Surah Al-Mumtahanah

Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

The Name · Bismillah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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The Surah · Al-Mumtahanah

﴾١﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ عَدُوِّى وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَآءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِم بِٱلْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا۟ بِمَا جَآءَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْحَقِّ يُخْرِجُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۙ أَن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ رَبِّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ خَرَجْتُمْ جِهَٰدًۭا فِى سَبِيلِى وَٱبْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِى ۚ تُسِرُّونَ إِلَيْهِم بِٱلْمَوَدَّةِ وَأَنَا۠ أَعْلَمُ بِمَآ أَخْفَيْتُمْ وَمَآ أَعْلَنتُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَفْعَلْهُ مِنكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu la tattakhidhu 'aduwwi wa 'aduwwakum awliya'a tulquna ilayhim bil-mawaddati wa qad kafaru bima ja'akum mina al-haqq, yukhrijuna ar-rasula wa iyyakum an tu'minu billahi Rabbikum, in kuntum kharajtum jihadan fi sabili wabtigha'a mardati, tusirruna ilayhim bil-mawaddati wa ana a'lamu bima akhfaytum wa ma a'lantum, wa man yaf'alhu minkum faqad dalla sawa'a as-sabil

You who believe, do not take My enemy and your enemy as allies, extending affection to them while they have rejected what came to you of the truth, driving out the Messenger and yourselves because you believe in Allah your Lord. If you have gone out to strive in My way and to seek My approval, you conceal affection toward them while I know what you hide and what you declare. Whoever among you does that has strayed from the even path.

﴾٢﴿ إِن يَثْقَفُوكُمْ يَكُونُوا۟ لَكُمْ أَعْدَآءًۭ وَيَبْسُطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ وَأَلْسِنَتَهُم بِٱلسُّوٓءِ وَوَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ

In yathqafukum yakunu lakum a'da'an wa yabsutu ilaykum aydiyahum wa alsinatahum bis-su'i wa waddu law takfurun

If they get hold of you they will be enemies to you and stretch out their hands and their tongues against you with harm, and they wish that you would disbelieve.

﴾٣﴿ لَن تَنفَعَكُمْ أَرْحَامُكُمْ وَلَآ أَوْلَٰدُكُمْ ۚ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌۭ

Lan tanfa'akum arhamukum wa la awladukum, yawma al-qiyamati yafsilu baynakum, wallahu bima ta'maluna basir

Your blood relations and your children will not benefit you on the Day of Resurrection. He will separate between you. Allah sees what you do.

﴾٤﴿ قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ فِىٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَٱلَّذِينَ مَعَهُۥٓ إِذْ قَالُوا۟ لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَءَٰٓؤُا۟ مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ٱلْعَدَٰوَةُ وَٱلْبَغْضَآءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّىٰ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَحْدَهُۥٓ إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَآ أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍۢ ۖ رَّبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ

Qad kanat lakum uswatun hasanatun fi Ibrahima walladhina ma'ahu idh qalu liqawmihim inna bura'a'u minkum wa mimma ta'buduna min duni Allah, kafarna bikum wa bada baynana wa baynakumu al-'adawatu wal-baghda'u abadan hatta tu'minu billahi wahdah, illa qawla Ibrahima li-abihi la-astaghfiranna laka wa ma amliku laka mina Allahi min shay', Rabbana 'alayka tawakkalna wa ilayka anabna wa ilayka al-masir

There is an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: we are free of you and of what you worship besides Allah. We reject you, and enmity and hatred have appeared between us and you forever, until you believe in Allah alone. Except for Ibrahim's saying to his father: I will surely ask forgiveness for you, though I hold nothing for you from Allah. Our Lord, in You we place our trust, to You we turn, and to You is the return.

﴾٥﴿ رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةًۭ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا رَبَّنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Rabbana la taj'alna fitnatan lilladhina kafaru waghfir lana Rabbana, innaka anta al-'azizu al-hakim

Our Lord, do not make us a trial for those who disbelieved, and forgive us, our Lord. You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

﴾٦﴿ لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيهِمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْءَاخِرَ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْغَنِىُّ ٱلْحَمِيدُ

Laqad kana lakum fihim uswatun hasanatun liman kana yarju Allaha wal-yawma al-akhir, wa man yatawalla fa-inna Allaha huwa al-ghaniyyu al-hamid

There was an excellent example for you in them, for whoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day. Whoever turns away, then Allah is the Free of Need, the Praised.

