1. Yaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa tattakhizoo 'aduwwee wa 'aduwaakum awliyaaa'a tulqoona ilaihim bilmawaddati wa qad kafaroo bima jaaa'akum minal haqq, yukhrijoonar Rasoola wa iyyaakum an tu'minoo billaahi rabbikum in kuntum kharajtum jihaadan fee sabeelee wabtighaaa'a mardaatee; tusirroona ilaihim bilma waddati wa ana a'alamu bimaaa akhfaitum wa maaa a'lantum; wa many yaf'alhu minkum faqad dalla sawaaa'as sabeel
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِمَا جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۙ أَنْ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ رَبِّكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ خَرَجْتُمْ جِهَادًا فِي سَبِيلِي وَابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاتِي ۚ تُسِرُّونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِمَا أَخْفَيْتُمْ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُمْ ۚ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْهُ مِنْكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيلِ
O ye who believe! Take not my enemies and yours as friends (or protectors),- offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes), (simply) because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does this has strayed from the Straight Path.Recitation by Mishary Al-Alfasy
In verse 10 of this Surah it has been enjoined that the women who emigrate to
dar al-Islam (the Islamic State) and claim to be Muslims, should be examined
hence the title Al-Mumtahinah. The word is pronounced both as mumtahinah and as
mumtahanah, the meaning according to the first pronunciation being "the Surah
which examines", and according to the second, "the woman who is examined."
Period of Revelation
The Surah deals with two incidents,
the time of the occurrence of which is well known historically. The first
relates to Hadrat Hatib bin Abz Balta'a, who, a little before the conquest of
Makkah, had sent a secret letter to the Quraish chiefs informing them of the
Holy Prophet's intention to attack them. The second relates to the Muslim women,
who had started emigrating from Makkah to Madinah, after the conclusion of the
Truce of Hudaibiyah, and the problem arose whether they also were to be returned
to the disbelievers, like the Muslim men, according to the conditions of the
Truce. The mention of these two things absolutely determines that this Surah
came down during the interval between the Truce of Hudaibiyah and the Conquest
of Makkah. Besides, there is a third thing also that has been mentioned at the
end of the Surah to the effect; What should the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
Allah's peace) make the women to pledge when they come to take the oath of
allegiance before him as believers?About this part also the guess is that this
too was sent down some time before the conquest of Makkah, for after this
conquest a large number of the Quraish women, like their men, were going to
enter Islam simultaneously and had to be administered the oath of allegiance
collectively.
Theme and Topics
This Surah has three
parts;
The first part consists of vv. 1-9, and the concluding verse 13
also relates to it. In this strong exception has been taken to the act of Hadrat
Hatib bin Abi Balta'a in that he had tried to inform the enemy of a very
important war secret of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) only for
the sake of safe guarding his family. This would have caused great bloodshed at
the conquest of Makkah had it not been made ineffective in time. It would have
cost the Muslims many precious lives; many of the Quraish would have been
killed, who were to render great services to Islam afterward; the gains which
were to accrue from conquering Makkah peacefully would have been lost, and all
these serious losses would have resulted only because one of the Muslims had
wanted to safeguard his family from the dangers of war. Administering a severe
warning at this blunder Allah has taught the believers the lesson that no
believer should, under any circumstances and for any motive, have relations of
love and friendship with the disbelievers, who are actively hostile to Islam,
and a believer should refrain from everything which might be helpful to them in
the conflict between Islam and disbelief. However, there is no harm in dealing
kindly and justly with those disbelievers, who may not be practically engaged in
hostile activities against Islam and persecution of the Muslims.
The
second part consists of vv. 10-11. In this a social problem has been settled,
which was agitating the minds at that time. There were many Muslim women in
Makkah, whose husbands were pagans, but they were emigrating and reaching
Madinah somehow. Likewise, there were many Muslim men in Madinah, whose wives
were pagans and had been left behind in Makkah. The question arose whether the
marriage bond between them continued to be valid or not. Allah settled this
problem for ever, saying that the pagan husband is not lawful for the Muslim
women, nor the pagan wife lawful for the Muslim husband. This decision leads to
very important legal consequences, which we shall explain in our notes below.
The third section consists of verse 12, in which the Holy Prophet (upon whom
be Allah's peace) has been instructed to ask the women who accept Islam to
pledge that they would refrain from the major evils that were prevalent among
the womenfolk of the pre-Islamic Arab society, and to promise that they would
henceforth follow the ways of goodness which the Messenger of Allah may enjoin.