Surah No. 60

Introduction
Merits of the Surah
Sayyid runs an introduction to the Surah: “This Surah aims at establishing a heavenly state in the heart of the faithful; a world whose fulcrum is belief in Allah, to which alone every believer is bound with a binding that does not sever; as it also aims at breaking them loose of every other kind of binding: whether it is on the basis of the nation, race, land, family or kin. It endeavors to replace all these, with another, single binding, that of faith. They are to be flanked by the side of Allah’s banner, as forces of Allah.
The world that Islam wishes to create is divinely-human. It is divine in the sense that it reinforces and strengthens (in the human society) every element of Allah’s directives, and turns to Allah in full awareness and in all of its works. It is human in the sense that it includes the whole of the humanity, in which the differences of race, land, language and lineage, and everything else that differentiates between man and man are obliterated, save that of faith. This is that lofty world order in which man – honored by Allah - deserves to live.
Before the establishment of such a world order, many hurdles and obstacles have to be faced. The community of Muslims of that time, as of all other times until now, faced the hurdles of prejudices favoring the house, the family, the nation, race and region, along with obstacles of other kinds such as, lusts and desires of the inner base self, greed, love of the good things for their own sake, personal pride and perversities – and, of course, many other kinds of internal obstacles.
It was necessary for Islam to treat and cure all these diseases if it had to build a society and create an environment to accomplish Allah’s own design in real and practical terms. This chapter happens to be just one link in the chain of Surahs revealed for this purpose.
Some of the emigrants who had left their homes, properties and kinsfolk in the cause of Islam still had fond memories of, and emotional attachments to what they had left behind of their wives, children and kinsfolk. And despite what they had experienced of the torture and severity at their hands, some of their hearts still remained wishing an amicable and goodly relationship with them and the Quraysh at large. They wished that the state of belligerency that existed between them and the Quraysh and which had led them to fight their own kith and kin in the battle-fields, could be changed to peaceful conditions, making it possible to rejoin the severed relationships.
Allah on the other hand wished to cleanse their hearts and get them rid of their inclinations towards their kith and kin to release them wholly for this religion, its faith and its program.
Allah of course knew of the weight of the pressure because of the natural inclinations as He also knew of the sediments of Jahiliyyah residing in their hearts. Noticeably, the Arabs were, by their nature, strongly connected to their tribes, clans and families. And hence Allah would treat them, through events spanning over days and months, in order that the treatment should take place on the active stage of life, through real events.

1. It has been pronounced both as Mumtahanah as well as Mumtahinah (Shawkani).

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِمَا جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۙ أَنْ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ رَبِّكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ خَرَجْتُمْ جِهَادًا فِي سَبِيلِي وَابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاتِي ۚ تُسِرُّونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِمَا أَخْفَيْتُمْ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُمْ ۚ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْهُ مِنْكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيلِ (1)

(60:1) O those who have believed, take not My enemy and your enemy as close friends,%%2&& offering them love while they have disbelieved in what has come to you of the Truth,%%3&& expelling the Messenger and your because you believe in Allah your Lord. If you came out in My path, seeking My good pleasure (then beware).%%4&& You confide to them secretly, out of love, while I know what you conceal and what you reveal;%%5&& yet whosoever of you does that (here after), has certainly gone astray from the right way.%%6&&

2. Yusuf Ali comments: “The immediate occasion for this was a secret letter sent by one Hatib, a Muhajir, from Madinah, to the Pagans at Makkah, in most friendly terms, seeking for their protection on behalf of his children and relatives left behind in Makkah. The letter was intercepted, and he confessed the truth. He was forgiven as he told the truth and his motive did not appear to be heinous, but this instruction was given for future guidance. This was shortly before the conquest of Makkah, but the principle is of universal application. You cannot be on terms of secret intimacy with the enemies of your Faith and people, who are persecuting your Faith and seeking to destroy your Faith and you. You may not do so even for the sake of your relatives as it compromises the life and existence of your whole community.”