﴾٧﴿ ۞ عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَجْعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ ٱلَّذِينَ عَادَيْتُم مِّنْهُم مَّوَدَّةًۭ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ قَدِيرٌۭ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

'Asa Allahu an yaj'ala baynakum wa bayna alladhina 'adaytum minhum mawaddah, wallahu qadir, wallahu ghafurun rahim

Perhaps Allah will place affection between you and those of them you have been at enmity with. Allah is Capable, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

﴾٨﴿ لَّا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ

La yanhakumu Allahu 'ani alladhina lam yuqatilukum fi ad-dini wa lam yukhrijukum min diyarikum an tabarruhum wa tuqsitu ilayhim, inna Allaha yuhibbu al-muqsitin

Allah does not forbid you from those who did not fight you over religion and did not drive you from your homes, that you be righteous toward them and deal justly with them. Allah loves those who deal justly.

﴾٩﴿ إِنَّمَا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ قَٰتَلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ وَظَٰهَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَن تَوَلَّوْهُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ

Innama yanhakumu Allahu 'ani alladhina qatalukum fi ad-dini wa akhrajukum min diyarikum wa zaharu 'ala ikhrajikum an tawallawhum, wa man yatawallahum fa-ula'ika humu az-zalimun

Allah only forbids you from those who fought you over religion, drove you from your homes, and supported your expulsion, that you take them as allies. Whoever takes them as allies, those are the wrongdoers.

﴾١٠﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا جَآءَكُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتُ مُهَٰجِرَٰتٍۢ فَٱمْتَحِنُوهُنَّ ۖ ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَٰنِهِنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَٰتٍۢ فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى ٱلْكُفَّارِ ۖ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّۭ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ ۖ وَءَاتُوهُم مَّآ أَنفَقُوا۟ ۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ إِذَآ ءَاتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ ۚ وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا۟ بِعِصَمِ ٱلْكَوَافِرِ وَسْـَٔلُوا۟ مَآ أَنفَقْتُمْ وَلْيَسْـَٔلُوا۟ مَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ حُكْمُ ٱللَّهِ ۖ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu idha ja'akumu al-mu'minatu muhajiratin famtahinuhunna, Allahu a'lamu bi-imanihinn, fa-in 'alimtumuhunna mu'minatin fala tarji'uhunna ila al-kuffar, la hunna hillun lahum wa la hum yahilluna lahunn, wa atuhum ma anfaqu, wa la junaha 'alaykum an tankihuhunna idha ataytumuhunna ujurahunn, wa la tumsiku bi'isami al-kawafiri was'alu ma anfaqtum walyas'alu ma anfaqu, dhalikum hukmu Allahi yahkumu baynakum, wallahu 'alimun hakim

You who believe, when believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them. Allah knows their faith best. If you know them to be believers, do not return them to the disbelievers. They are not lawful for them and they are not lawful for the women. Give the disbelievers what they spent. There is no blame on you in marrying them when you have given them their due. Do not hold to marriage ties with disbelieving women. Ask for what you spent and let them ask for what they spent. That is the judgement of Allah. He judges between you. Allah is Knowing, Wise.

﴾١١﴿ وَإِن فَاتَكُمْ شَىْءٌۭ مِّنْ أَزْوَٰجِكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكُفَّارِ فَعَاقَبْتُمْ فَـَٔاتُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ ذَهَبَتْ أَزْوَٰجُهُم مِّثْلَ مَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنتُم بِهِۦ مُؤْمِنُونَ

Wa in fatakum shay'un min azwajikum ila al-kuffari fa'aqabtum fa-atu alladhina dhahabat azwajuhum mithla ma anfaqu, wattaqu Allaha alladhi antum bihi mu'minun

If any of your wives goes over to the disbelievers and you then have your turn, give those whose wives have gone the like of what they spent. Fear Allah, in whom you are believers.

