The Ruling on Treating a Disbelieving Worker as a Friend

Question:
I have a worker from the Hindu community, and I have him sell to me, and I feed and house him, and I even joke with him because he is an energetic worker. Is this included in showing loyalty to a disbeliever?

Answer:
It is obligatory for you to keep them away, not to bring them in, and to replace them with Muslims. You are not in need, nor is there any dire necessity for the presence of a Hindu worker, or a communist, or a Buddhist, or anyone else, or a Christian. Praise be to Allah, He has made you self-sufficient with the presence of Muslims, so it is obligatory for you to keep them away.
As for whether this is a form of loyalty, there is a distinction: employing them is not loyalty, but it is not permissible; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it.
As for taking him as a friend and a beloved, treating him as a friend; this is a type of loyalty. Loyalty is different from allegiance: loyalty is a sin, and allegiance is disbelief, which is helping them against the Muslims, we seek refuge in Allah.
So loyalty is lower than allegiance. Loyalty is loving them, or giving them something, or being cheerful in their faces, or greeting them first. This is a type of forbidden loyalty. But allegiance is supporting them against the Muslims and helping them against the Muslims. This is apostasy and one of the nullifiers of Islam—we seek refuge in Allah. Yes.