3. The connection between this and the previous Surah is that the previous Surah ended with the description of some of the Attributes of Allah. This one opens with the directive that those who deny those Attributes, may not be befriended. The Prophet has said,
“A man is upon the religion of his friend. So, you may look into whom you befriend” (Razi).
The above version is from Tirmidhi which he himself declared weak but which Nawawi declared trustworthy (Tuhfah). Other hadith collectors have also recorded this hadith (Au.).
The Prophet also said, continues Razi,
The strongest of Iman’s bonds is befriending for the sake of Allah, enmity for the sake of Allah, and love in Allah.”
The above hadith is in Tabarani declared Sahih by Albani. We may add in passing Yahya b. Mu`adh’s words:
“The truth of ‘love in Allah’ is that it neither increases with beneficence, nor lessens with rough treatment (from Him)” - Au.

4. Ibn Jarir and Qurtubi suggest that there has been what is known as “taqdim wa ta’khir” in this passage. It may be read as, “O those who have believed, take not My enemy and your enemy as close friends, offering them love while they have disbelieved in what has come to you of the Truth, if you came out in My path, seeking My good pleasure, expelling the Messenger and your because you believe in Allah your Lord.”
However, a simpler explanation is offered by Zamakhshari, Razi and Ibn Kathir to the effect that if you have come forth in Allah’s path, seeking His good pleasure, then avoid befriending His and your foes.

5. Imam Razi points out that the word used here for concealment is “akhfa.” This word conceals greater emphasis on concealment than “sir.” Allah said:

6. The commentators have unanimously said that these verses were revealed in connection with an incident involving Hatib b. abi Balta`ah. He was one of the immigrants (but not a Qurayshi), a Badri companion, with his folks and property in Makkah. (It is reported that his mother was also in Makkah: Qurtubi). He did not have the protection of any clan, except that he was allied to `Uthman. When the Prophet decided to raid Makkah because they had breached the treaty, he announced his intention to start off, but did not reveal the destinatin. He said, “O Allah, conceal our news from them.” He ordered his Companions to make preparations. Noticing all this, Hatib wrote a letter addressed to the Makkan chiefs and sent it through a woman. It was to inform them of the Prophet’s intention. He intended to score a good turn on them (so that, if things went awry, his family folk would be spared by the Makkans). Allah informed the Prophet about it and he sent a few men to retrieve the letter.
The incident is widely reported in Hadith literature. Here is a version from Bukhari:
`Ali (ra) narrated: The Prophet sent me, Abu Marthad and Zubayr b. al-`Awwam, all horsemen, saying, “Go until the Khakh orchard (about 29 km from Madinah towards Makkah: Qurtubi’s editor). You will find a woman there among the pagans. She has a letter from Hatib b. abi Balta`ah addressed to the (Makkan) pagans.” We found her riding her camel at the place the Prophet had said. We told her, “Out with the letter.” She said, “We have no letter.” So we brought her down the camel and searched, but could not find the letter. We said, “The Prophet will not lie, so either you will bring the letter out or we shall denude you.” When she saw that there was no alternative, she brought it out from her waist band as she was well covered with clothes. (According to other reports she had hidden it in her plait). We took it to the Prophet. `Umar said, “Messenger of Allah, he has betrayed Allah, His Messenger and the believers. Let me behead him.“
The Prophet asked, “What induced you to do what you did?” Hatib replied, “By Allah, what is with me that I should not believe in Allah and His Messenger? I wished to gain a point with my people whereby they would defend my homefolk and property. There is none of your Companion but he has a supporter there who will defend his homefolk and property.” The Prophet said, “He spoke the truth, and do not attribute to him but good.” `Umar said, “He has betrayed Allah, His Messenger and the believers. So let me behead him.” The Prophet replied, “Is he not of those who fought at Badr? Maybe Allah looked at those at Badr and said, ‘Do what you will. Paradise is yours, or (He said) I have forgiven you.’” Thereupon, `Umar’s eyes shed a few tears and he said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
Zamakhshari and Qurtubi add that actually the woman, named Sarrah, a slave-woman of the Banu Hashim, had come to Madinah (from Makkah). The Prophet had asked her as to why had she come? Was she a Muslim? She said no, and explained that her supporters had died at Badr and now she was in an extremely distressful situation. (She was a singer. So the Prophet asked her, “And what about the youth of Makkah? Do they not need you anymore?” She replied, “No more after Badr”: Qurtubi). So, (on the Prophet’s recommendation: Qurtubi) the `Abd al-Muttallib clan collected funds and provision for her and set her on the road to Makkah well supplied. Hatib b. Abi Balta`ah met her and gave her 10 Dinar to carry his letter.
Zamakhshari and Qurtubi also mention that among the four that the Prophet had declared that they be killed at the time of Makkan conquest, one was Sarrah. But there must have been other reasons for the order. At all events, she went underground during the Makkan campaign and later appeared to embrace Islam.

