His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day loving those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their clan. Those are the ones whom Allah has written faith in their hearts and supported them with a spirit from Him. And He will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. Those are the party of Allah. Indeed, the party of Allah are the successful."

This verse negates the existence of anyone who truly believes in Allah, the Exalted, and adheres to His branches perfectly, while loving a disbeliever or a hypocrite. The meaning of "loving" is that there is kindness between them, such that each one of them loves his companion. Based on this interpretation, some of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, said: "O Allah, do not make for a polytheist before me a hand that would be a cause for affection," and they recited this verse. The verse can also mean that there is no one who believes in Allah and the Resurrection who loves one who opposes Allah, as he is an opponent; for at that time, he would love the opposition, and that necessitates that he is not a believer.

It is narrated that this verse was revealed concerning Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah and his addressing the people of Mecca. The apparent meaning of these verses is that they are connected in meaning, and that this is in the context of condemning the hypocrites who ally with the Jews. If we say that it pertains to the matter of Hatib, that would be foreign to the issue of the hypocrites, even if it is similar to it. The "brothers" here are brothers by lineage, as indicated by their conjunction with fathers. It is known that "brothers" refers to those of kinship, just as "brotherhood" is known to refer to lineage, and it may also be used in the context of affectionate brotherhood. And "He has written faith in their hearts" means: He has affirmed it and created it by bringing it into existence. Abu Ali al-Farisi and others from the Mu'tazilah went to the meaning: He has placed in their hearts signs by which the angels know that they are believers, as they see the servant creating his faith. Al-Naqqash explicitly stated this view, and I do not see that he said it without having grasped what he said, while Abu Ali al-Farisi had insight into it.

The majority of the reciters read: "He has written" in the form of the verb for the subject, and "faith" in the accusative. Abu Haywah and Asim - in the narration of Al-Mufaddal from him - read: "He has written" in the form of the verb for the object, and "faith" in the nominative.

His saying, exalted is He: "Those" refers to the believers that the meaning of the verse necessitates; for the meaning is: But you will find them not loving those who oppose Allah. And His saying, exalted is He: "with a spirit from Him" refers to guidance, kindness, light, and divine success that arises from the Qur'an and from the words of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that the meaning is: with the Qur'an, as it is a spirit. It is said that the meaning is: with Gabriel, peace be upon him.

And "the party" is the group that is united by a single doctrine, and "the successful" is the one who achieves his aim. The remainder of the verse is clear.

The interpretation of Surah [Al-Mujadila] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.