Love and Hate in Islam
Quran 60:4
Indeed, there is for you a good example in Ibrahim and those with him when they said to their people: Surely we are clear of you and of what you serve besides Allah; we declare ourselves to be clear of you, and enmity and hatred have appeared between us and you forever until you believe in Allah alone-- but not in what Ibrahim said to his father: I would certainly ask forgiveness for you, and I do not control for you aught from Allah-- Our Lord! on Thee do we rely, and to Thee do we turn, and to Thee is the eventual coming:
Quran 60:4
Tafsir of Verse
Harshness
Allah declares that without doubt, Muhammad is truly His Messenger,
(Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.) and this quality includes every beautiful description. Allah praises the Companions of the Messenger , may Allah be pleased with them all,
(And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, merciful among themselves.) just as He, the Exalted and Most Honored, said in another Ayah,
(Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers.)(5:54) This is the description of the believers; harsh with the disbelievers, merciful and kind to the believers, angry without smiling before the disbelievers, smiling and beaming with pleasure before his believing brother. Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,
(O you who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you.) (9:123) The Prophet said,
(The parable of the believers in their kindness and mercy for each other, is that of the body: when one of its organs falls ill, the rest of the body responds with fever and sleeplessness.) The Prophet also said,
(A believer to another believer is like a building whose different parts enforce each other.)
(when they said to their people: "Verily we are free from you...) meaning, `we disown you,
(and whatever you worship besides Allah: we rejected you,) meaning, `we disbelieve in your religion and way,'
(and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred forever) meaning, `Animosity and enmity have appeared between us and you from now and as long as you remain on your disbelief; we will always disown you and hate you,'
(until you believe in Allah alone,) meaning, `unless, and until, you worship Allah alone without partners and disbelieve in the idols and rivals that you worship besides Him.' Allah's statement,
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, Malik, and at-Tirmidhi).
"The strongest bond of faith is loyalty for the sake of Allah and opposition for His sake, love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake
'offer counsel to every Muslim and to steer clear of every disbeliever. '[1]
"The strongest bond of faith is love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake."[1]
Shariat can be fostered through the sword.
Kufr and Islam are opposed to each other. The progress of one is possible only at the expense of the other and co-existences between these two contradictory faiths in unthinkable.
The honor of Islam lies in insulting kufr and kafirs. One who respects kafirs, dishonors the Muslims. To respect them does not merely mean honouring them and assigning them a seat of honor in any assembly, but it also implies keeping company with them or showing considerations to them. They should be kept at an arm's length like dogs. ... If some worldly business cannot be performed without them, in that case only a minimum of contact should be established with them but without taking them into confidence. The highest Islamic sentiment asserts that it is better to forego that worldly business and that no relationship should be established with the kafirs.
The real purpose in levying jizya on them is to humiliate them to such an extent that, on account of fear of jizya, they may not be able to dress well and to live in grandeur. They should constantly remain terrified and trembling. It is intended to hold them under contempt and to uphold the honor and might of Islam.
. . .
Even if they give you some of your rights by treating you nicely, they do not give Allaah His rights and they do not give the Qur’aan its rights and they do not give our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) his rights. The rights of Allaah and His Book and His Prophet are more important than our personal rights. Remember this, for this is one of the things that will help you to hate them and regard them as enemies until they believe in Allaah alone, as mentioned in the aayah quoted above (interpretation of the meaning):...[quotes Quran 60:4 below]
From the above, you will see that loving a kaafir is a serious matter, because it goes against one of the most important principles of Tawheed, which is loving and being loyal towards the believers, and disavowing and rejecting the disbelievers.
AL-WALA' WAL-BARA' IN ISLAM
Love is the source of wala' and hate is the source of bara'; it is by this that both the heart and the hand are moved to act. Wala' inspires intimacy, concern and help. Bara' provokes obstruction, enmity and rejection. Wala' and Bara' are both related to the declaration of faith and constitute essential elements in it. The evidence of this from the Qur'an and the Sunnah is considerable.
As for the Qur'an, consider the following ayat: "Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoever does this has no connection with Allah unless you are guarding yourselves against them as a precaution. Allah bids you to beware (only) of Himself. And to Allah is the journeying." [3:28]
And He says: "Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind), If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your wrong actions. Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate. Say, Obey Allah and the Messenger. And If they turn away, then surely Allah does not love the disbelievers." [3:31-32]
Speaking of the aims of the enemies of Allah, He says: "They long for you to disbelieve even as they disbelieve, so that you may be the same (as them). so do not choose friends from among them until they go out in the way of Allah." [4:89]
And also: "O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends of one another. And whoever of you takes them for friends is (one) of them. Surely Allah does not guide wrongdoing people." [5:51]
And lastly: "O you who believe! Whoever of you becomes a rebel against his deen, (know that in his place) Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble towards the believers, harsh towards the disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and not fearing the blame of any blamer." [5:54]
We will mention only a few of the many hadith and reports of the Companions on this subject. Imam Ahmad reports from Jarir ibn Abdullah that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made him swear an oath to 'offer counsel to every Muslim and to steer clear of every disbeliever.' (1) Ibn Shayba reports that the Prophet said, "The strongest bond of faith is love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake." (2) Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet said, "The strongest bond of faith is loyalty for the sake of Allah and opposition for His sake, love for the sake of Allah and enmity for His sake." (3)
Ibn Abbas is also reported to have said, "Whoever loves for the sake of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah, and whoever seals a friendship for His sake, or declares an enmity for His sake, will receive, because of this, the protection of Allah. No one may taste true faith except by this, even if his prayers and fasts are many. People have come to build their relationships around the concerns of the world, but it will not benefit them in any way." (4)
Shaykh Sulaiman ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab explained the words of Ibn Abbas by saying that the meaning of 'to seal a friendship for the sake of Allah' indicates the obligation of establishing relationships of love and trust for His sake; this is friendship for the sake of Allah. It also indicates that simple affection is not enough here; indeed what is meant is a love based upon alliance. This entails assistance, honour, and respect. It means being with those whom you love both in word and deed.
