What is the intended meaning of the word "awliya" in the verse: {O you who have believed, do not take your fathers and your brothers as awliya if they have preferred disbelief over belief. And whoever of you takes them as awliya - then it is those who are the wrongdoers} [Quran 9:23], and is speaking with disbelievers about worldly matters and associating with them kindly, or eating food prepared by a disbelieving mother and offering an opinion on it, considered among the prohibited walaya?

Speaking with a disbeliever or eating their food is not considered forbidden walāʾ (loyalty/alliance). As for loving a disbeliever, if it is for reasons other than their religion, such as a kinship relationship, marriage, dealings, or benefit they provide, then it is not a forbidden love. This is indicated by the permissibility of the Prophet's love for his disbelieving uncle, and a husband's love for his Kitābī (People of the Book) wife. This natural love must be accompanied by detesting their religion and disavowing their polytheism.