الولاء والبراء
Explained by Shaykh Saleh ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan
[May Allaah preserve him]
At Jaami Ameer Sultan ibn Fahad ibn Abd Al-Azeez
Qurtuba, Riyadh
Fri 9/11/1432 - 7/10/2011
All Praise belongs to the Lord of all that exists and May Allaah send His Peace and Blessings on our Prophet Muhammad, on his family, his companions and all those that follow him until the Last Day.
To Proceed:
Allaah, The Exalted and Glorified, from His infinite Wisdom has made his servants of types, He has made some believers, some non-believers and some hypocrites. He has made people in levels, some are sinners; some are oppressors, so not all people are not on one level.
He, The Most High and Exalted, says;
“He it is Who created you, then some of you are disbelievers and some of you are believers. And Allah is All-Seer of what you do.”
[Taghaabun 64:2]
He, The Most High and Exalted, sent to us prophets and revealed to us books to explain to us the path of goodness and falsehood, the paths of guidance and misguidance. He, The Most High and Exalted, sent to us a warner and a bringer of glad tidings, he sent with him clear guidance so that we have proof and didn’t leave us ignorant without having any evidence. He, The Most High and Exalted, has made it easy for us to follow if you want to follow and has made it easy for you to be misguided if you don’t want to be guided.
He, The Most High and Exalted, says:
“As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him, And believes in Al-Husna. We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness).But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient. And gives the lie to Al-Husna (see Verse No: 6 footnote); We will make smooth for him the path for evil;”
[Al-Layl 92: 5-10]
So the cause for guidance is from the slave and then Allaah makes it easy for you so in this Ayaah it says that whoever is obedient and does what he is commanded and he believes, then Allaah will make it easy for him to be obedient and follow His commands and increase him in guidance. However the one who rejects and doesn’t do good deeds and disobeys Allaah, then this isn’t from Allaah. Rather Allaah has Decreed and has made the path to Jannah for the good-doers easy, and the path to Hell for the evil-doers easy.
More precisely, He, The Most High and Exalted, has given people free will and desires, but those who wish for Allaah he will obey and he will follow the Sunnah, as the cause for misguidance is found in those who turn away from the Sunnah. Whoever wants to be deviated then Allaah will allow him to and He doesn’t Oppress anyone.
“But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient. And gives the lie to Al-Husna (see Verse No: 6 footnote); We will make smooth for him the path for evil…”
[Al-Layl 92: 5-10]
So Allaah has made us of types and levels and he has made commandments so that he can differentiate between the believers and non-believers. He has set out commandments in their Aqeedah [Beliefs], their religion etc. until their wealth and those who they associate with. Therefore, one of His Commands is that we make Hijrah, which is to leave the land of the Kuffar and join and live in the land of the Muslims. It is narrated in the Sunnah that we are not allowed to live and stay with the Mushrikeen and be associated with them. This is because by doing Hijrah the Muslim is able to uphold his religion in the truest form and he won’t need to compromise. So the point of Hijrah is so that we move away from the Kuffar in our heart and our actions so that we may become better. Some people they move to Muslim lands but they haven’t done Hijrah in their hearts, so it is important that we do Hijrah in our hearts and actions so that we are not like the Kuffar and so that we are free from them. So this is one example of Allaah giving us a commandment so that we be different from them.
Likewise, Allaah has commanded us from not imitating the Kuffar, not to be like them in speech and actions. So this means we are not allowed to praise them and to mix with them because Allaah told us to be different from them, so that they have no influence over us in our religion. As for working with them and doing business with them then this is permissible and this is to be done in the best way with good manners from our part, this is because this is a worldly objective. This has nothing to do with befriending them and making our lives in this world easy. As for the Kuffar who hate Islam and the Muslims and they try to make life difficult for you then we are not allowed to be with them and befriend them but those who have no objective against Muslims then we behave with them in good manner.
“Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity. It is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out, that Allah forbids you to befriend them. And whosoever will befriend them, then such are the Zalimun (wrong-doers those who disobey Allah).”
[Mumtahinah 60:8-9]
In another ayah:
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya' (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya' to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliya', then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers and unjust).”
[Al-Maaidah 5:51]
The meaning of Baraa’ in the Arabic language is to leave something or to abandon something. In the Shariah it means to leave something for the sake of your religion, leaving doing particular actions and it can also mean leaving something in your heart, such as leaving loving the Kuffar.