﴾١٢﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن لَّا يُشْرِكْنَ بِٱللَّهِ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يَسْرِقْنَ وَلَا يَزْنِينَ وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَٰدَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَٰنٍۢ يَفْتَرِينَهُۥ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِى مَعْرُوفٍۢ ۙ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَٱسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

Ya ayyuha an-nabiyyu idha ja'aka al-mu'minatu yubayi'naka 'ala an la yushrikna billahi shay'an wa la yasriqna wa la yaznina wa la yaqtulna awladahunna wa la ya'tina bibuhtanin yaftarinahu bayna aydihinna wa arjulihinna wa la ya'sinaka fi ma'ruf, fabayi'hunna wastaghfir lahunna Allah, inna Allaha ghafurun rahim

Prophet, when believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor kill their children, nor bring a slander they have invented between their hands and their feet, nor disobey you in what is right, then accept their pledge and ask Allah's forgiveness for them. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

﴾١٣﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَوَلَّوْا۟ قَوْمًا غَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ قَدْ يَئِسُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ كَمَا يَئِسَ ٱلْكُفَّارُ مِنْ أَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْقُبُورِ

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu la tatawallaw qawman ghadiba Allahu 'alayhim, qad ya'isu mina al-akhirati kama ya'isa al-kuffaru min ashabi al-qubur

You who believe, do not ally yourselves with a people upon whom Allah is angry. They have despaired of the Hereafter as the disbelievers have despaired of those in the graves.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What The Surah Means

Overview

Surah Al-Mumtahanah is thirteen verses, chapter 60, Madani. Al-Bukhari records the case behind its opening verses, of Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah, a man of Badr who sent a letter warning Mecca of the coming advance. He was found out, he explained that he had family in Mecca and no protection for them, and the Prophet ﷺ accepted his explanation while the verses came down naming the act for what it was.

The surah then does something people routinely fail to do. It separates enmity from injustice. Verses 8 and 9 draw the line precisely: the ones who fought you over your religion and drove you out are one category, and everyone else is another, and toward the second group you are commanded to be righteous and just.

A man of Badr sent the letter. He was heard, he was corrected, and he was not discarded.

Verses 1–3 · The Letter

Do not take My enemy and your enemy as allies, extending affection to them.

La tattakhidhu 'aduwwi wa 'aduwwakum awliya' tulquna ilayhim bil-mawaddah: the phrasing is specific. It forbids the alliance and the offering of affection, not the existence of a relationship.

Tusirruna ilayhim bil-mawaddati wa ana a'lamu bima akhfaytum wa ma a'lantum: you conceal affection toward them while I know what you hide and what you declare. The act described is private, and the verse answers it by naming the privacy.

Lan tanfa'akum arhamukum wa la awladukum yawma al-qiyamah: your blood relations and your children will not benefit you on the Day of Resurrection. This is the direct answer to the reason Hatib gave, which was family exposure. The Quran does not call his motive a lie. It tells him the motive does not hold at the scale that matters.

The reason he gave was real. The verse answers it by measuring it against the Day rather than by calling it false.

Verses 4–7 · Ibrahim, and the One Exception

There is an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him.

Qad kanat lakum uswatun hasanatun fi Ibrahima walladhina ma'ah: an excellent pattern. Their position is quoted directly, that they were free of what was worshipped besides Allah.

Illa qawla Ibrahima li-abihi la-astaghfiranna lak: except for Ibrahim's saying to his father, I will surely ask forgiveness for you. The exception is stated inside the praise. Even the model has one clause that is not to be copied, and the Quran marks it rather than hiding it.

Rabbana la taj'alna fitnatan lilladhina kafaru: our Lord, do not make us a trial for those who disbelieved. The prayer is not for victory. It is that their own conduct not become the thing that hardens someone else against the truth.

Wa 'asa Allahu an yaj'ala baynakum wa bayna alladhina 'adaytum minhum mawaddah: perhaps Allah will place affection between you and those you have been at enmity with. Positioned immediately after the hardest verses in the surah, the door is left open. Ibn Kathir connects this to what actually happened at the conquest of Mecca.

Follow the model, except for one clause the Quran names. And expect the enmity to be temporary.

Verses 8–9 · The Line

Allah does not forbid you from those who did not fight you over religion and did not drive you from your homes, from being righteous and just toward them.

La yanhakumu Allahu 'ani alladhina lam yuqatilukum fi ad-dini wa lam yukhrijukum min diyarikum an tabarruhum wa tuqsitu ilayhim: two conditions, both about action taken against you. Fighting you over your religion, and driving you out. Absent those two, the ruling is birr and qist, righteousness and justice.

