1. You who believe, do not take My enemy and your enemy – meaning the unbelievers of Makka – as friends, showing love for them – and maintaining affectionate connections with them – when they have rejected the truth – the dın of Islam and the Qur’an – that has come to you – this was revealed when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, intended to raid them and kept that a secret. Hatib ibn Abi Bala‘ta wrote a letter to them telling them about it since he had children and family among the idolaters. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sought to bring back the messenger he had sent his letter with, Allah having informed him of the matter. He accepted Hatib’s apology, driving out the Messenger and yourselves – from Makka by making your life difficult for you – simply because you believe in Allah your Lord. If you go out to fight jihad in My Way and seeking My pleasure, keeping secret the love you have for them, I know best what you conceal and what you make known. Any of you who do that have strayed from the right way – have left the Path of guidance and straightness.

2. If they come upon you and defeat you they will be your enemies and stretch out their hands against you to kill and strike you, and tongues against you with evil intent, abusing and cursing you; and they would dearly love you to disbelieve and revert to unbelief.

3. Neither your blood relations nor your children who are idolaters and for whose sake you concealed the news will be of any avail to you – or help you against punishment in the Next World. On the Day of Rising He will differentiate (read as yafsilu and yufassilu) between you and them, as you will be in the Garden and they will be with the rest of the unbelievers in the Fire. Allah sees what you do.

4. You have an excellent example (read as iswa and uswa) in Ibrahim – in his words and deeds – and those believers with him, when they said to their people, ‘We wash our hands of you and all that you worship apart from Allah, and we reject you. Between us and you there will be enmity and hatred forever, unless and until you believe in Allah alone.’ Except for Ibrahm’s words to his father: ‘I will ask forgiveness for you – which is an exception where the excellent example is concerned, meaning that you should not imitate him in that by asking forgiveness for unbelievers – but I have no power to help you in any way against Allah with respect to His punishment and His reward. All I can do is ask forgiveness.’ He asked forgiveness for him before it was clear to him that he was the enemy of Allah, as is mentioned in Surat at-Tawba (9:115). ‘Our Lord, we have put our trust in You and have repented to You. You are our final destination. These are the words of Ibrahim.

5. Our Lord, do not make us a target for those who disbelieve and forgive us. Do not let them defeat us so that they think that they have the truth and are in the right. Our Lord, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise in Your kingdom and in what You do.

6. There is an excellent example in them for you, community of Muhammad, to follow, for those whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day – who fear Allah and the Last Day and think that there will be reward and punishment. But if anyone turns away and takes the unbelievers as friends, Allah is the Rich Beyond Need of His creation, the Praiseworthy, praised by those who obey Him.

7. It may well be that Allah will restore the love between you and those of them who are now your enemies, meaning the unbelievers of Makka, and bring them to obedience to Allah Almighty by guiding them to faith and so they may become your friends again. Allah is All-Powerful and has the power to do that and indeed did so after the conquest of Makka. Allah is Ever-Forgiving of what happened in the past, Most Merciful.

8. Allah does not forbid you from being good to those unbelievers who have not fought you in the din or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. This was before the command to fight them in jihad. Allah loves those who are just.

9. Allah merely forbids you from taking as friends – helpers and protectors – those who have fought you over the dın and driven you from your homes, and who supported your expulsion. Any who take them as friends are wrongdoers.

10. You who believe, when women who believe – professing faith on their tongues – come to you as emigrants – from the unbelievers, after the treaty made with them at al-Hudaybiyya, which stated that if any believers came to them they would be returned – submit them to a test – asking them to take an oath that they have only emigrated for Islam, not out of hatred for their idolatrous husbands or out of passion for Muslim men. Therefore the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made them swear an oath. Allah has best knowledge of their belief. If you know they are believers – from their oaths – do not return them to the unbelievers. They are not lawful for the unbelievers, nor are the unbelievers lawful for them. Give the unbelievers – meaning here their husbands – whatever dowry they paid them. There is nothing wrong in your marrying them provided, you pay them their due – dowry. Do not hold on (read as tumsiku and tumassiku) to any marriage ties with women who disbelieve. Your becoming Muslim annuls your marriage to unbelieving women or those who stay with the idolaters, having reverted to unbelief since their apostasy severs the tie of marriage. Ask for what you paid them from the unbelievers whom they marry, and let them ask for what they paid for the dowries of the women emigrants. That is Allah’s judgement. Allah will judge between them. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

11. If any of your wives rejoin the unbelievers – so that you lose their dowries – you should have compensation. When you raid and take booty, pay them back from the booty the same as they paid. So repay to those whose wives have gone the dowry they paid out. Be fearful of Allah, Him in Whom you believe. The believers gave what they were commanded to give to the unbelievers and believers. Then this ruling was removed.

12. O Prophet, when women who believe come to you pledging allegiance to you on the basis that they will not associate anything with Allah, steal, fornicate, kill their children – as was done in the time of the Jahiliyya by burying them alive out of fear of shame and poverty – or give a false ascription of paternity – ascribing a child to her husband when it is not his, making up lies about their bodies – the Arabic literally means “forging between their hands and their feet” because when the child is born, it is born between the hands and feet, or disobey you in respect of anything right – anything that is in accord with obedience to Allah, such as refraining from wailing, rending the clothes, cutting off the hair, ripping the shirt and scratching the face, then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, accepted their allegiance in words but did not shake hands with any of them. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

13. You who believe, do not make friends of people with whom Allah is angry – meaning the Jews – who have despaired of reward in the Next World – although they are certain about it, because of their stubborn opposition to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, even though they knew that he was telling the truth – as the unbelievers have despaired of the inhabitants of the graves. In the same way, the unbelievers who are in their grave as despair having good in the Next World when they are shown the places that they would have had in Paradise if they had believed; and they are also shown where they will go in Hell.