How can the prohibition against allying with enemies in His — Exalted be He — saying: "O you who have believed, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies" be reconciled with the hope for affection to occur with them in His saying: "Perhaps Allah will put between you and those whom you have antagonized among them affection"?

The Holy Quran is from Allah, Exalted and Majestic, with no disagreement or contradiction within it. Any seeming contradiction is due to a lack of understanding of the verses. There is no contradiction between the Almighty's saying: "O you who have believed, take not My enemies and your enemies as allies," and His saying: "Perhaps Allah will put affection between you and those with whom you have been at enmity among them." This is because the mentioned affection is realized through their embracing Islam, whereby Allah guides their hearts to Islam, and they become brothers to the Muslims. Indeed, some of the chieftains of Quraish truly embraced Islam after the conquest of Mecca, such as Abu Sufyan, Ikrimah, and others. However, if they do not embrace Islam, then they are disbelievers whose affection is forbidden, and whose enmity is obligatory, as confirmed by the Almighty's saying: "You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day loving those who oppose Allah and His Messenger."