Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Question:

As Salaamu Alaikum,

Can you please explain about al wala wal bara? Is it haram to love a non muslim? Should muslims hate non muslims?

Answer:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh

Sympathy and consideration for, and kindness to, non-Muslims on humanitarian grounds are liked by Allah . On the individual level, the Holy Qur’ān enjoins kindness towards non-Muslims, telling the believers that even if their parents are non-Muslims, unless they call one to set up partners with Allah they must be obeyed and treated kindly in this world. Allah Most High says: And if they press you to associate anything with Me of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them; but treat them well in this world. (31:15)

Sūrat al-Mumtaḥinah, Āyah 8, gives a general command about the treatment of non-Muslims: ‘Allah does not forbid you, regarding those who have not fought you in matters of religion or driven you out of your homes, to show them kindness and deal with them justly.’ (60:8)

This order to the Muslims as individuals to be kind to non-Muslims also includes sympathy on the community level. The Madīnan era of the Holy Prophet’s life is full of instances that illustrate this. Imam Bukhārī narrates in several places an incident concerning Sayyidatunā Asmā’ bint Abī Bakr . Her mother, who was a pagan, came to Madīnah to ask her daughter for financial assistance. When Asmā’ asked the Messenger of Allah what to do, he told her: ‘Treat your mother well.’

It is clear that the pagans of Makkah were obstinate in their enmity towards the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him). They missed no opportunity to vex him and his Companions for as long as they remained in Makkah. They even cut off the Holy Prophet’s and other Muslims’ food supply while they were besieged in the ravine of Abū Ṭalib, forcing them to stay alive by eating leaves and leather. However, after the Messenger of Allah had migrated to Madīnah, the people of Makkah were afflicted by a famine. Now it was their turn to be forced to suck on leather and suchlike in order to survive. According to some commentaries, the introductory Āyāt of Sūrat al-Dukhān refer to those days of hardship. On that occasion, the Messenger of Allah not only prayed to Allah to remove the famine; according to ‘Allāmah al-Sarakhsī , he even sent the generous sum of five hundred gold coins to Abū Sufyān, to be divided amongst the poor and needy residents of Makkah.

In addition, he sent Ajwā dates (a superior variety found in Madīnah) to Abū Sufyān as a gift, and asked him to send some leather. According to Dr. Hamidullah, one reason why the Messenger of Allah made this request is that the Makkans were probably unable to sell their wares because of a blockade of the route towards Syria, and the Messenger of Allah apprehended that Abū Sufyān’s stock of leather might become spoiled. He then sent the dates as a price for the leather, to meet Abū Sufyān’s nutritional needs during the days of the famine.

Thumāmah ibn Uthāl, a chieftain from Yamāmah, was captured and brought to Madīnah as a prisoner, but the Messenger of Allah set him free. Having seen for himself the immaculate ways of Allah’s Messenger , he inclined towards Islam, and upon being freed he became a Muslim. In those days a large proportion of the grains consumed in Makkah came from Yamāmah. Sayyidunā Thumāmah decreed that from then on, the people of Makkah were not to receive a single grain from Yamāmah. This decree was a major source of concern for the people of Makkah. They found themselves compelled to write to the Messenger of Allah, humbly requesting him to plead for them with Sayyidunā Thumāmah. The Messenger of Allah then told him not to cut off the food supply to Makkah. It was thanks to his intervention that the food supply was restored.

It is hard to imagine that the history of mankind can have seen a greater example of sympathy, commiseration and kindness than on the day on which Makkah was conquered. The Messenger of Allah had full power over those people who had thirsted for his blood and caused him and his Companions immense suffering year after year. But in his hour of triumph, despite having complete power over them, he forgave them all, telling them: ‘Today no reproach shall befall you. Go! You all are free.’

Through incidents like these, he showed that Muslims should not harbour aversion to non-Muslims on personal grounds. It is their false beliefs and the corruption arising from them that Muslims abhor. As human beings they should be treated with sympathy and kindness. Muslims should wish them well and, prompted by this goodwill, should present the teachings of Islam to them.

Moreover, the Holy Qur’ān not only permits but encourages cooperation with non-Muslims in works of goodness: Aid one another in goodness and piety, and do not aid one another in sin and enmity. (5:2) The context in which Allah Most High states this principle relates to transgression against non-Muslims. The whole of this Āyah reads as follows: And let not your loathing for a people who once stopped your going to the Holy Mosque induce you to transgress. Aid one another in goodness and piety, and do not aid one another in sin and enmity. And fear Allah; truly Allah is Severe in Punishment. (5:2) This includes the command to assist non-Muslims in good deeds. If a nonMuslim has any plan to benefit mankind at large, and this plan does not contain anything that contradicts the Islamic Sharī‘ah or the interests of the Muslims, then it is not merely permissible for Muslims to support such a plan, but actually desirable.

(Islam and Politics Pg 347-353)

And Allah Knows best

Mufti Waheeb Saiyed

2/6/2022