Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:51
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, exalted is His mention: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ("O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another.") (5:51)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The exegetes differed concerning who is meant by this verse, even though all the believers are commanded by it.
Some of them said: By it were meant ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl — in ʿUbāda's renouncing of the alliance with the Jews, and in ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl's holding fast to the alliance with the Jews, after their enmity toward Allah and toward His Messenger, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, had become open. And Allah informed him (ʿAbd Allāh) that, if he took them as protectors and held fast to their alliance, he would be among them in his being renounced by Allah and His Messenger, just as they (the Jews) are renounced by those two.
Mention of who said that:
12156 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: I heard my father, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya ibn Saʿd, who said: ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit, of the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj, came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have many allies among the Jews, numerous in number, but I declare myself, before Allah and His Messenger, free of the bond of protection (walāya) with the Jews, and I take Allah and His Messenger as protectors." Then ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy said: "I am a man who fears the vicissitudes of fortune; I do not declare myself free of the bond of protection with my allies." Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, said to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy: "O Abū al-Ḥubāb, that bond of protection with the Jews which you have withheld from ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit — let it then be for you and not for him?" He said: "That I have accepted." Then Allah revealed: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another," up to His statement: فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ ("then you see those in whose hearts is a disease").
12157 — Hannād related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to me, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: When the people of Badr were defeated, the Muslims said to their allies among the Jews: "Become believers before Allah strikes you with a day like the day of Badr!" Then Mālik ibn Ṣayf said: "It has deluded you that you struck a small band of Quraysh who had no knowledge of warfare! But were we to fasten our resolve with a firm hand and gather against you, you would have no power to fight us!" Then ʿUbāda said: "O Messenger of Allah, my allies among the Jews were fierce in disposition, numerous in arms, and strong in striking power; but I declare myself, before Allah and before His Messenger, free of the bond of protection with them, and I have no protector but Allah and His Messenger." Then ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy said: "But I do not declare myself free of the bond of protection with the Jews; I am a man who cannot do without them!" Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, said: "O Abū Ḥubāb, do you see that for which you crave — the bond of protection with the Jews over ʿUbāda — let it then be for you and not for him?" He said: "Then I accept it!" Then Allah, exalted is His mention, revealed: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another," until it reached His statement: وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ("and Allah will protect you from the people").
12158 — Hannād related to us, saying: Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: my father Isḥāq ibn Yasār related to me, on the authority of ʿUbāda ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit, who said: When the Banū Qaynuqāʿ waged war against the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy held fast to their cause and stood up on their behalf, while ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him — and he was of the Banū ʿAwf ibn al-Khazraj, and had with them (the Jews) the same alliance that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy had with them — and he severed the bond with them in favor of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, and declared himself, before Allah and before His Messenger, free of their alliance, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I declare myself, before Allah and before His Messenger, free of their alliance, and I take Allah and His Messenger and the believers as protectors, and I declare myself free of the alliance with the unbelievers (kuffār) and the bond of protection with them!" Concerning him and concerning ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy the verses in "al-Māʾida" were revealed: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another," the verse.
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And others said: No, by it was meant a group of believers who — when there befell them at Uḥud from their enemies among the polytheists (mushrikīn) what befell them — resolved to seek among the Jews protection and safeguards (ʿiṣam, which are ropes and covenants that protect). Allah forbade them that and informed them that whoever of them does so belongs to them.
Mention of who said that:
12159 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another, and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them." He said: When the battle of Uḥud occurred, it became hard for a portion of the people, and they feared that the upper hand would be given to the unbelievers. Then a man said to his companion: "As for me, I shall join Dahlak the Jew and take from him a safe-conduct and adopt Judaism with him, for I fear that the Jews may gain the upper hand over us." And the other said: "As for me, I shall join so-and-so the Christian in a region of al-Shām, and take from him a safe-conduct and adopt Christianity with him." Then Allah, exalted is His mention, revealed, forbidding both of them: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another, and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them. Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people."
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And others said: No, by it was meant Abū Lubāba ibn ʿAbd al-Mundhir, in his signaling to the Banū Qurayẓa — when they were content with the judgment of Saʿd — that it would be the slaughter.
Mention of who said that:
12160 — al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima, his statement: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another, and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them." He said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, sent Abū Lubāba ibn ʿAbd al-Mundhir, of the Aws — and he was of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf — he sent him to Qurayẓa when they had broken the treaty. When they agreed to surrender (to his judgment), he pointed to his throat: the slaughter, the slaughter.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct view concerning that, with us, is that one says: that Allah, exalted is His mention, forbade all the believers to take the Jews and the Christians as helpers and allies against the people who believe in Allah and His Messenger, and against others. And He informed them that whoever takes them as a helper, ally, and protector apart from Allah and His Messenger and the believers, belongs to them in conspiring against Allah and against His Messenger and the believers, and that Allah and His Messenger declare themselves free of him. It is possible that the verse was revealed concerning the affair of ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl and their allies among the Jews; and it is possible that it was revealed concerning Abū Lubāba on account of his action toward the Banū Qurayẓa; and it is possible that it was revealed concerning the affair of the two men of whom al-Suddī mentioned that one of them wished to join Dahlak the Jew, and the other a Christian in al-Shām. But concerning none of these three statements is there a reliable report by which a proof is established, such that one would accept its correctness by saying that it is as has been said.
