I have been reading Tafseer-e-Usmani for the last month or so. There are several verses of the Quran in which we are discouraged from having friends with the Non-Muslims. And there is even one verse which declares that whoever is friends with them is one of them! For people like us living in Non-Muslim countries, can you please advise me what are the limits of friendship with Non-Muslim? I mean, I go to University. Can I have just a casual friendship with the Non-Muslims for study matters etc.? Or at work with my colleagues? Please just elaborate what are the limits for Muslims for friendship with Non-Muslims. What should be our behavior with them? If we just ignore them, then won’t that create a bad image of Islam in their minds?
The first thing we need to keep in mind is that there is a distinction between studying books about Dean and studying the Quran directly. If you are studying the Quran directly, then you should ask a Deobandee scholar before you continue your studies any further. You should give him your educational background and general personal situation and inform him of your intention for studying; and then ask him if it is proper for you to be studying the Quran directly or not. Believe it or not, sometimes it is not preferred for some people to study the Quran directly. Because, if they happen to misunderstand something, yet they think it’s correct and believe that their interpretation of the Holy Book is part of the Quran itself, they might actually ingraining misconceptions about themselves and the Holy Text. In fact, sometimes their iman is in danger and they don’t even know about it. That’s why many scholars are very cautious and careful about studying the Quran directly.
Not to answer your question, if someone is an enemy to Allah then they are our enemy; and if someone or a group of people are friends of Allah then they are our friends. Those who don’t believe in Allah properly, Allah does not make them his friends; but on the contrary he dislikes them. That’s why it is mandatory upon us to also not make friends with them. The meaning of friendship is to have a place in your heart for someone. If someone is an enemy or is dislike but Allah then it is not allowed for us to have a positive place in our hearts for these types of people. That doesn’t mean that we should be rude to them when we meet them. No, on the contrary, we should still meet them with good manners and etiquettes, just not have any love or respect for them in our hearts; no matter if they are Muslims or not Muslims.
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