إِنْ يَثْقَفُوكُمْ يَكُونُوا لَكُمْ أَعْدَاءً وَيَبْسُطُوا إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ وَأَلْسِنَتَهُمْ بِالسُّوءِ وَوَدُّوا لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ (2)

(60:2) If they get the better of you,%%7&& they will be your enemies and stretch their hands and tongues at you in evil, and they ardently desire if you could disbelieve.

7. Yusuf Ali’s note seems to advance a premonition. He writes, “Besides the question of your fidelity to your own people, even your own selfish interests require you to beware of secret intrigues with enemies. They will welcome you as cat’s paw. But what will happen when they have used you and got the better of you and your people! Then they will show you their hand. And a heavy hand it will be! Not only will they injure you with their hands but with their tongues! The only words they will use for you will be ‘Traitors to their own’! If they intrigue with you now, it is to prevent you from the Path of Truth and righteousness and win you over to their evil ways.”

لَنْ تَنْفَعَكُمْ أَرْحَامُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ ۚ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ (3)

(60:3) Neither your blood-kindred nor your children wil benefit you on the day of Standing; He will separate you,%%8&& and Allah is, of what you do, Aware.

8. The rendering of “yafsilu” as “separate [you]” is based on Ibn Jarir’s understanding; i.e., Allah will separate the good from the evil, sending one to Paradise and the other to Hell. Zamakhshari and Qurtubi also state the same meaning.

قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَآءُ مِنْكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّىٰ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ۖ رَبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ (4)

(60:4) There surely is a good example for you in Ibrahim and those with him,%%9&& when they said to their people, ‘We are quit of you and of whatever you worship, apart from Allah. We disown you, and enmity and hatred has appeared between you and us for ever,%%10&& until you believe in Allah alone’ – except for Ibrahim’s words to his father,%%11&& ‘I shall certainly seekforgiveness for you, but I have no power on behalf of you against Allah,%%12&& in the least. Our Lord! Upon You we have placed trust, to You we turn, and to You is the homecoming.

9. Ibn Jarir understands “those with him” as referring to Prophets (of earlier times); but Alusi suggests that the reference could be to believers in him (however few).

10. For all his soft-heartedness, Yusuf Ali demonstrates firmness of a believer, writing in the style of Sayyid Qutb, “The enemies of Allah are enemies of the righteous, and they hate the righteous. Therefore the righteous must cut themselves off eternally from them, unless they repent and come back to Allah. In that case they receive Allah’s mercy and are entitled to all the rights of love and brotherhood. This shows that our detestation is for evil, not for men as such so long as there is a chance for repentance. See also verse 7 below. But we must give no chance to Evil for working evil on our Brotherhood at any time.”

11. Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said that the believers are to follow the good example of Ibrahim and those with him in all matters except for seeking forgiveness for the pagans. Ibrahim was an exception (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).
And Ibrahim’s act in any case, was because of a promise he had made. Allah said,
“It was not (proper) for the Prophet and the faithful to ask pardon for the polytheists, even if they were near of kin, after it became clear to them that they are companions of the Fire. (As for) Ibrahim (he) sought not pardon for his father except because of a promise he had made to him. Nevertheless, when it became apparent to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he disavowed him. Indeed, Ibrahim (was of) a pleading (nature), much forbearing” (Ibn Kathir).

