Relationship with Jews and Christians
Question:
why Quran asks to not make any relation with Jews and Christians, if any muslim will do this he will be considered among them.why such kind of hatred behavior is there?
Answer:
1. It is not correct to say that the Qur’an asks to not make any relation with Jews and Christians. In the Sura of al-Ma’idah verse five, Muslim men are given permission to marry Christians and Jews. I am sure you appreciate that marriage relationship is among the strongest and closest relationships.
2. The verses of the Qur’an that you are referring to are advising the Muslims to avoid taking Jews and Christians as Au’liya. Au’liya (اوليا) that is plural of Wali (ولي) is not referring to any ordinary type of friendship. Wali is a friend with whom you have such a close binding that you tend to have the same line of thinking as him and you consider it your duty to always support him. As such Wali is more specific than (for instance) Rafiq which simply means friend.
3. The verses of the Qur’an need to be understood within the context and the theme on the basis of which they have been revealed. If you read any of the verses that direct Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as ‘friends’ (like 5:51 and 5:57) and look at the chapter they are in and the verses before and after, and even the wording of these verses, you will then hopefully appreciate that these verses were specifically addressing the believers at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and their relationship with the Jews and Christians of the time who were living in Arabia.
So to summarise, the Qur’an does not forbid us from becoming friends with the Jews and the Christians. How can this be when men were allowed to marry women from among the Jews and the Christians? How is it possible to marry a Jew and at the same time not being her friend and not being in relationship with her family?
The directive of the Qur’an was specifically about the Jews and the Christians in Arabia at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) who joined forces against him despite knowing the truth of his message.
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February 2013
why Quran asks to not make any relation with Jews and Christians, if any muslim will do this he will be considered among them.why such kind of hatred behavior is there?
Answer:
1. It is not correct to say that the Qur’an asks to not make any relation with Jews and Christians. In the Sura of al-Ma’idah verse five, Muslim men are given permission to marry Christians and Jews. I am sure you appreciate that marriage relationship is among the strongest and closest relationships.
2. The verses of the Qur’an that you are referring to are advising the Muslims to avoid taking Jews and Christians as Au’liya. Au’liya (اوليا) that is plural of Wali (ولي) is not referring to any ordinary type of friendship. Wali is a friend with whom you have such a close binding that you tend to have the same line of thinking as him and you consider it your duty to always support him. As such Wali is more specific than (for instance) Rafiq which simply means friend.
3. The verses of the Qur’an need to be understood within the context and the theme on the basis of which they have been revealed. If you read any of the verses that direct Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as ‘friends’ (like 5:51 and 5:57) and look at the chapter they are in and the verses before and after, and even the wording of these verses, you will then hopefully appreciate that these verses were specifically addressing the believers at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and their relationship with the Jews and Christians of the time who were living in Arabia.
So to summarise, the Qur’an does not forbid us from becoming friends with the Jews and the Christians. How can this be when men were allowed to marry women from among the Jews and the Christians? How is it possible to marry a Jew and at the same time not being her friend and not being in relationship with her family?
The directive of the Qur’an was specifically about the Jews and the Christians in Arabia at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) who joined forces against him despite knowing the truth of his message.
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February 2013