Sūrah al-Mumtaḥinah

Believers! Do not befriend My and your enemies. You extend ties of affection with them, whereas they have denied the truth that has come to you. They drive out the Messenger of God and you merely because you have professed faith in God, your Lord. If you set off to fight for My cause and to seek My pleasure, concealing sending messages of friendship to them even though I know what you conceal and what you reveal, then think what you do? And, in reality, whoever among you who do this have strayed from the straight path.

[Their attitude is that] if they find you, they will become your enemies and raise their hands and voices against you to harm you and only desire that you too become disbelievers.

[Be on guard against them because] neither these familial ties nor your offspring will ever avail you. On the Day of Judgement, God will distance you from one another, and whatever you are doing, God is watching over it.

[If you want to understand, then] in reality you have the best example in Abraham and his companions when they plainly said to their people: “We disown you and those which you worship besides God. We renounce you, and now enmity and aversion has become eternally evident between us and you until you believe in the one God.” – Except for the words that Abraham had said to his father: “I shall definitely pray for your forgiveness though I have no authority from God to do anything for you.” – [Then he and his companions had prayed:] “Lord! In You we have put our trust; to You we turn, and to You alone we shall return. Lord! Do not try us through these disbelievers and forgive us our Lord! Indeed, You are the Mighty, the very Wise.”

Certainly, there is an excellent example for you in these people, for everyone [among you] who has hope in God and the Last Day. [Follow this example] and [remember that] those who show aversion, God does not care about them the slightest because God is self-sufficient and has all worthy attributes.

[If you adhere to faith,] it may well be that God instil friendship between you and those among these disbelievers [and also give them the urge to accept faith] who you hold as enemies [today]. God is Powerful and God is Forgiving and Ever-Merciful.

God does not forbid you to do good and be just to those who have neither waged war against you in the matter of religion nor driven you out of your homes. Indeed, God likes the just.

What God forbids you is to make friends with those who have fought against you on account of your religion and have driven you out of your homes and helped others in driving you out. [He forbids you from this and warns you that] those who make friends with such people, it is they who are the wrongdoers.

Believers! [It is a requisite of this attitude that] when Muslim women migrate to you, evaluate them. – God is already well aware of their faith. – [But you must evaluate them.] Then if you come to know that they are believers, do not send them back to these disbelievers; neither are they lawful for them, nor are these disbelievers lawful for them. Hand back to the disbelievers whatever they have spent on them. And it is no offence for you to marry such women, provided you give them their dowers. And do not also keep the chastity of disbelieving women in your possession, and demand the dowers you have given them and let the disbelievers also demand the dowers they gave. This is the judgement of God that He is passing between you. And God is All-Knowing and Wise.

And if [they do not agree and] some portion of your wives’ dowers remains with the disbelievers, then whenever you have the opportunity pay those whose wives have left them whatever they have spent on them. And [while dealing with these enemies also] keep fearing God in whom you have professed faith.

Similarly, O Prophet! When believing women come to you to make a pledge [and promise] that they will serve no other deity besides God, will commit neither theft nor adultery, nor kill their children, nor fabricate any false allegation regarding what is between their hands and feet and will not disobey you in any matter of goodness, accept their pledge and seek God’s forgiveness for them. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Ever-Merciful.¹

Believers! Similarly, do not befriend those who have incurred the wrath of God. Such people also despair of the life to come just as these disbelievers despair of the buried dead being raised to life.