12. That is, I cannot do anything else for you beyond seeking forgiveness for you (Zamakhshari).

رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةً لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا رَبَّنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (5)

(60:5) Our Lord! Do not make of us a temptation to those who disbelieve;%%13&& forgive us, O our Lord, indeed You, You alone, are the Mighty, the Wise.’

13. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah said: The meaning is, “O Allah, neither punish us at their hands, nor punish us at Your hands, lest the unbelievers say, ‘Their faith proved useless,’ or, ‘Had they been on the right, they would not have been punished’” (Ibn Jarir, Kashshaf, Razi, Ibn Kathir).

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيهِمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ ۚ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ (6)

(60:6) There surely is in them a good example: for whomsoever longs for Allah and the Last Day. But if any turned away, then surely Allah is All-sufficient, All-laudable.%%14&&

14. Sayyid comments: This passage connects this new community of Muslims with the earlier community of Tawhid-bearers. This caravan is the caravan of faith. It extends into past times, quit of every affinity that contradicts the affinity of faith. This community is an extension of that of Ibrahim: their ancient father. He offers an example, not merely in matters of faith, but in matters of life and its experiences; those that he encountered and during which he manifested his tenderness for the kin. But he got over it: he and those with him, purifying their faith.
A Muslim of today may look into that example, that of Ibrahim, not in matters of faith alone, but also in his life and its experiences to realize that he, Ibrahim, had experienced more consequential experiences than his own personal experiences. This extended caravan which travels through the ravines of Time, of believers standing by the banner of Allah, faces the same situations and circumstances as did the past ones. The affair is not new, nor innovative, nor a kind of demand that the believers of any time find difficult to meet.

عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَجْعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَ الَّذِينَ عَادَيْتُمْ مِنْهُمْ مَوَدَّةً ۚ وَاللَّهُ قَدِيرٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (7)

(60:7) It may be that Allah will yet establish love between you and those of them you had antaganoised.%%15&& Allah is Able; and Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.%%16&&

15. That’s exactly what happened. After the fall of Makkah, the pagans turned Muslim and antagonism was removed from their hearts (Ibn Jarir).
We have a good example in Abu Sufyan. After he had embraced Islam, the Prophet sent him to a Yemeni province as a governor. He was there when he heard of the Prophet’s death. As he was coming he encountered a man who had turned apostate. Abu Sufyan fought him until he killed him. Thus he was the first to fight the apostates (Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).

16. Islam is the religion of peace. It is faith, and love. It is a system that aims to bring whole of the world under its shade; and execute its program in it. It endeavors to collect together humankind under one banner, as brothers in Allah, full of love for each other. And there is nothing to come as an obstacle in the accomplishment of this endeavor but attack on it and its followers. However, if they come to peace with it, Islam has no desire for conflicts. In fact, even the while enmity prevails, it looks for creation of love and amity through good behavior and just dealing – waiting for the day when its enemies will realize that their own interests and advantages lie in being under the same banner: It may be that Allah will yet establish love .. (Sayyid).

لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ (8)

(60:8) Allah does not forbid you as regards those who did not fight you in religion’s cause, and did not expel you from your homes, that you should do good to them and deal justly with them.%%17&& Surely Allah approves of the just.

17. Once again, the application is general, and includes unbelievers of all kinds, but the revelation could be specifically related to an incident. Qutaylah bint `Abdul `Uzza, a (divorced woman: Ma`arif) wife of Abu Bakr and the mother of Asma’ bint Abu Bakr, still on paganism, visited her. She brought her gifts of sauce, butter, and cheese, but Asma’ told her, “I shall not accept any of it, nor should you enter my house.” `A’isha mentioned this to the Prophet and this ayah was revealed (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
The above report is in Ibn abi Hatim, Nasikh of Nahhas, Ibn Marduwayh and Hakim who treated it as trustworthy (Shawkani).

إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَىٰ إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَنْ تَوَلَّوْهُمْ ۚ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ (9)

(60:9) Allah only forbids you as regards those who fought you in religion’s cause, expelled you from your homes and supported your expulsion, that you should take them as close friends;%%18&& and, whosoever takes them as close friends, those, such are the transgressors.

18. The obvious reference is to the Makkans.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا جَاءَكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ ۖ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ ۖ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ ۖ وَآتُوهُمْ مَا أَنْفَقُوا ۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تَنْكِحُوهُنَّ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ ۚ وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ وَاسْأَلُوا مَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ وَلْيَسْأَلُوا مَا أَنْفَقُوا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ حُكْمُ اللَّهِ ۖ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (10)

(60:10) O those who have believed, when there come to you believing women as emigrants, test them.%%19&& Allah is better knowing of their faith. If you find them as believers then do not turn them back to the unbelievers.%%20&& Neither are they lawful to them nor are they (the unbelieving men) lawful to them. And give them (back) what they (the unbelievers) have expended.%%21&& And there is no sin upon you that you marry them after you have given them their dowers.%%22&& But hold not (marital) ties of the unbelieving women.%%23&& And ask what you expended, as they may ask what they expended. Such is Allah’s judgment; He judges between you; and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.

19. It is said that those days when a Makkan woman had trouble with her husband, she would threaten that she will go away to Muhammad. So Allah revealed this verse (Qurtubi).
Ibn `Abbas was asked about how exactly women were tested? He explained that the Prophet would ask them whether, “By Allah, she had not come on account of differences with the husband,” and, “By Allah, she was not trying to abandon her town for another,” and, “By Allah, she was not vying for a worldly gain,” and, (“She had not come forth being in love with a man among us”: Ikrimah) and, “By Allah, she had not come except in love of Allah and His Messenger” (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari & Razi [without naming Ibn `Abbas], Ibn Kathir).
When a woman testified to these things, the Prophet told her, “Go, I have accepted your pledge.” By Allah, the Prophet’s hand never touched a woman’s” (Ibn Jarir).

20. This verse was revealed because one of the clauses of the Hudaybiyyah Treaty was that any Makkan escaping to Madinah to join the Prophet would be returned while any Muslim who decided to join the pagans at Makkah would not be returned. Therefore, the Prophet rejected any Muslim who wished to join him. He rejected them even the while he was there at Hudaybiyyah. Nevertheless, when Umm Kulthum bint `Uqbah b. Abi Mu`ayt came to him requesting refuge, he accepted her. When her family members came to reclaim her, the Prophet refused following the directive of this verse (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
The report is in Bukhari (Au.).
The Prophet retained women who had fled to him from their non-Makkan pagan husbands too. Such as, for example, Umaymah bint Bishr al-Ansariyyah, and another woman from the Aws tribe: their husbands were unbelievers (Ibn Jarir).

21. Ibn Zayd explained that when the pagans insisted on the clause in the Hudyabiyyah Treaty that anyone of them coming to the Prophet would be returned, and so also, anyone who deserted the Prophet and returned to Makkah would be returned, the Prophet said, “If there happens to be anyone from among the believers who wishes to return to Makkah, we have no need of him, he may stay stay back.” But Allah declared the exception of believing women from among the Makkan pagans joining him. However, if there was any woman who escaped to Madinah from Makkah as a Muslim, then the Muslims (Islamic state) were bound to pay up her husband the amount of dower he had spent on her (Ibn Jarir).

22. When Allah said, “after you have given them their dowers,” to whom were the dower amounts to go? The answer that Zuhri gave was that they were to go to the former pagan husbands. In other words, Muslims were not to marry believing women who had escaped from the pagans, before their former pagan husbands had received the sums they had expended on them at the time of marriage (Ibn Jarir).

