Quran In Depth: Surah The Women

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

One of my first most-liked pieces of the Quran covers one of the most controversial lines (ayaat) of the Quran. I am talking about Surah 4, an-Nisa', The Women in English. The line I am talking about is 4:89.
I think most people that have read some of the Quran or something about islam are familiar with this ayah or the concept of this ayah. I shall later on talk more specifically about this ayah, but first I will tell you some more about the entire piece I will talk about today.
The section I am  going to discuss today is Surah an-Nisa', The Women, ayaat 77 to 90. Below I will quote some of my favorite sentences out of this part of the Quran.

4:79   Whatever good comes to you, it is by Allah's grace, and whatever evil befalls you, it is the result of your own doings.

Every single good thing that happens to you happens because Allah (swt) wanted it to happen to you at that moment. The same applies for bad things.
For me this was always very comforting because it tells me that everything happens because Allah (swt) wanted it to happen right then and there. Because a bad thing happened I am either saved from a big mistake I could have otherwise made, or I have learned something by living through the bad event because I made a mistake that I should not have made. When a good thing happens I am told that I am on the right path, or maybe even that I should be cheered up or encouraged to follow the right path. Every thing that happens, happens for a reason. And honestly, that is extremely soothing. To me it is, at least.

4:83 Had it not been for Allah's grace and mercy towards you, all of you except a few, would have followed Satan.

Right here it says that Allah (swt) gave you the opportunity to follow Him and the Prophet (pbuh) and you should be extremely grateful that you are given this chance to show that you are a true believer. Not only should you be grateful that you can show that you are a follower of islam, you should also be grateful that you have the chance to be a follower of islam because not every person has this chance. Allah (swt) saved you in specific from Satan and the Hellfire and because of this you should be grateful and fear Allah (swt).

4:85  Whoever pleads a good cause, will get a share from it, and whoever pleads an evil cause shall also get a share from it.

You can see that this ayah is similar to the karma principle, only here the good or bad that the person receives will be given by Allah (swt). Someone who does good, will receive good, and someone who does evil, will receive evil. Or as the English proverb says: what goes around, comes around.
Everyone is probably familiar with this concept, but what islam teaches you about this concept is that when a person comes to you and does something for you, you should return the favour in a similar or surpassing manner. This part is usually forgotten in the western world but even in islamic countries a lot of people seem to forget that you should in fact return the favour. Because, as you might imagine, this would make the world a much nicer place to stay until you are returned to your Maker.

4:88  You cannot find a path for him whom Allah has turned away from the right path. 4:89 They really wish that you should also become disbelievers, as they themselves are so that both of you may become alike. So you should not take friends from among them unless they migrate in the way of Allah.

This tells you that you should not work on converting people to islam while knowing that they don't want to convert and that Allah (swt) turned them away from the path of islam because of what is in their hearts. All they want from you is that you will forget about your purpose in this life to stay on the right path, do good and follow islam. Therefore it is better that you do not befriend the people that intentionally keep you away from your religion while they are the hypocrites and you are on the right path.
It does not, however, say that you should not befriend non-Muslims at all, or even hate the people that are not Muslim. It is a religion of peace and forgiveness and that is how the attitude of a Muslim toward a non-Muslim should be like.


Now I will talk a little about the controversial ayaat of this piece of Quran. The translations are as follows:

4:84   So fight, (O Muhammad), in the cause of Allah ; you are not held responsible except for yourself. And encourage the believers (to join you) that perhaps Allah will restrain the (military) might of those who disbelieve. And Allah is greater in might and stronger in (exemplary) punishment.

4:89   They wish that you reject Faith, as they have rejected (Faith), and thus that you all become equal (like one another). So take not Auliya' (protectors or friends) from them, till they emigrate in the Way of Allah (to Muhammad SAW). But if they turn back (from Islam), take (hold) of them and kill them wherever you find them, and take neither Auliya' (protectors or friends) nor helpers from them. 

The fighting that is mentioned here is fighting when islam as a religion is under attack. It is not about fighting because not every single person in the country or in the world is Muslim. 
Also there is mentioned that  "take not friends from them (non-Muslims), till they emigrate in the Way of Allah (read: become Muslim)" which is a sentence I heard so much stuff about, like: "Muslims should not befriend non-Muslims" or "Muslims are only allowed to talk to other Muslims". As you can see in the complete translation above, the specific word in the Quran used is Auliya', which is more a protector than a friend. It is a person that affects you so much that when he/she eats pork for instance, then you will also eat pork following their example. The only people that Muslims should not befriend, as friends only, are the people that pretend to be a Muslim with the goal of belittling and devaluing Muslims and islam. So the killing that is talked about here concerns that same group of people, the people that attack islam and belittle and devalue Muslims. 


I hope I have explained it well enough, and if I didn't please feel free to leave questions in the comments or email me when you want more information.

May peace, mercy and blessings from Allah be upon you