Bigotry: The Dark Danger

The Idea of Not Taking Jews and Christians As Friends

One of the verses of the Qur’an that fanatics and some opponents of Islam in the West point to as supposed evidence for enmity toward Jews and Christians is in Surat al-Ma’ida:

You who have faith! Do not take the Jews and Christians as your friends [patrons]; they are the friends of one another. Any of you who takes them as friends is one of them. God does not guide wrongdoing people.(Qur'an, 5:51)

The word “friend” appears two times. The original Arabic of the word “friends” in the passage “Do not take the Jews and Christians as your friends [patrons]” is “awliyao.” The real meaning of this word is "guardians, those responsible under the law, saints, lords, owners or rulers.” The original Arabic word translated as “friends” in the passage “Any of you who takes them as friends” is “yatawallahum.” The meaning of this word is “who undertakes to care for, who assumes charge of.” When we look at the original Arabic meaning we can easily see that the references to ”friends” in this verse really means “rulers.” What is forbidden for Muslims here is for them to come under the rule and management of Jews and Christians. (Prof. Dr. Bayraktar Bayraklı, Text of the Qur’an)

The wisdom here is not at all hard to understand: Although all Divine faiths share the same monotheistic belief and are built on the same foundations, they have their own ways of worshiping and have their own commandments. Therefore, there is a very high probability that a Muslim under the administration of a Jew or a Christian will experience difficulties in terms of worship and practices. That is the reason for the commandment in this verse.