How to reconcile the verses that prohibit taking disbelievers as awliya (close friends of Allah) with the verses that encourage being kind to them?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. We often read in the verses of the Qur'an the prohibition against taking disbelievers as awliya (close friends of Allah). What does this mean? And how do we reconcile this with the verses that encourage us to be kind to them?
Answer:
My brother, the prohibition against taking disbelievers as awliya (close friends of Allah) means that you do not love them, for wilayah (friendship) is love. Do not love them, for they are the enemies of Allah. Likewise, do not support them, for muwalaah (allying) is support and love. As for doing good to those who have done good to us, that falls under the category of reciprocation, not love. It is a matter of reciprocation: you do good to whoever has done good to you, even if they are disbelievers. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. We often read in the verses of the Qur'an the prohibition against taking disbelievers as awliya (close friends of Allah). What does this mean? And how do we reconcile this with the verses that encourage us to be kind to them?
Answer:
My brother, the prohibition against taking disbelievers as awliya (close friends of Allah) means that you do not love them, for wilayah (friendship) is love. Do not love them, for they are the enemies of Allah. Likewise, do not support them, for muwalaah (allying) is support and love. As for doing good to those who have done good to us, that falls under the category of reciprocation, not love. It is a matter of reciprocation: you do good to whoever has done good to you, even if they are disbelievers. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [3280- 4717] كيف يوفق بين الآيات التي تنهى عن اتخاذ الكفار أولياء وبين الآيات التي تحث على البر بهم؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.