The Madinan Period, Part 2: The Masjid, the Brotherhood and the Covenant
Section 19 of 23 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
Loyalty and the People of the Book
This is talking about the relationship between the Muslim and the non-Muslim in general, but there are also some specific ayāt that came to talk about the relationship of the Muslim with the people of the Book specifically — the people of the Book, the Christians and the Jews. Why? Because in Madīnah there were now people of the Book, and the Arabs had this ongoing relationship with the Jews, whether it was a neighbourly relationship, or an economic relationship because of the economic interest that existed between the two sides, or pacts of protection, a political relationship. So Allah (swt) was revealing ayāt to deal with that issue. Allah (swt) says:
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
“O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians for intimate friends. They are friends to each other. Whoever takes them as intimate friends is one of them. Surely, Allah does not take the unjust people to the right path.” (5:51)
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; they are allies of one another, and whoever is an ally to them among you, then indeed he is one of them. Therefore, the meaning of this part, "he is one of them," is that a Muslim has become an un-Muslim: a Muslim has disbelieved if he takes the People of the Book as allies.** Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.
And Allah (swt) says:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن تُطِيعُوا۟ فَرِيقًا مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ يَرُدُّوكُم بَعْدَ إِيمَـٰنِكُمْ كَـٰفِرِينَ
“O you who believe, if you obey a group from those who have been given the Book (i.e. the Christians and the Jews), they will turn you into infidels after you have embraced the faith.” (3:100)
وَكَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَنتُمْ تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱللَّهِ وَفِيكُمْ رَسُولُهُۥ ۗ وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدْ هُدِىَ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
“How could you disbelieve while you are the ones to whom the verses of Allah are recited, and present amidst you is His Messenger? Whoever holds on to Allah, is surely led to the straight path.” (3:101)
So the ayah is telling the Muslims: if they follow the ways of the people of the Book who are living among them in Madīnah, they will become disbelievers. And Allah (swt) says — and Allah is teaching us this rule; this is not talking about an exception, this is not talking about a particular period of history; Allah is telling us about something that will remain constant until the Day of Judgement:
وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ ٱلْيَهُودُ وَلَا ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ هُوَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ ۗ وَلَئِنِ ٱتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَآءَهُم بَعْدَ ٱلَّذِى جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ
“The Jews will never be pleased with you, nor will the Christians, unless you follow their faith. Say: “Guidance of Allah is, indeed, the guidance.” Were you to follow their desires despite the knowledge that has come to you, there shall be no friend for you against Allah, nor a helper.” (2:120)
So now all of these relationships of loyalty are negated — all of these relationships have been cut. Now what? Just as with lā ilāha illā Allāh, it starts with negating and then it affirms: lā ilāha, there is no god, negates divinity from any deity — there is no one worthy of worship — and then, after it negates the divinity of any deity, it affirms: illā Allāh, there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. The same movement happens here, and this concept in Islam is called al-walāʾ wa-l-barāʾ, an important article of ʿaqīdah. After it negates the relationship — Allah (swt) has said that fathers and brothers should not be taken as awliyāʾ besides Allah, and the people of the Book should not be taken as awliyāʾ besides Allah — it negates all of these relationships, and then it affirms to whom loyalty should be given. Allah (swt) says: