophet and the believers is in reality a part of God’s love; it has no independent existence.

… and forgive you your sins; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful: God’s mercy is all-encompassing; His grace is without limit, and His munificence without restriction; it is not confined to any individual or group. The river of His mercy is flowing; everybody is free to take from it as much as he can. Whatever restriction there is, it is not in the river, it is in the receptacle one brings with him. The servants’ ability, or disability, imposes its own limitations; God has not put any limit to His mercy: and the bounty of your. Lord is not confined ().

Sin is the impediment, holding one back from reaching nearer to God, from partaking of the bounties resulting from it, like the paradise etc. If the rust of sin is removed from a man’s heart, the door of Divine bliss will automatically open for him, and he will join the chosen people in the abode of Divine honor and eternal happiness. That is why God added forgiveness of sins to the good news of His love. As described earlier; love attracts the lover to the beloved. When the servant loves God, it moves him to come nearer with sincere monotheism and unalloyed devotion and worship. When God loves a servant, He comes nearer to him and removes the curtains which hide the sublime reality. As mentioned above, there is no curtain except sin, and removing it means forgiving the sins. Once that hindrance is removed, there is no obstacle in the way; and Divine munificence will take over from there; and he can partake of the ever-lasting honor and never ending bounties as much as he likes.

To understand this reality even more clearly, ponder on the verse, Nay! rather, what they used to do has become like rust upon their hearts. Nay! most surely they shall on that day be debarred from their Lord (), in conjunction with the verse, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.

قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ ۖ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ ٣٢

(3:32) Say: Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers.

The preceding verse invited the servants to “follow” the Messenger. To follow means to process behind in someone’s track. The believer follows the Messenger in the way taken by the Messenger. The way the Messenger has taken is the straight path which belongs to God. It is the shariah ordained for the Messenger and conveyed through him to the mankind; and the servants are to obey the Messenger and adhere to his shariah. That is why the order to follow the Messenger was changed to his obedience. The Messenger’s path of sincerity is the sum total of his shariah—his orders and prohibitions, his mission and his guidance. When one follows the Messenger in his tracks, He in fact obeys God and the Messenger in the shariah. God’s name has been added with the Messenger’s, to show that the obedience of God is one and the same with the obedience of the Messenger. The Messenger’s name was necessary to mention with that of God because the talk is about following his tracks.

Someone has written that the sentence means: Obey God in His Book and obey the Messenger in his sunnah. But what we have written above clearly shows the unsoundness of this explanation. It is obvious that the words, “Obey God and the Messenger,” have been revealed as explanation of the preceding words, “If you love God, then follow me …” Further, this verse shows that the obedience of God and obedience of the Messenger are one; that is why the word “obey,” has not been repeated. Had there been two different things to be followed (the Book, for God; the sunnah for the Messenger), it would have been appropriate to say, ‘Obey God and obey the Messenger,’ as has been said in another verse: O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and the masters of the affair from among you … (). Anyhow, the verse has the same general and particular aspects as the previous one.

… but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers: The ending clause shows that those who disregard this order are unbelievers; the same is the import of other verses obliging the believers not to take the unbelievers as friends.

This clause too shows this verse to be an explanation of the previous one. That verse described that God loves those believers who accept and obey the order to follow the Messenger. This one says that God does not love those “unbelievers” who neglect this order to obey the Messenger.

These verses make the following things clear:

First: Taqiyyah (dissimulation) is allowed in certain circumstances.

Second: The punishment for befriending the unbelievers will not be waived; the sin of disobeying this order will not be forgiven; it is a firmly decreed order.

Third: The Divinely ordained shariah exemplifies the sincerity towards God; and that sincerity exemplifies the love of God. In other words, if we analyze the religion—the sum total of Divine knowledge and faith, the ethical teachings and practical laws, with all their details—it will resolve into sincerity (a sincere servant of God believes that his person, his character and his actions, all belong to God); and on further analysis this sincerity resolves into the love of God.

If we reverse the process and start from the other end, then the love of God constitutes the main ingredient of the sincerity, and the sincerity leads to the shariah.

Looking from another angle, religion resolves into submission, and submission into monotheism.

Fourth: It is disbelief to take the unbelievers for friends. It is a disbelief related to the branches of religion, not to its roots. Other examples are the disbelief of the one who does not pay zakāt, and of the one who does not pray.

It may possibly be explained in another way. The one who befriends an unbeliever, has himself been called unbeliever, because that is the ultimate destination where such a friendship leads to. We have described this theme earlier, and shall further explain it in Chapter 5 (The Table).