23. Following this directive, `Umar ibn al-Khattab divorced his pagan wife called Quraybah at Makkah, the daughter of Abu Umayyah b. al-Mughirah, (whom Mu`awiyyah b. Abu Sufyan married thereafter: both pagans at Makkah), and another of his wives, the daughter of Jarwal of Khuza`ah (whom Abu Jahm b. Huzafah subsequently married). Similarly Talha b. `Ubaydullah divorced his wife called Arwa the daughter of Rabi`ah b al-Harith b. `Abd al-Muttalib (whom Khalid b. Sa`eed b. al-`Aas married next in Makkah). Thus, the rule was established, added Ibn Zayd, that if a man became Muslim but if his pagan wife did not follow, they were automatically separated (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). Zamakhshari names two more women that were divorced because they chose to remain pagan and adds that the Prophet paid their dowers to their Muslim husbands from the spoils of war.

وَإِنْ فَاتَكُمْ شَيْءٌ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ فَعَاقَبْتُمْ فَآتُوا الَّذِينَ ذَهَبَتْ أَزْوَاجُهُمْ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْفَقُوا ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ (11)

(60:11) But if you lose any of your wives to the unbelievers,%%24&& and you have pursued (the affair),%%25&& then give those whose wives have gone away the like of what they expended (as compensation).%%26&& And fear Allah, in whom you believe.

24. According to Mujahid and Qatadah, the allusion is to such women who deserted the Muslims and joined such of the unbelievers with whom the Prophet had not entered into any treaty (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

25. By the term “`aqabtum” the allusion is to spoils of war. That is, if a Muslim woman deserted and joined with the pagans, and the pagans refused to pay the amount the husband had spent on her, then the Muslims were to wait until they could win some booty to pay up to the man whose wife had deserted him and joined the pagans (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

26. When the rule about paying the dower of an immigrant believing woman was announced, Muslims readily accepted it and in fact paid the dowers of such women to Makkan husbands. But, on the other hand, the Makkans refused to accept the rule that they should pay for the dower of a believing woman from Madinah joining them. Therefore, Allah directed through this verse that in such a case it was the (Islamic) state which was to pay the amount to the Muslim husbands at Madinah of such women who deserted and joined the pagans at Makkah (Ibn Jarir).
A sole case of a Muslim woman joining the pagans was that of Umm Hakeem bint Abu Sufyan, who was married to `Abbas b. Tameem al-Qurashi. She became apostate. However, subsequently she reverted to Islam (Razi).
Apart from her, Qurtubi lists five more of those who refused to migrate when their husbands did.
Actually, they were already unbelievers. But when this ayah came, and they came to know that Islam did not allow interfaith marriages involving a pagan and a Muslim, they opted to remain back in Makkah and accept separation from their Muslim husbands at Madinah. However, even these five later turned Muslims (Mufti Shafi`).

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ لَا يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَسْرِقْنَ وَلَا يَزْنِينَ وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ ۙ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (12)

(60:12) O Prophet.%%27&& If there come to you believing women pledging to you that they will not associate aught with Allah, will not steal,%%28&& will not commit adultery,%%29&& will not slay their children, will not bring a slander that they have forged between their hands and feet,%%30&& and will not disobey you in any goodly matter%%31&& – then, accept their pledge and seek Allah’s forgiveness for them, surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Kind.%%32&&

27. “Now come the directions as to the points on which women entering into Islam should pledge themselves. Similar points apply to men, but here the question is about women, and especially such as were likely, in those early days of Islam, to come from Pagan society into Muslim society .. A pledge on these points would search out their real motives: (1) to worship none but Allah; (2) not to steal; (3) not to indulge in sex outside the marriage tie; (4) not to commit infanticide; (the Pagan Arabs were prone to female infanticide): (5) not to indulge in slander or scandal; and (6) generally, to obey loyally the law and principles of Islam. The last was a comprehensive and sufficient phrase, but it was good to indicate also the special points to which attention was to be directed in those special circumstances. Obedience was of course to be in all things just and reasonable: Islam requires strict discipline but not slavishness. 7) ‘That they will not utter slander intentionally forging falsehood’. Literally, ‘...nor produce any lie that they have devised between their hands and feet’. These words mean that they should not falsely attribute the paternity of their illegitimate children to their lawful husbands thereby adding to the monstrosity of their original sin of infidelity” (Yusuf Ali).

