What Is the Ruling of Having a Non-Muslim as a Friend and Confidant?

[January 27, 2022] [Shaykh Yusuf Weltch]/in Calling to Islam, General Counsel

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question Summary

What is the ruling of having a non-muslim as a friend and confidant?

Question Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is permissible to have a friend that is non-muslim as long as that friend does not show disrespect towards your religion, mock any aspect of your religious practice or beliefs, or worse.

Allah Most High says, “Allah does not forbid you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor driven you out of your homes. Surely Allah loves those who are fair. Allah only forbids you from befriending those who have fought you for ˹your˺ faith, driven you out of your homes, or supported ˹others˺ in doing so. And whoever takes them as friends, then it is they who are the ˹true˺ wrongdoers.” [Qur’an; 60:7-8]

In another place of the Qur’an, Allah Most High says:

“O, believers! Do not seek the guardianship of those given the Scripture before you and the disbelievers who have made your faith a mockery and amusement. And be mindful of Allah if you are ˹truly˺ believers. When you call to prayer, they mock it in amusement. This is because they are a people without understanding. [Qur’an; 5:58]

This also entails that you are allowed to confide in your friend (who’s a non-muslim) secrets or personal matters. However, you must not take from them consultation or advice relating to religious matters; you should only seek advice and consult fellow Muslims in such matters.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.