How do we reconcile the statement: “The Christians are disbelievers and they are the worst of the earth” with the saying of Allah: “And you will find the nearest to them in affection are those who believe”?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: How do we reconcile these two matters? The first is what you mentioned, may Allah preserve you, that the Christians and the polytheists are disbelievers and they are the worst of creation, abiding eternally in the torment of Hellfire. And the second is His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:82] where He said, "And you will surely find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe..."
Answer:
This is the one who believed. Complete the verses, my brother. Is it not[Al-Ma'idah 5:82] and when they hear, pay attention [Al-Ma'idah 5:83] "We believe." We believe in whom?
By this Messenger? So write us with the witnesses? These are the ones who are the nearest of people in affection to the believers, namely those who believed from among the People of the Book. As for those who did not believe, they are the most hostile of people. Now, do you see the hostility of the Christians toward the Muslims and how they deceive the Muslims? This is specific to those who believed from among the People of the Book. You do not complete the verses, my brothers. How many times have I told you? Do not take part of a verse and cut off the rest. Complete it. Complete the verse or the verses that are connected to one another. Know the context. This is necessary. Yes, one does not cut off part of a verse and say, “This is evidence.” No, that is not permissible. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: How do we reconcile these two matters? The first is what you mentioned, may Allah preserve you, that the Christians and the polytheists are disbelievers and they are the worst of creation, abiding eternally in the torment of Hellfire. And the second is His saying, the Exalted:
You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and
لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَدَاوَةً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالَّذِينَAnswer:
This is the one who believed. Complete the verses, my brother. Is it not
and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.
وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُم مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّا نَصَارَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَانًا وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَAnd when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, "Our Lord
وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ تَرَىٰ أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَاBy this Messenger? So write us with the witnesses? These are the ones who are the nearest of people in affection to the believers, namely those who believed from among the People of the Book. As for those who did not believe, they are the most hostile of people. Now, do you see the hostility of the Christians toward the Muslims and how they deceive the Muslims? This is specific to those who believed from among the People of the Book. You do not complete the verses, my brothers. How many times have I told you? Do not take part of a verse and cut off the rest. Complete it. Complete the verse or the verses that are connected to one another. Know the context. This is necessary. Yes, one does not cut off part of a verse and say, “This is evidence.” No, that is not permissible. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [4392- 4717] كيف نوفق بين قول:( النصارى كفار وهم شرالبرية)وقول الله:(ولتجدن أقربهم مودة للذين آمنوا) — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.