28. Excluded is that situation in which a wife does not get enough for her and her children’s maintenance from her husband. The following is reported in the Sahihayn. This particular version is in Ahmed:
`A’isha said, “Hind bint `Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan entered upon the Prophet and asked, ‘Messenger of Allah. Abu Sufyan is a stingy man. He does not give me what would suffice me for my and my children’s maintenance, unless I am to take from his wealth without his knowledge. Is there any sin upon me because of this?’ He replied, ‘You may take from his wealth in a goodly manner what will suffice you and your children’” (Ibn Kathir).

29. Adultery as such was quite uncommon among decent families of the Arabs. When the Prophet mentioned adultery during a pledge session at Makkah, Hind bint `Uqbah remonstrated, “Does a free woman commit adultery?” He replied, “No, she does not.” And `A’isha reports that when Fatimah bint `Utbah was pledging and the Prophet said, “and will not commit adultery” she was so taken aback (in amazement and) shame that she placed her hand on her head. The Prophet was pleased by her reaction. `A’sha spoke out, “Say yes O woman. By Allah, he did not seek pledge from us except on this.” She said, “If that is the case, then, yes” (Ibn Kathir).

30. The allusion by the words, “a slander that they have forged between their hands and feet” is to attribution of children to other than their real fathers (Ibn Jarir).
We have a hadith too to this effect. It is in Abu Da’ud. It says,
Abu Hurayrah said that when the ayah regarding “mutual curse” (24: 7-9) was revealed the Prophet remarked, “Whichever woman admitted into a people him who is not of them, is upon nothing in the sight of Allah. He will never admit her into Paradise. And, whichever man denied his son, while he is in his sight, will have Allah veil the heaven from him, and will humiliate him before the firsts and the lasts” (Ibn Kathir).
The report is also in the Sahih of Ibn Hibban and in Hakim whose declaration of trustworthiness was corroborated by Dhahabi although, Ibn Hajr was not too comfortable with one of the narrators (Au.).

31. The best explanation that we have for the conditional clause “in goodly matters” is that none but Allah deserves that He be obeyed in whatever He dictates. As for humans, their obedience is conditional to they ordering what is just, right and true. The condition placed here is to emphasize the point that even a Prophet is no exception (Alusi, Mufti Shafi`).