As for 'enmity for the sake of Allah', it includes the obligation to declare enmity for His sake: opposition for the sake of Allah. it is to declare opposition in deed, to take up arms against His enemies, to shun them, and to stay far from them both in word and deed. This proves that simple opposition of the spirit is not enough, and that it must be a complete honouring of your commitment, for Allah says: "There is a good example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they told their people: 'Surely we disassociate ourselves from you and all that you worship beside Allah. We have done with you. And there has arisen between us and you enmity and hate for ever until you believe in Allah only'." [60:4] (5)
All this leads us to conclude that loyalty for the sake of Allah really means to love Allah and to come to the assistance of His deen; it is to love those who are obedient to Him and to come to their help. Opposition for the sake of Allah is to feel anger at the enemies of Allah and to struggle against them. Because of this Allah has called the first group the "party of Allah" and the second the "party of Satan": "Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are false deities. They bring them out of light into darkness. Such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein." [2:257]
And Allah says: "Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the friends of Satan. Surely Satan's strategy is always weak." [4:76]
It is well known that Allah has never sent a Prophet on His mission without also raising up opponents against him. Allah says: "Thus have We appointed for every prophet an adversary - devils from mankind and the jinn who inspire in one another plausible words that are deceiving." [6:112] It may be that opponents of Divine Unity possess some learning, a part of Revelation, and proof. As Allah says: "And when their Messengers brought them clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty), they exulted in the knowledge which they (themselves) possessed. And that which they had become accustomed to mock befell them." [40:83]
It is the obligation of every Muslim to learn from Allah's deen whatever may serve as a weapon for him in the struggle against the friends of Satan. In this he should have no fear and no misgivings, since the devil's strategy is always weak. Allah says: "And surely that Our host would be the victors." [37:173] To the host of Allah shall be the victory in discussion and in debate, as in war and strife. In this way an ordinary man from the party of the One God will overcome a thousand scholars of the disbelievers. (6)
If the aim of the enemies of Islam - whether they are atheists or Jews, or Christians or modernists, or Zionists or Communists - is the emasulation of the Aqeedah of the Muslims, and the erosion of their unique character in order to make them 'the ass of the chosen people', (as it is put in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion), then the urgency of this issue should become clear to every Muslim.
We should all take heed, for ourselves and for those who are with us, so that we may warn all the Muslims who are slipping away into the abyss of apostasy, warn them of the treacherous call of the disbelievers to what they call 'brotherhood and equality', warn them of the false claim that religion is for Allah but that nationhood is for the masses. We will return to this point in more detail later.
For the present, the evidence is clear from the Qur'an and the Sunnah that allegiance is demanded by the declaration of faith since this is an essential part of its meaning.
As Ibn Taimiya has said, "The declaration of faith, there is no god but Allah, requires you to love only for the sake of Allah, to hate only for the sake of Allah, to ally yourself only for the sake of Allah, to declare enmity only for the sake of Allah; it requires you to love what Allah loves and to hate what Allah hates."
Additional References:-
Qualities of the Faithful Believers and Their Refinement
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Hate
Allah the Exalted says to His faithful servants, whom He commanded to disown the disbelievers, to be enemies with them, and to distant themselves and separate from them:
(Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him,) meaning, his followers who believed in him,
The Good Example of Ibrahim and His Followers, when They disowned Their Disbelieving People
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Hadith
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
If Allah has loved a servant [of His] He calls Gabriel (on whom be peace) and says: I love So-and-so, therefore love him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: So Gabriel loves him. Then he (Gabriel) calls out in heaven, saying: Allah loves So-and-so, therefore love him. And the inhabitants of heaven love him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: Then acceptance is established for him on earth. And if Allah has abhorred a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel and says: I abhor So-and-so, therefore abhor him. So Gabriel abhors him. Then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Allah abhors So-and-so, therefore abhor him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: So they abhor him, and abhorrence is established for him on earth.
Hadith Qudsi 24
Narrated AbuUmamah:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If anyone loves for Allah's sake, hates for Allah's sake, gives for Allah's sake and withholds for Allah's sake, he will have perfect faith.
