Allegation of Allah not being able to decide as to who Muslims could have as friends.

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

Can we be the friends of Christains and Jews? An allegation thrown by Christianity that carries no weight. If you read the response you will see that the writer of the allegation is lacking in knowledge of the Quran and History of Islam.

"Thou shalt certainly find the Jews and those who associate partners with God to be the most vehement in enemity against the believers. And thou shall assuredly find those who say, 'We are Christains', to be the nearest of them in love to the believers. That is because amongst them are the savants and monks and because they are not proud"

(chapter 5 verse 83)

This verse should not be construed to prohibit or discourage just or benevolant treatment of the Jews, Christains and other disbelievers. Elsewere the Quran says:

"Allah forbids you notrespecting those who have fought against you on account of your religion and who have not driven you forth from your homes, that you be kind to them and act equitably towards them; surley Allah loves those who are equitable"

(Chapter 60 verse 9)

Thus it is only the Jews and the Christains who are at war with the Muslims whom the Quran forbids to be taken for friends.

Moreover, the word Oliya (friends) signifies not only friends but helpers and protectors also, and may thuse be rendered as "protecting friends"; and surley Muslims cannot take Jews and Christains as their "protecting friends". Their only protecting friends are God and the Prophet Muhummad (saw) as we'll as their own brethren in faith, Allah says in the Holy Quran:

"your friend is only Allah and his messenger and the believers who observe prayer and pay the Zakat And worship God alone" (chapter 5 verse 56)

So the expression used:

"...they are friends to one another..." (chapter 50:52)

Means that the Christains and the Jews forget their diffrences and becom eunited in their opposition to Islam and the Holy Prophet. Truly has the Prophet Muhummad (saw) said i.e.,:

"all disbelief forms one community" viz.

Meaning all disbelievers , however inimical to one another, are like one community when opposed to Islam.

So there is no Contradiction to the Verse of the Holy quran:

"Thou shalt certainly find the Jews and those who associate partners with God to be the most vehement in enemity against the believers. And thou shall assuredly find those who say, 'We are Christains', to be the nearest of them in love to the believers. That is because amongst them are the savants and monks and because they are not proud" (chapter 5 verse 83)

As a rule, the followers of a new Prophet meet with greater opposition from the followers of the prophet immediately preceeding him than from the followers of a prophet who had appeared in the remote past. But contrary to this general practice, Jews, who shoul dhave been less inimically disposed towards the muslims than the Christains, proved atleast in the Holy Prophets's time proved to the most bitterer enemies of Islam then the Christains who were comparitivly less inimical. This state of affairs, however, was not to last forever. The Quran elsewere warns the muslims that they were destined to suffer most grievously at the hands of this Christains, who would attack them from all directions:

"It shall be so even when Gog and Magog are let loose and they shall hasten forth from every height and from the top of every wave" (chapter 21 verse 97)

In hadith (sayings of the holy Prophet (saw)) also there are prophecies to this effect, so the verse under comment may not be taken to apply to Christains of all times but only to those of the Holy Prophet's (saw) time who lived round about him; and history bears out this inference. Najashi, the christain king of Absynnia, gave shelter to the Muslim refugees; and Muqauqas the Christain ruler of Egypt, sent presents to the Holy Prophet Muhummad (saw).

It appears that humility formed one of the chief characteristics of early Christains, and the teaching of Jesus about turning the other cheek to the striker seems to have excersized its influence on their lives for some centuries. This is evident in the diffrent ways in which the epistles of the holy Prophet Muhummad (saw) were treated by this King of Persia, who was a heathen, and by Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, who was a Christain, the former tore the letter sent to him into peices, while the latter recieved the letter sent to him by the Prophet Muhummad (saw) respectfully, and even evinced some inclination towards Islam. (bukhari)

So long as the above qualities formed distinctive features of Christain character, Muslims generally met with fairer treatment at their hands. But as time passed, these qualities gradually took leave of them and now there are ver few among the Christin divines and religous leaders who are engaged in real and honest religous research, withdrawing from the cares of the world and taking and active and living interest in spritual matters. Christain scholars began to meddle in politics in the 13th and 14th century, with the result that they became hostile to Islam.

So you have to understand there is no contradiction in the verses which relate to the Christians and the Jews as being the friends of the Muslims, because, they refer to diffrent events. It is just a matter of your lack of knowledge of Islamic history.

Indeed there was and i hope you have read my whole response, As long as the Christain Nations upheld the true religion of Christ and were just, we could trust them, but when they became clear enemies of Islam then we could not trust them.

At the time of the Holy Prophet Muhummad (saw)the Kafirs in Mecca were our enemy who could we trust them? and at the same time the Jews became thier allies, so as far as the Quran statement is concerned:

"Thou shalt certainly find the Jews and those who associate partners with God to be the most vehement in enemity against the believers..." (Chapter 5 verse 83)

This clearly refers to the Meccan and Jewish alliance at the time of the Prophet Muhummad (saw) wereas the rest of the verse:

"And thou shall assuredly find those who say, 'We are Christains', to be the nearest of them in love to the believers. That is because amongst them are the savants and monks and because they are not proud" (chapter 5 verse 83)

This clearly refers to the Christains who not only took the Muslims as refugees, but were we'll spoken of by Muhummad (saw) himslef when predicted the victory of the Christains in the "land nearby" over the Persians..

So as far as this supposed contradiction is concerned, there is none it is just a matter of rereading the Quran, and reading other verses of the Holy quran..

And Allah Knows Best

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