32. Hadith works report many cases of women’s pledges at the Prophet’s hand. One of them is in Ahmed, declared trustworthy (by Tirmidhi),
Umaymah bint Ruqayqah said: I went to the Prophet along with some other women in order to enter into pledge with him. He took the pledge on what is in the Qur’an viz., that we shall not associate aught with Allah .. the rest of the verse .. but added, “to the extent that you have the power (to act according to your pledge).” We said, “Allah and His Messenger are kinder upon us than we are upon ourselves.” Then we said, “Messenger of Allah, will you not shake hands with us?” He said, “I do not shake hands with women. And my word to a single woman is as good as my word to a hundred women.”
Qurtubi adds: Sometimes the Prophet would ask for a bowl of water, dip his hands in it after the pledge and ask the women to dip their hands in it.
The Prophet employed the same words on other occasions, e.g., when he sought fresh allegiance from women on the day of `Eid. We have the following from Bukhari:
Ibn `Abbas said that he attended the `Eid al-Fitr Prayer with the Prophet, Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman. All of them first offered the Prayer and then delivered the sermon. (On this occasion) the Prophet came down and, “As if I can still see him when he made the men sit down with the wave of his hands and then went forward splitting them until he arrived at the women’s rows. He recited this verse, ‘If there come to you believing women pledging to you that they will not associate aught with Allah, will not steal, will not commit adultery, will not slay their children, will not bring a slander that they have forged between their hands and feet,’ .. until the end of the verse. Then, after completing the verse he asked, ‘Do you stand by these (words)?‘ None of the woman answered except for one. She said, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah.’ (The narrator said he was not sure who the woman was). The Prophet said, ‘Then give in charity,’ and they began to throw their studded and un-studded rings into Bilal’s cloth” (Ibn Jarir).
Perhaps the most interesting pledge is that of Hind bint `Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan, at the time Makkah fell. Qurtubi writes that when shortly before the fall of Makkah, Abu Sufyan became a Muslim and informed his wife, she held him by his beard and yelled, “Kill this old misguided man.” When women’s pledge-session started, she was also there. She had veiled herself because of what she had done to Hamza on the Day of Uhud. When they drew near to pledge their loyalty, he said, “Promise that you will not associate aught with Allah.” Hind said, “By God. You ask us something that you didn’t ask men. In any case, we shall grant it to you.” He said, “And that you shall not steal.” She said, “By God, I used to take small amounts of money from Abu Sufyan’s pocket. I don’t know if that was lawful.” Abu Sufyan was present. He said, “I declare lawful unto you whatever you took in the past.” The Prophet asked, “Are you Hind, the daughter of ‘Utbah?” She replied, “I am Hind bint ‘Utbah. Forgive me for what happened in the past, and Allah will forgive you.” He continued, “And that you will not commit adultery.” She asked, “Does a free woman commit adultery?” He said, “And you will not kill your offspring.” She interjected again, “We reared them when they were young, but you killed them at Badr when adult. You and they know better.” ‘Umar laughed at her words. The Prophet said, “And you will not bring up slander which you would have invented.” She said, “By God! Slander is a dirty thing but it is better to ignore them.” The Prophet ended by saying, “You will not disobey me in virtuous matters,” and asked ‘Umar to complete the formalities of the allegiance.
The above report is on the authority of Ibn Jarir from whom Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir reproduce. Ibn Kathir does not trust it, but, being of historical nature, it has been reproduced by many Sirah works (Au.).
Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir add: The words of this ayah were more or less the words with which the Prophet took the pledge at `Aqabah before migration, when there were 12 people in front of him. He also renewed pledges with the same words in later times. We have the following in the Sahihayn:
On the authority of `Ubadah b. Samit, he said, “We were with the Prophet in an assembly when he said, ‘Pledge me your hands on that you will not associate aught with Allah, will not steal, will not commit adultery ..’ he recited the whole ayah, and then added, ‘So whoever of you stayed true to it has his reward with Allah. As for he who committed any of these to any degree, and then he is punished for it, then that is his expiation, while he who committed any of these to any degree, but Allah covered it, then He will either forgive Him or, if He will, punish him” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَوَلَّوْا قَوْمًا غَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ قَدْ يَئِسُوا مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ كَمَا يَئِسَ الْكُفَّارُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْقُبُورِ (13)

(60:13) O those who have believed, do not take as close friends a people against whom Allah is angry;%%33&& those that are already despaired of the Hereafter, as despaired are the unbelievers about those in the graves.%%34&&

33. The allusion is to the Jews (Ibn Jarir).

34. The verse is explained in various ways. One of them is that the people mentioned (viz., the Jews) are as in despair regarding their salvation in the Hereafter as the pagans are in despair regarding their dead returning from the grave. Another meaning, as that given by Ibn Mas`ud, `Ikrimah, Muqatil, Ibn Zayd and others is that, “as despaired are the unbelievers in the graves, about anything good happening to them then and thereafter” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Yusuf Ali comments: “The Unbelievers, who do not believe in a Future Life, can therefore have no hope beyond this life. Miserable indeed is this life to them; for the ills of this life are real to them, and they can have no hope of redress. But such is also the state of others - People of the Book or not - who wallow in sin and incur the divine Wrath. Even if they believe in a Future Life, it can only be to them a life of horror, punishment, and despair. For those of Faith the prospect is different. They may suffer in this life, but this life to them is only a fleeting shadow that will soon pass away. The Reality is beyond; there will be full redress in the Beyond, and Achievement and Felicity such as they can scarcely conceive of in the terms of this life.”
It may be noted, writes Qurtubi, that the Surah started with the prohibition to befriend the unbelievers, and ends with the prohibition to befriend the unbelievers.