“O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies (i.e. disbelievers and polytheists, etc.) as friends, showing affection towards them, while they have disbelieved in what has come to you of the truth (i.e. Islamic Monotheism, this Qur'an, and Muhammad ), and have driven out the Messenger and yourselves (from your homeland) because you believe in Allah your Lord! If you have come forth to strive in My Cause and to seek My Good Pleasure, (then take not these disbelievers and polytheists, etc., as your friends). You show friendship to them in secret, while I am All-Aware of what you conceal and what you reveal. And whosoever of you (Muslims) does that, then indeed he has gone (far) astray, (away) from the Straight Path.”
[Mumtahina 60:1]
This ayaah is giving us the command not to love the Kaafir in your heart, because Allaah doesn’t love this person so we are commanded not to love them and to be opposite from them.
As for leaving off doing particular actions, then these actions consist of us supporting them and aiding them in their religion. This includes our actions and speech, so we don’t argue for them and we don’t fight for and with them. This is a type of allying and love. So loving in the heart, helping in actions and speech, praising them etc. are all types of allying with them which he have been prohibited from.
“You (O Muhammad ) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ), even though they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred (people). For such He has written Faith in their hearts, and strengthened them with Ruh (proofs, light and true guidance) from Himself. And We will admit them to Gardens (Paradise) under which rivers flow, to dwell therein (forever). Allah is pleased with them, and they with Him. They are the Party of Allah. Verily, it is the Party of Allah that will be the successful.”
[Mujaadilah 58:22]
When Ibraaheem [Peace be upon him] realised that his father is rejecting him and what he was calling to, Ibraaheem stopped seeking forgiveness for him.
“And [Ibrahim's (Abraham)] invoking (of Allah) for his father's forgiveness was only because of a promise he [Ibrahim (Abraham)] had made to him (his father). But when it became clear to him [Ibrahim (Abraham)] that he (his father) is an enemy to Allah, he dissociated himself from him. Verily Ibrahim (Abraham) was Al-Awwah (has fifteen different meanings but the correct one seems to be that he used to invoke Allah with humility, glorify Him and remember Him much), and was forbearing. (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi).”
[Tawbah 9:114]
“You (O Muhammad ) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His….”
[Mujaadilah 58:22]
This ayaah shows that part of Emaan is to leave of having allies with the Kuffar, so if one believes in Allah and the Last Day, he will leave off having this sense of allying with them. This is because the Kuffaar in one direction and the Messenger is in another direction. Even if ones family member opposes the call of Islam and The Messenger then this doesn’t change anything, we are still not allowed to ally with them.
This is Eeman. We are Muslims. Some people believe that the human race is one brotherhood and we should all love each other, but we are proud to be Muslims. We don’t need to call for one human race; we call for oneness and unity upon Eeman. However this doesn’t mean we hate them and are at loggerheads with them and to treat them unjustly, no this is wrong:
“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do.”
[Maaidah 5:8]
So being unjust and oppressing them is not permissible. Rather it is prohibited that we love them and want to be like them.
This issue of allying with them is a very important topic and it is connected to our beliefs in Islam and our beliefs in oneness of Allaah. Those who have Emaan and believe in Islam are allies of each other and those who reject Islam are allies with their partners.
“The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism of all kinds and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid (people) from Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands [from giving (spending in Allah's Cause) alms, etc.]. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Verily, the hypocrites are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).”
[Tawbah 9:67]
And then He, The Exalted and Glorified, says about the believers;
“The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”
[Tawbah 9:71]
This means that if we don’t ally with the right people and we have no allegiance with the Muslims, then there will be Fitnah and corruption in the land. This is because the Aqeedah will get mixed and the Muslims will be affected by the Kufr that the Kuffaar have in their Aqeedah. As you know, people love and imitate and want to be like the Kuffar, recently has caused great corruption in the Muslim lands. Therefore, without loving and disregarding for the sake of Allaah [Al-Walaa wal Baraa’], the lands will be full of Fitnah. This includes Fitnah in our deen, in our Aqeedah, in Emaan, to the extent that we won’t know who is a Muslim and who are Kuffaar. Therefore allegiance on the basis of deen means that there will be no Fitnah and no mixing, the Muslims allying with their brothers and Kuffaar allying with their allies.
It is strange today that we see many people loving the Kuffar and imitating them but the Kuffaar will never imitate and love the Muslims. You love them but they don’t love you.
