The Meaning of Affection and Fair Dealing with Disbelievers in the Verse from Surat al-Mumtahanah

Question:
The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. I hope you will clarify the following. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says in Surat al-Mumtahanah: , . Our question regarding this is: What is the meaning of affection (mawaddah)? How is it to be? Is the verse from His saying to be taken at its apparent meaning? And how do we deal with them justly? Is this only for the weak and women? And do the Christian contractors who work here in this country fall under this?

Answer:
The answer to this is from two aspects. The first aspect: As for His saying, the Exalted, , this is a promise from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, because these people will submit and enter into Islam, and disbelief will be removed from them, so they will then be among the Muslims. And what Allah promised has occurred, for some of them have embraced Islam, and their Islam was good. As for the second aspect, which is in His saying , this means that it is permissible for us to reward the disbeliever according to the extent of his kindness. If he does something of good for the Muslims, he is rewarded for it according to the extent of his kindness. The Muslim is noble and does not reciprocate kindness with anything but kindness. This is among the noble morals of Islam, which is reciprocating kindness with kindness. But this does not mean affection in the hearts. No, if the disbeliever is kind to us, we do not love him with our hearts, but we reward him for the kindness he has shown us, so that he may not have a hand over us, and so that he may not have a favor over us. If we reward him and give him his due for what he did for us, he will not have a hand over us, because we have rewarded him and given him in exchange for what he gave us. This is in worldly dealings, in worldly dealings only. As for religion, it is not permissible for us to take the disbelievers as allies, even if they are kind to us. We do not take them as allies in the sense of loving them. Love is only for the believers. As for the disbelievers, we hate them, but our hatred of them does not lead us to not reward them for their kindness if they are kind to us in a worldly manner and do us some benefit or good. We reward them for that. Just as Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said regarding the parents, as He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: . It is obligatory for the son to be kind to his disbelieving father and to be dutiful to him by benefiting him in this world and providing for him with food and drink, because he is his father. So, kindness to the father, even if he is a disbeliever, is required. This is required of the son, but he does not obey him in disobedience to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, nor does he follow him in his religion. Rather, he follows Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So he is kind to his disbelieving father, but he follows the religion of truth, not the religion of the father if it is not upon truth. He treats them with kindness in this world and follows the path of those who turn to me. And when the mother of Asma’ bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq came, and she was a disbeliever, her mother was a disbeliever. She came seeking help from her daughter in Madinah after the truce that occurred between the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the polytheists at Hudaybiyyah. This woman came to her daughter Asma’ (may Allah be pleased with her) seeking help from her. So Asma’ (may Allah be pleased with her) sought a ruling from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: My mother has come, and she is desiring, meaning hoping for, a gift. Should I maintain ties with her? He said (peace and blessings be upon him): . So he ordered her to maintain ties with her mother, even though she was a disbeliever. This is from the aspect of worldly dealings only. As for religious dealings, we do not love them at all as long as they remain in disbelief. . So love is only for the people of faith. As for reciprocity in worldly matters, there is no harm in rewarding the one who is kind to us, even if he is a disbeliever. Just as our hatred of them does not lead us to wrong them or transgress against them without right. He, the Exalted, said: . So we must be just in the rights of the disbeliever and the Muslim in judgments and disputes, and not transgress against them without right. Rather, we establish justice with them and do not wrong them in any of their worldly rights. If they dispute among themselves or seek our judgment, we judge between them with justice, and that they be judged with equity. This is what must be known regarding these verses. That they are in worldly matters and not in matters of the hearts and love. Yes.