Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 51–56

5. Al-Maaida · The Table

Madinan120 verses

۞ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

5:51O you who have faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for allies: they are allies of each other. Any of you who allies with them is indeed one of them. Indeed Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.12

فَتَرَى ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌۭ يُسَٰرِعُونَ فِيهِمْ يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَىٰٓ أَن تُصِيبَنَا دَآئِرَةٌۭ ۚ فَعَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِٱلْفَتْحِ أَوْ أَمْرٍۢ مِّنْ عِندِهِۦ فَيُصْبِحُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَسَرُّوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ نَٰدِمِينَ

5:52Yet you see those in whose hearts is a sickness rushing to them, saying, ‘We fear lest a turn of fortune should visit us.’ Maybe Allah will bring about a victory, or a command from Him, and then they will be regretful for what they kept secret in their hearts,3

وَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَهَٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ ۙ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ ۚ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَٰلُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ خَٰسِرِينَ

5:53and the faithful will say, ‘Are these the ones who swore by Allah with solemn oaths that they were with you?!’ Their works have failed, and they have become losers.

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِى ٱللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍۢ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُۥٓ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ يُجَٰهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَآئِمٍۢ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

5:54O you who have faith! Should any of you desert his religion, Allah will soon bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, [who will be] humble towards the faithful, stern towards the faithless, waging jihad in the way of Allah, not fearing the blame of any blamer. That is Allah’s grace, which He grants to whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-bounteous, all-knowing.4

إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَٰكِعُونَ

5:55Your guardian is only Allah, His Apostle, and the faithful who maintain the prayer and give the zakat while bowing down.

وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ ٱللَّهِ هُمُ ٱلْغَٰلِبُونَ

5:56Whoever takes for his guardians Allah, His Apostle and the faithful [should know that] the confederates of Allah are indeed the victorious.

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

Verse 51

1.The Holy Quran has, in this verse and in the last verse of this page forbidden friendship with Jews, Christians and People of the book who make fun and are infidels. And in between the ayat has announced the characteristics of hypocrites and stated that the friendship of infidels makes the people apostates and Allah does not care for their apostasy. He can bring forth such community in their place who are bearer of good attributes, believers of Allah, lovers of Allah, beloved of Allah, humble before the believers, severe with the unbelievers, who fight in the way of Allah and do not care of sarcasm of anyone. And this community is competent to make or accept as their chief and guardian whom Allah has settled as Vali, who pays the poor-rate in Ruku and those who believe in him to be the guardian. It is the destiny of such community that they would be victors and successful. Most commentators have confessed that this community denotes the highly venerable personality of Ali (a.s.) who possessed respect and had achieved a testimonial of the true believer and lover of Allah from the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) in Khyber and his character is very humble towards the believers of Allah. He has fought in the way of Allah and has also fought in Jamal and Siffeen and there he expected insinuation from people but he did not care. Fakhruddin Razi etc. has agreed that this ayat is revealed about Ali (a.s.) but considered Vali to mean friend etc. while only one word Vali is used for Allah, the Prophet (s.a.) and Ali (a.s.) and it is clear that the same word cannot be used in different meanings.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. 1

    It denotes those Jews and Christians who live among the believers; or it implies the friendship of Jews and Christians on the basis of their religion. Otherwise dealing with them in worldly matters is not disallowed.

  2. 2

    Though historically there are innumerable differences between the Jews and Christians, and there had been a lot of bloodshed between them but they are united against the Muslims as seen in the present world.

  3. 3

    The hypocrites remain attached to the infidels because there is always the fear that they shall be victorious. But when the Muslims are victorious or there is some other affair and their hypocrisy is revealed, they are very shameful of it We see all types of such power worshipping people in the present age, who ultimately are the recipients of regret and despair and nothing else.

  4. 4

    Islam has compared the activities of the hypocrites to apostasy, that Allah does not care for them. Then Allah mentions the five qualities of the true believer.

  5. Benefit

    ‘Fath’ is victory in the battlefield and Amr min allah is success in economic, intellectual and social fronts. Trusting the disbelievers is wrong in all circumstances and the historical experiences of it is one extremely bitter.