At-Tawba (The Repentance)

23. “O’ you who have Faith! Do not take your fathers and your brothers for guardians if they prefer unbelief to belief, and whoever of you takes them for a guardian, those - they are the unjust.”

The last temptation and pretext that might be appear among a group of Muslims in front of the command of war against idol-worshipers was that they thought if they fought against the idolaters, they should renounce their relatives and tribes.

On the other side, their capitals and commerce was mostly in the hands of idolaters. By means of their intercourse into Mecca, the briskness of their market would increase.

On the third side, this group of Muslims had some good and comfortable houses in Mecca which might be destroyed if they fought against idolaters.

This holy verse clearly and decisively answers such persons. At first, it says:

“O’ you who have Faith! Do not take your fathers and your brothers for guardians if they prefer unbelief to belief…”

Then, as an emphasis, it adss:

“…and whoever of you takes them for a guardian, those - they are the unjust.”

What an injustice is greater than this that a person, by making friends with disbelivers and joining to the camp of foreigners and the enemies of the Truth, does unjustice both to himself, and to the society which he belongs to, and to the Messenger of Allah (S)?