No Way for Disbelievers against Believers
Islam holds followers of other faiths in respect but insists that Muslims’ friendly relations with followers of other religions should be on the basis of faith and Taqwa (God-fearing).
There are many verses in the Holy Quran that forbid Muslims from accepting the dominance of those following other faiths.
God has ordered Muslims to maintain their dignity and independence in all aspects of life, including economic, cultural and political, and not to seek dignity and independence in friendship with the enemies of Islam. Muslims are required to rely on God, who is the source of all dignities, in all areas.
One of the verses of the Quran that refers to this issue is verse 141 of Surah An-Nisa: “(As for) those who lay in wait for you. If a victory comes to you from Allah they say: ‘Were we not with you?’ But if the unbelievers get a portion, they say, ‘Were we not mightier than you, and did we not defend you from the believers?’ Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection. Allah will not grant the unbelievers any way (of success) over the believers.”
It is known as the Verse of “Nafy Sabil” (denying any way for non-believers’ dominance over believers).
Nafy Sabil is an Islamic rule that forbids dominance on non-believers on Muslims in any area such as political, social, cultural, economic and military.
Faqihs (Islamic jurisprudence) refer to the phrase “Allah will not give any way…” in order to come up with the rule.
It is, of course, ok for Muslims to have ties with followers of other faiths in order to learn from them and have cultural and economic exchanges if it does not cause the disbelievers’ dominance. In fact there is Hadith from the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that says: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go to China”. Mentioning China here denotes a faraway distance and cultural differences.
In another Hadith, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that any (detained) disbeliever who teaches a Muslim will be freed. At the time of other Infallibles (AS) ere were also interactions among Muslims and others.
In his Noor Exegesis of the Quran, Mohsen Qara’ati says about this verse that the Quran refers to the victory of Muslims as Fat’h and to the victory of disbelievers as Naseeb. It may denote that disbelievers’ gains are temporary while the ultimate victory belongs to the front of the truth.
Other points one can learn from this verse include:
1- The hypocrites are opportunists and seek to benefit from every happening.
2- Hypocrites are spies of disbelievers and encourage them to wage war on Muslims.
3- On the Day of Resurrection, with God’s just judgment, all deceits and hypocrisies are revealed.
4- The faithful are not allowed to accept the dominance of non-believers and accepting it means lack of faith.
5- Muslims should make sure that disbelievers will not even thing of gaining dominance over the faithful.
6- Any plan, agreement, deal, and interaction that may open the way for disbelievers’ dominance over Muslims is forbidden and, therefore, Muslims must gain full independence in all political, military, economic, and cultural domains.