Examining Narrations

1. It is written in al-Durr al-manthūr, about the words of God: Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends …: “Ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Hātim have narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: al-Ḥajjāj b. ʿAmr was an ally of Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf and Ibn Abi al-Ḥaqīq and Qays b. Zayd; and they were secretly meeting with some Helpers with a view to seduce them from their religion. (Seeing this) Rifāʿah b. al-Mundhir, ʿAbdullāh b. Jubayr and Saʿd b. Khuthaymah told those Helpers to keep away from those Jews and to be wary of their secret talks, “lest they lead you away from your religion.” But they refused (to listen). Then God revealed: Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends … and Allah has power over all thing.”

Author’s comment: Apparently this tradition has applied the verse to that story. Otherwise, the Qur’an uses the word “unbelievers,” for a wider circle than the People of the Book. If any verse were revealed about that story, it would have been the one forbidding friendship with the Jews and the Christians, not these verses.

2. The tafsīr al-Ṣāfī quotes under the words: except [when] you guard yourselves against [them] …, from al-Iḥtijāj, that the Commander of the faithful said, inter alia, in a tradition: “and He ordered you to practise taqiyyah in your religion; because God says: Be careful, and be careful again, not to expose yourself to perdition, and not to neglect taqiyyah which I have ordered you (to practise); otherwise, you will cause shedding of your blood and the blood of your brethren (as well); will expose your bounties as well as theirs to ruin; and will cause their humiliation at the hands of the enemies of the religion of God, while God has ordered you to exalt them.”
3. al-Ṣādiq said: “The Messenger of God used to say: ‘He has no religion who does not have taqiyyah;’ then he used to say: ‘God says: except [when] you guard yourselves against them for fear from them.’ ” (al-ʿAyyāshī)
4. al-Bāqir said: “Taqiyyah is (allowed) in every matter about which a man falls in predicament; and God has made it lawful to him.” (al-Kāfī)

Author’s comment: There are very many traditions from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt—probably reaching the limit of mutawātir—containing the permission of taqiyyah; and you have already seen how the Qur’anic verses incontestably prove it.

5. Saʿīd b. Yāsar said: “Abū ʿAbdillāh told me: ‘Is religion anything other than love? Verily God, the Mighty, the Great, says: Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you.’ ” (Maʿānī al-akhbār)

Author’s comment: This tradition has been narrated in al-Kāfī from al-Bāqir; also al-Qummī and al-ʿAyyāshī have narrated it in their tafsīrs from the same Imam through al-Hadhdhāʾ; again al-ʿAyyāshī has narrated it in his al-Tafsīr from the same Imam through Burayd and from al-Ṣādiq through Ribʿī.

These traditions support our explanation given in the Commentary.

6. al-Ṣādiq said: “He who disobeys God, does not love Him.” Then he quoted (the following poem):

You disobey Allah and (at the same time) you manifest His love; By my life! this is a strange behavior.

If your love were true, you would have obeyed Him; Verily, the lover obeys his beloved. (Maʿānī al-akhbār)

7. al-Ṣādiq said, inter alia, in a tradition: “And whoever likes to know that God loves him, his action should be in obedience to God and he should follow us. Has he not heard the talk of God, the Mighty, the Great, with His Prophet: Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins …” (al-Kāfī)

Author’s comment: We shall explain how the Imams’ obedience is one and the same with the obedience of the Prophet when writing about the verse: O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and the masters of the affairs from among you … ()

8. ʿAbd b. Ḥamīd has narrated from al-Ḥasan that he said: “The Messenger of God said: ‘Whoever feels an aversion to my sunnah, he is not from me.’ Then he recited this verse: Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you …” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
9. It has been narrated by Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Abū Naʿīm (in his Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ) and al-Hākim, from ʿĀʾishah that she said: “The Messenger of God said: ‘Polytheism is more undetectable than the crawling of an ant on a (smooth) rock in a dark night; and its least (grade) is that one should love something because of (its) injustice and should hate something because of (its) justice; and what is religion except loving and hating in the cause of God? God has said: Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you …’ ” (ibid.)
10. Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, Ibn Ḥabbān and al-Ḥākim have narrated through Abū Rāfiʿ from the Prophet that he said: “I should not find one of you, reclining on his couch, saying—when there comes to him one of my commands, in which I have ordered or prohibited something—‘We do not understand (it); we shall follow (only) what we find in the Book of God.’ ” (ibid.)

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1. Taqiyyah (dissimulation) is the practice of denying or concealing one’s faith under certain circumstances. It is permissible when one is faced with persecution as proven by the verse quoted by the author: … not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith. () (Ed.) ↩︎

2. See Eng. vol. 4. (Ed.) ↩︎

3. “Today” in this verse refers to the day of the Deluge of Noah, not to the Day of Resurrection. (Trans.) ↩︎

4. See Eng. vol. 1 under verses . (Ed.) ↩︎

5. See Eng. vol. 2 (Ed.) ↩︎