Does befriending disbelievers for the sake of da'wah fall under taking them as awliya (close friends of Allah)?
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We said that believers do not take disbelievers as awliya (close friends of Allah), but in the case of da'wah, meaning how one calls people, how does a person approach them?
The Shaykh : Taking them as awliya (close friends of Allah) means supporting them, and this is what is meant by it. It does not mean approaching them to call them to Islam. Do we not give them from the zakah (the obligatory alms)? We give them money so that you may befriend them for the sake of Islam. I do not approach him because I personally love to be close to him; I approach him so that he may be brought closer to Islam. Here, I feel that I am his wali (close friend of Allah) in reality, whereas he is not the wali. So, whoever takes a Christian, or a disbeliever in general, as a wali, supporting him, helping him, and backing him, that is the one who takes him as a wali.
The Shaykh : Taking them as awliya (close friends of Allah) means supporting them, and this is what is meant by it. It does not mean approaching them to call them to Islam. Do we not give them from the zakah (the obligatory alms)? We give them money so that you may befriend them for the sake of Islam. I do not approach him because I personally love to be close to him; I approach him so that he may be brought closer to Islam. Here, I feel that I am his wali (close friend of Allah) in reality, whereas he is not the wali. So, whoever takes a Christian, or a disbeliever in general, as a wali, supporting him, helping him, and backing him, that is the one who takes him as a wali.