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Fatwa CenterKindness and Justice With Non-Muslims
Question
Salamu Aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatu! Thank you for fatwa number 384016 but still I did not find the answer to my question there. I am well aware that a Muslim can pretend friendship to kuffar if he fears a danger from them. I am aware of the tafseer of Ibn Katheer about sura 3:28 and that we can be nice to them in order to call them to Islam. But what if someone truly takes kuffar as friends in a situation where there is no such necessity and says in front of other Muslims that he is a friend of a kafir? If this means that he has apostated, then what is his punishment? Is he subject to hadd punishment? Please also tell me why do you always cite sura 60.08 while Al-Jalalayn says clearly in his tafseer that it is abrogated? He says: “this was revealed before the command to struggle against them” Can any scholar contradict Al-Jalalayn when he says that this command is abrogated?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is wrong to take the non-Muslims as friends, but this act by itself is not an act of Kufr unless one is content with disbelief or believes that the religion of non-Muslims is correct, or other acts that necessitate apostasy.
The interpreters of the Quran (i.e. the scholars of Tafseer) did not agree that the verse you mentioned was abrogated. This verse simply enjoins kindness to them, which does not contradict the prohibition of taking them as allies and befriending them; rather, it is an order to be kind and just with them when dealing with them.
Ibn Katheer 
said:
"{Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes}; means, those who did not have a role in your expulsion. Therefore, Allah does not forbid you from being kind to the disbelievers who do not fight you because of the religion, such as women and weak disbelievers, {from being righteous toward them}; from being kind; {and acting justly toward them}, being fair with them; {Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.}; Imam Ahmad recorded that Asmaa' bint Abu Bakr said, 'My mother, who was an idolatress at the time, came to me during the Treaty of Peace, the Prophet conducted with the Quraysh. I came to the Prophet and said, 'O Allah's Messenger! My mother came visiting, desiring something from me, should I treat her with kindness?' The Prophet said, 'Yes. Keep good relation with your mother.'" This Hadeeth was reported by Al-Bukhaari and Muslim." [End of quote]
Al-Qurtubi mentioned the difference of opinion regarding the abrogation of this verse and attributed this opinion to some scholars of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) and stated that the saying that the ruling of this verse is still effective and not abrogated is the view of most scholars of Tafseer (interpretation of the Quran).
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 383995, 333871 and 329059.
Allah knows best.
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