Sunan Abu Dawud 40:4664
Narrated AbuDharr:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The best of the actions is to love for the sake of Allah and to hate for the sake of Allah.
Sunan Abu Dawud 40:4582
In the following hadith (classed by Al-Albani as "hassan", meaning "good") Ibn Abbas reports that Muhammad said,
At-Tabarani, al-Kabir., as-Suyuti, al-Jami' as-Saghir, 1/69
Imam Ahmad reports from Jarir ibn Abdullah that Muhammad made him swear an oath to
Imam Ahmad Hadith
Ibn Shayba reports that Muhammad said,
Ibn Shayba hadith
Narrated AbuHurayrah:
Suhayl ibn AbuSalih said: I went out with my father to Syria. The people passed by the cloisters in which there were Christians and began to salute them. My father said: Do not give them salutation first, for AbuHurayrah reported the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) as saying: Do not salute them (Jews and Christians) first, and when you meet them on the road, force them to go to the narrowest part of it.
Sunan Abu Dawud 41:5186, See also: Sahih Muslim 26:5389 and Sahih Muslim 26:5390
Scholars
Ibn Taymiyya
"The declaration of faith, there is no god but Allah, requires you to love only for the sake of Allah, to hate only for the sake of Allah, to ally yourself only for the sake of Allah, to declare enmity only for the sake of Allah; it requires you to love what Allah loves and to hate what Allah hates[1]
Ibn Taimiya, al-Ihtijaj bil-Qadar, p.62
Ibn Abbas
"Whoever loves for the sake of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah, and whoever seals a friendship for His sake, or declares an enmity for His sake, will receive, because of this, the protection of Allah. No one may taste true faith except by this, even if his prayers and fasts are many. People have come to build their relationships around the concerns of the world, but it will not benefit them in any way.[1]
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jami' al-Ulum wal Hikam, p.30
Sheikh Hamad Ben Ateeq
In the Book of Allah (Qur'an) there is no ruling more apparent and significantthan the ruling of al- Wala' Wal Bara', after the requirement of Tawhid and the prohibition of its opposite
An-Najaat wal-Fakak, p.14
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Waha
Islam of a man can never be accepted, even if he abandons polytheism, unless he shows enmity towards the disbelievers and polytheists, as Allah says in Surat al-Muja'dilah, verse: 22, You will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred (people)
Majmuat at-Tawhid, p.19
Ahmad Sirhindi
Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624) was an Islamic scholar and a prominent Sufi. He is regarded as having rejuvenated Islam, due to which he is commonly called "Mujadid Alf Thani", meaning "reviver of the second millennium".
Whenever a Jew is killed, it is for the benefit of Islam.[2]
Recent Fatwas
With regard to non-Muslims, the Muslim should disavow himself of them, and he should not feel any love in his heart towards them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):...[quotes Quran 60:1 below]
Something else that will help you to stop mixing with non-Muslims is to remember that these kaafirs – even though they may have good manners and some good qualities – also do a number of seriously wrong things, any one of which is sufficient to nullify any good deeds that they may do. Among these evil things is the belief of the Christians – for example – that God is one of three (trinity), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):...[quotes Quran 5:73 below]
Being friends with non-Muslims
Shaykh Saleh Munajid, Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 11793
The belief in al-wala’ wa’l-bara’ (loyalty and friendship vs. disavowal and enmity) is one of the most important basic principles of Islam. Just as faith increases and decreases, so too people vary in the extent to which they adhere to this important principle, and their adherence to it increases and decreases. But if this principle is destroyed completely in a person’s heart and he does not do what it implies, this means that faith has been destroyed entirely as well, and faith is the basis on which he loves the close friends of Allaah and hates His enemies. This principle is indicated by a number of verses in the Book of Allaah and ahaadeeth from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These include the following:...[quotes Quran 58:22, Quran 4:144, Quran 5:51, Quran 3:118, Muslim 1817, Bukhari 415, Muslim 33, below]
There are many such reports, which indicates that it is haraam to take the kaafirs as close friends and to love them. This friendship may take many forms, such as approving of their kufr, mixing with them and being friendly towards them, living with them, taking them as close friends, loving them, preferring them to the believers, referring to their laws for judgement and so on. See question no. 2179.
Can he pray for his Christian friend to be healed?
Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 47322
Dr. Muhammad Saeed Al-Qahtaani
Translated by: Omar Johnstone .
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It also requires you to ally yourself to the Muslims wherever you find them and to oppose the disbelievers even if they are your closest kin.
Dr. Muhammad Saeed Al-Qahtaani - Al-Wala’ Wa’l-Bara’ in Islam - Translated by: Omar Johnstone
Excerpted from Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi, Muslim Revivalist Movements in Northern India in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Agra, Lucknow: Agra University, Balkrishna Book Co., 1965), pp.247-50; and Yohanan Friedmann, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi: An Outline of His Thought and a Study of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity (Montreal, Quebec: McGill University, Institute of Islamic Studies, 1971), pp. 73-74.
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