Assalaamu alaykum. I saw a bunch of people claiming that we should hate the disbelievers, but some other people said that the hatred should be directed towards disbelief, and not towards the disbelievers. Which is right? I can understand hating him if he hates Islam though. Does Allaah not tell us in verse 60:8 that He does not forbid us from treating the disbelievers who are against us with kindness? He also tells us in 29:46 to treat the Jews and Christians with the 'nicest of manners'. How could we hate someone but treat him nicely at the same time? Does hatred not make the heart black and hard? I also heard that verse 60:8 was abrogated; is that true? Thank you.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is among the requirements of the faith of a believer that he should hate the people of Kufr (disbelief) in the same manner that he hates Kufr itself. This is what is stated in religious texts, and we have already mentioned some of them in fatwa 88293.

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Allaah informed us that you will not find a believer who has affection for those who oppose Allaah and His Messenger since belief contradicts having affection for them in the same manner that two opposites cancel out each other. So if there is faith, it negates its opposite. Hence, if a person is an ally to the enemies of Allaah in his heart, then this is evidence that due faith does not exist in his heart.”

Among the sound reasons for preventing the Muslims from having affection with the Kaafirs (disbelievers) is that this affection could lead them to consider the disbelief upon which they are as good, and hence the Muslims would be tempted by it.

At-Taahir ibn ‘Aashoor said in regard to the interpretation of the verse: {O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allaah guides not the wrongdoing people.} [Quran 5:51] “The last part of the verse is an indication that taking the Jews and Christians as allies is a reason for apostasy, because if a group of hypocrites and those who have weak faith among the Muslims continue taking the Jews and Christians as allies, then it is feared that they will slip away from the faith.”

What is forbidden here does not contradict what is permissible in the verse of Soorah Al-Mumtahanah [Quran 60], because the first is related to the inclination of the heart, whereas what is mentioned in Soorah Al-Mumtahanah is related to matters of dealing with Kaafirs.

Ibn Hajar said, “Being kind and having good contact (with them) does not require having affection for them, which has been forbidden by the verse in which Allaah says (what means): {You will not find a people who believe in Allaah and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose Allaah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers….} [Quran 58:22]”

The same thing applies to debating with them in the best manner; because the purpose of all this is to urge them and encourage them to embrace Islam. Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer (Quran interpretation): “Mujaahid said, "This verse is not abrogated, so it is permissible to debate with the People of the Book in the best manner with the meaning of inviting them to Allaah and attracting their attention to His Proofs and Signs hoping that they would accept faith, and not by being harsh and rough with them…” So the verse has not been abrogated, contrary to the view of some scholars.

The same applies to the verse in Soorah Al-Mumtahanah; the most preponderant opinion is that it is not abrogated.

Ibn ‘Aashoor said, “Shihaabud-Deen Al-Qaraafi clarified in the 119th difference: the difference between being kind to them and having affection for them; so you should know that this verse is not abrogated by the verse in which Allaah says (what means): {Allaah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion…} [Quran 60:8] and that each verse applies to a certain condition.”

Allaah knows best.