“Lo! You are the ones who love them but they love you not, and you believe in all the Scriptures [i.e. you believe in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel), while they disbelieve in your Book, the Qur'an]. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe". But when they are alone, they bite the tips of their fingers at you in rage. Say: "Perish in your rage. Certainly, Allah knows what is in the breasts (all the secrets)."”
[Aal Imraan 3:119]
We are allowed to benefit from them, we are allowed to work with them, we are allowed to treat them nicely but in regards to matters of the religion, we say to you your way and to us ours.
“Say (O Muhammad ( ) to these Mushrikun and Kafirun): "O Al-Kafirun (disbelievers in Allah, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al-Qadar, etc.)! "I worship not that which you worship, "Nor will you worship that which I worship. "And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping. "Nor will you worship that which I worship. To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism)."”
[Surah Kaafiroon 109: 1-6]
Look at the repetition in this Surah, to enforce the message. We have our way and they have ours. In matters of the Dunya it is permissible to work with them but in matters of religion and our Aqeedah and Emaan then we are completely free from them.
Some people say there is nothing like Waraa and Baraa in our religion. They say this to be soft with the Kuffaar, to love them and to imitate them.
It is narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas [May Allaah be Pleased with him] said “Whoever loves for the sake of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah, and whoever seals a friendship for His sake, or declares an enmity for His sake, will receive, because of this, the protection of Allah. No one may taste true faith except by this, even if his prayers and fasts are many. People have come to build their relationships around the concerns of the world, but it will not benefit them in any way.” [Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jaami’ al-Ulum wal Hikam, p.30]
So we love and hate for the sake of the religion and for the sake of Allaah, in order to make Him happy and to love what He loves and to hate what He hates and to ally with whom He is allied with and to be enemies with who He is enemies with, this is all in order for us to try and gain the pleasure of Allaah.
Therefore your love and your religion is not up to you, you are not free to decide and choose who you love and which religion you follow. You have free will and choices but when it comes to your religion there is no choice, there is no choice in which Aqeedah you follow, you have no choice in whether you have Tawheed or not, this is a command from Allaah and you must follow it.
This is the meaning of Walaa and Baraa and it is important for us to know so that we uphold our religion and so we know how to deal with the Kuffar. It is important so we are able to distinguish ourselves from the Kuffar and we are not influenced by them. Allaah differentiates from the Muslims and the Kuffaar always, in rulings of the religion, in our status in the worldly life, our time in the grave and in the Hereafter, so we must have this distinction between us and the Kuffaar, and this is one of the purposes of loving and disregarding for the sake of Allaah. Don’t you see that we are not allowed to bury kuffar with Muslims? Our lives in the grave are different as well; they are punished whereas the Muslims are. And in the Hereafter the Muslims will have Jannah for eternity and the Kuffaar in Hell for eternity. These are examples of differences in Fiqh, our lives in the Barzakh and the Aakhira.
So it is incumbent for us to be proud and uphold our religion and let the religion give us honour. We should strive for our religion and to be against those who worship the Shaytaan. Therefore Jihaad and its types is a mercy for mankind as it helps spread the truth and the worship of Allah and if we leave it, all of them will remain Kuffaar and be everlasting in the Fire.
So it is strange how people have become lax in this, rather we should call to be strict on this issue. We should help and support each other and we need to know the levels and types of people and not to disregard Walaa and Baraa as some have done as it is an important aspect of our religion. Some have even gone to the extent of changing the meaning of the ayaat that talk about this and even worse some have helped the Kuffaar to change words in the Quraan, in order to eradicate this concept of Walaa and Baraa. This is a trick that they try to play but Allaah has promised that He will protect this Book but the Kuffaar would love to be able to change our religion completely.
Some people pray and they fast but they don’t know the concept of Walaa and Baraa. They are pleased with the Kufr that they have, even though this man prays and fasts! They don’t realise the difference between Emaan and Kufr and they praise the Kuffaar and they even support the Kuffaar in matters of their religion, doing Kufr and he don’t even realise it!
“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do.”
[Maaidah 5:8]
Some try to make arguments and legitimise their love for the Kuffaar. They try and say that they are scared of the Kuffar and that we are weak. This is not acceptable and this leads to having bad thoughts about Allaah, The Exalted and High.
“And you see those in whose hearts there is a disease (of hypocrisy), they hurry to their friendship, saying: "We fear lest some misfortune of a disaster may befall us." Perhaps Allah may bring a victory or a decision according to His Will. Then they will become regretful for what they have been keeping as a secret in themselves”
[Maaidah 5:52]
So I ask Allaah to give us an opening and a cure from these trials.