And since that is so, the correct course is that one judges, with respect to the outward meaning of the revelation, according to its generality, insofar as it is general, and that one allows what the exegetes have said concerning it, as a statement the contrary of which we do not know. However, there is no doubt that the verse was revealed concerning a hypocrite (munāfiq) who took Jews or Christians as protectors out of fear for himself of the vicissitudes of fortune, for the verse that comes after it points to that, and that is His statement: فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ يُسَارِعُونَ فِيهِمْ يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَى أَنْ تُصِيبَنَا دَائِرَةٌ ("then you see those in whose hearts is a disease hastening toward them, saying: 'We fear that a turn of fortune may strike us'"), the verse.
As for His statement "they are protectors of one another": by it He meant that some Jews are helpers of other Jews against the believers, and are one hand against them all; and that the Christians are likewise, some of them helpers of others against whoever opposes their religion and their creedal community. By this He makes known to His believing servants that whoever is a protector of them or of some of them is only their protector against whoever opposes their creedal community and their religion among the believers, just as the Jews and the Christians are belligerent enemies to them. Thus He said, exalted is His mention, to the believers: be then, you too, protectors of one another, and be a belligerent enemy to the Jew and the Christian just as they are a belligerent enemy to you, and let some of you be protectors of others; for whoever takes them as protectors has made war upon the believers open, and toward him there applies the renunciation and the clear severance of his bond of protection.
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement, exalted is His mention: وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ ("and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them").
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His statement "and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them" He means, exalted is His mention: and whoever takes the Jews and the Christians as protectors instead of the believers, he belongs to them. He says: whoever takes them as protectors and helps them against the believers belongs to the people of their religion and their creedal community, for no one takes another as a protector unless he is content with him, with his religion, and with that which he is upon. And when he is content with him and with his religion, then he has shown enmity toward whatever opposes him and has scorned it, and his ruling has become like their ruling. For this reason, those of the people of knowledge who so ruled judged concerning the Christians of the Banū Taghlib — as regards their slaughtered animals, the marrying of their women, and other of their affairs — by the rulings that apply to the Christians of the Banū Isrāʾīl, on account of their bond of protection with them, their contentment with their creedal community, and their helping of them in that, even though their lineages differed from their lineages, and the origin of their religion diverges from the origin of their religion.
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And in that lies the clear indication of the correctness of what we say, namely that everyone who adheres to a particular religion falls under the ruling of the people of that religion, whether his adherence to it was before the coming of Islam or after it. Except in the case of a Muslim of our religion who passes over to a creedal community other than it: he is not confirmed in that which he has come to adhere to and to which he has passed over, but he is killed for his apostasy (ridda) from Islam and his abandonment of the true religion, unless he returns to the true religion before the death penalty. And in that lies also the unsoundness of what opposes this, namely the statement of whoever claims: that one does not judge with the ruling of the people of the two Books (Jews and Christians) for whoever adheres to their religion, unless he is an Israelite, or someone who passed over from a people other than them to their religion before the revelation of the Furqān (the Criterion, the Qurʾān). But whoever adhered to their religion after the revelation of the Furqān, while he was not of them, of those whose lineage opposes their lineage and whose kind opposes their kind — his ruling diverges from their ruling.
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Mention of who said the explanation as we have said:
12161 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ruʾāsī related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about the slaughtered animals of the Christians of the Arabs, and he recited: "and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them."
12162 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning this verse: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another, and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them" — that it concerns the slaughtered animals. Whoever enters into the religion of a people belongs to them.
12163 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Eat of the slaughtered animals of the Banū Taghlib and marry their women, for Allah says in His Book: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another, and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them." And if they belonged to them only by the bond of protection, they would (still) belong to them.
12164 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of Hishām, who said: al-Ḥasan saw no objection in the slaughtered animals of the Christians of the Arabs, nor in the marrying of their women, and he used to recite this verse: "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors; they are protectors of one another, and whoever of you takes them as protectors, he belongs to them."
12165 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Hārūn ibn Ibrāhīm, who said: Ibn Sīrīn was asked about a man who sells his house to Christians who make it into a church. He said: Then he recited this verse: لا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاءَ ("do not take the Jews and the Christians as protectors").
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ("Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.") (51)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By it He means, exalted is His mention: indeed, Allah does not grant good guidance to whoever places the bond of protection in the wrong place, and takes the Jews and the Christians — despite their enmity toward Allah and His Messenger and the believers — as protectors against the believers, and is for them a backing and helper; for whoever takes them as protectors is a belligerent enemy to Allah and to His Messenger and to the believers.
And we have already expounded the meaning of "wrongdoing (ẓulm)" in a place other than this — namely that it is: the placing of a thing in a place other than its place — in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat it.