Inna Allaha yuhibbu al-muqsitin: Allah loves those who deal justly. The passage closes on love, and the object of that love is defined by how you treat people outside your own group.

Innama yanhakumu Allahu 'ani alladhina qatalukum fi ad-din wa akhrajukum min diyarikum wa zaharu 'ala ikhrajikum an tawallawhum: the prohibition names three specific behaviors, and it is a prohibition on taking them as allies, not a licence for injustice toward them.

Read the two verses as one instrument. They make enmity conditional and specific, and they make justice unconditional. Most people invert that.

Alliance is restricted by what was done to you. Justice is not restricted by anything.

Verses 10–13 · The Examination and the Pledge

When believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them.

Famtahinuhunna: examine them. The surah takes its name from this verb. A woman arriving from the other side is not assumed and not turned away. She is assessed, and the ruling that follows protects her from being returned into harm.

The verses then settle the financial consequences in both directions, which is the Quran doing administration in public. Give back what was spent, and let the other side do the same.

Then the pledge in verse 12. That they will not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor kill their children, nor bring a slander they have invented, nor disobey in what is right. The list is given to women directly, as an independent covenant, not through a husband or a father.

Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu la tatawallaw qawman ghadiba Allahu 'alayhim: the surah closes by returning to the opening subject, and the closing image is of people who have despaired of the Hereafter as the dead in the graves have despaired.

She is examined, protected, paid out, and given her own covenant to take with her own tongue.

Structural Summary

The Dispatch

Join The Dispatch

Essays, study notes, and disciplined reflections from Mike Rashid King.

Thirteen Verses. Enmity Is Not Injustice.

Verses 1–3The LetterDo not offer affection to those at war with Him. Your kin and your children will not avail you on the Day.

Verses 4–6The ExampleIbrahim and those with him, with one clause of his marked as not to be copied.

Verse 7The DoorPerhaps He will place affection between you and those you have been at enmity with.

Verses 8–9The LineRighteousness and justice toward those who did not fight you or drive you out. He loves those who deal justly.

Verses 10–11The ExaminationMigrant women examined rather than assumed or returned, with the finances settled in both directions.

Verse 12The PledgeSix commitments taken directly from women as their own covenant.

Verse 13The ClosingDo not ally with a people who have despaired of the Hereafter.

Why This Surah Is For You

Verses 8 and 9 are the instrument most people get backwards. Enmity is made conditional on two specific acts done to you. Justice is made unconditional. A man who reads only the first half of this surah will build a posture the second half forbids.

The Hatib case is the model for handling betrayal by someone inside your circle. He was named, the act was named, his explanation was heard, and he was not cast out. Al-Bukhari carries the whole account. Most men handle this by either excusing the act or discarding the man. The surah does neither.

Verse 3 answers the most common justification for compromise, which is protecting your family. The Quran does not dispute that the motive is real. It tells you the protection does not extend to the day that decides everything, so it cannot be the thing you trade principle for.

Verse 5 is a prayer worth adopting. Do not make us a trial for those who disbelieved. Not asking to win. Asking that your own conduct never becomes the reason another man hardens against the truth.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Thirteen Verses. Be Just Anyway.

Apply the two conditions in verse 8 before you decide anyone is an adversary. Did they fight you over this, and did they drive you out. If not, the ruling is righteousness and justice.

When someone close fails you, run the Hatib pattern. Name the act, hear the reason, and do not discard the man.

Pray verse 5 as written. Ask that your conduct never becomes another man's reason to turn away.

Keep verse 7 in view during any long enmity. He may place affection between you and the person you are currently at war with, and He has done it before.

Alliance has conditions. Justice does not. He loves those who deal justly.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Verse 11 / 26

The Verse

لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ عَدُوِّى وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَآءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِم بِٱلْمَوَدَّةِ

La tattakhidhu 'aduwwi wa 'aduwwakum awliya'a tulquna ilayhim bil-mawaddah

What does this verse forbid?

ATaking Allah's enemies and yours as allies and extending affection to them.BTrading with any tribe outside Medina.CTravelling to a city that rejected the Messenger.DSpeaking to relatives who have not accepted Islam.

The Dispatch

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Essays, study notes, and disciplined reflections from Mike Rashid King.

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