Allaah, The Exalted and High says after quoting these peoples false arguments;
“And those who believe will say: "Are these the men (hypocrites) who swore their strongest oaths by Allah that they were with you (Muslims)?" All that they did has been in vain (because of their hypocrisy), and they have become the losers. O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower. Verily, your Wali (Protector or Helper) is Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, - those who perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat, and they bow down (submit themselves with obedience to Allah in prayer). And whosoever takes Allah, His Messenger, and those who have believed, as Protectors, then the party of Allah will be the victorious.”
[Maaidah 5:53-56]
So it is upon us to rectify ourselves and Allaah will always support those who uphold the truth and strive in his cause and He will make them successful, despite there are those who try to call for us ally with the Kuffar and they say they are scared of them.
These are ayaat from the Quraan but have we fulfilled these characteristics and commandments? I hope that we have but in reality it’s clear that most of us haven’t. This occurs either because they are ignorant or they are scared of the Kuffar because they don’t want to accept this and want our Aqeedah to be changed and to make us leave our religion.
“And they will never cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion (Islamic Monotheism) if they can. And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein forever”
[Baqarah 2:217]
Allaah will not His change, never. He will, however, have people support His religion and if you turn away He will replace you with those who will uphold His religion.
[Muhammad 47:38]
The religion is supported but it is up to us if we want to be support or if we want to reject the help that is being offered to us.
My brothers, it is important and obligatory for you to understand this and explain it to others in order for us all to be protected as a Muslim nation and to refute those who go against this great principle. To teach the ignorant from our friends and family, to advise them so that they are beware of the Fitnah that the Kuffar can cause.
Allaah Knows Best
May Allaah send His Peace and Blessings upon our blessed Messenger, his family, his companions and all those that follow him in goodness until the Last Day.
Questions and Answers
Question: Is being detached applied to the Kuffaar and those who do Kufr but they call themselves Muslims, such as the Shias/Raafidah?
Answer: The scholars say that those who do Kufr within Islaam are more deserved of being detached from the Kuffaar.
Question: What is the best way to preserve our families and our children from loving and imitating the Kuffaar?
Answer: The best way is to teach them and to give them a good upbringing and teaching the religion.
Question: Is all types of allying with the Kuffaar against the Muslims an act of Kufr?
Answer: This needs to be looked in further but in general terms, if one allies himself with the Kuffaar against the Muslims then this is Kufr.
Question: Is it permissible to say that the Kuffaar are better and more advanced than the Muslims?
Answer: The first person to say this was Muhammad Abdu, who was a Mufti at al-Azhar. But it is never permissible to say that a Kaafir is better than a Muslim, even if the Muslim is a Faasiq and has abundance in sins, he will always be better than a Kaafir.
Question: Most the sports clothes we find are from Europe and the west in general, is it permissible for us to wear these clothes? Some of these clothes have the names of Kuffaar players written on the shirts, is this permissible?
Answer: It is not permissible for a Muslim to wear clothes that resemble and imitate the Kuffaar, clothes that are specific to them and have the names of their players on them. The Muslim wears clothes that are in line with the Shariah.
Question: Is it permissible to continue loving your parents if they aren’t Muslim?
Answer: No loving them is not allowed but you are supposed to be kind and good to them;
“And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years give thanks to Me and to your parents, unto Me is the final destination. But if they (both) strive with you to make you join in worship with Me others that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not, but behave with them in the world kindly, and follow the path of him who turns to Me in repentance and in obedience. Then to Me will be your return, and I shall tell you what you used to do.”
[Luqmaan 31:14-15]
So be good to them but we must hate the religion they are on and we are not allowed to ally ourselves with them.
“You (O Muhammad ) will not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ), even though they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred (people).”
[Mujaadilah 58:22]
Question: Is there a difference in Walaa and Baraa in Aqeedah and Bida’ah?
Answer: No there is no difference but they are both not of the same level, hating Kufr must be worse than hating Bida’ah.
Question: Is it permissible to say to a Kaafir parent, ‘I love you’?
Answer: No, this isn’t allowed; but it is permissible to say ‘I love for you to be guided’ or ‘I love Islaam for you’
Question: Is it permissible not to call Kuffaar, Kaafir and call them by another name?
Answer: This is hiding the facts; rather we say what Allaah says. He called them Kaafir so we call them Kaafir.
