وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ
Wa'l-muʾminūna wa'l-muʾminātu baʿḍuhum awliyāʾu baʿḍ; yaʾmurūna bi'l-maʿrūfi wa yanhawna ʿani'l-munkari wa yuqīmūna'l-ṣalāta wa yuʾtūna'l-zakāta wa yuṭīʿūna'llāha wa rasūlah; ulāʾika sa-yarḥamuhumu'llāh; inna'llāha ʿazīzun ḥakīm
"The believing men and the believing women are the protectors of one another: they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, they keep up the prayer, they give the alms, and they obey God and His Messenger. Upon these God will have mercy. God is mighty, wise."
This verse is the exact counterpart of verse 67, and the opposition is built word for word. I give it in a table, because this is the strongest weave in the sūra:
| Element | 9/67 — the hypocrites | 9/71 — the believers |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Al-munāfiqūna wa'l-munāfiqātu | Wa'l-muʾminūna wa'l-muʾminātu |
| The bond | Baʿḍuhum min baʿḍ — they are of one another | Baʿḍuhum awliyāʾu baʿḍ — they are the protectors of one another |
| Enjoining/forbidding | Yaʾmurūna bi'l-munkari wa yanhawna ʿani'l-maʿrūf | Yaʾmurūna bi'l-maʿrūfi wa yanhawna ʿani'l-munkar |
| The hand | Wa yaqbiḍūna aydiyahum — closing the hands | Wa yuʾtūna'l-zakāta — giving |
| Prayer | — (in verse 54: illā wa hum kusālā) | Wa yuqīmūna'l-ṣalāta |
| Relation | Nasu'llāha fa-nasiyahum — a mutual forgetting | Wa yuṭīʿūna'llāha wa rasūlah — obedience |
| Outcome | Wa laʿanahumu'llāh (68) | Sa-yarḥamuhumu'llāh |
| Close | Inna'l-munāfiqīna humu'l-fāsiqūn | Inna'llāha ʿazīzun ḥakīm |
This opposition is verifiable from the text and is no accident: four verses apart, in the same order, the same elements are given inverted.
| Expression | What it states |
|---|---|
| Baʿḍuhum min baʿḍ | Unity of kind — being of the same sort. Not a bond but a likeness |
| Baʿḍuhum awliyāʾu baʿḍ | Walāya — mutual responsibility, standing up for one another |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the difference between the two constructions: the first group resemble one another; the second group are responsible for one another. Resemblance is passive; walāya is an obligation.
The root و-ل-ي: nearness, adjacency; to take up another's affair. The root was treated in al-Anfāl at 8/72-75 by way of the bond of walāya, and in al-Baqara. I rely on that treatment.
| # | Verb | Field |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yaʾmurūna bi'l-maʿrūf | Turned towards society |
| 2 | Yanhawna ʿani'l-munkar | Turned towards society |
| 3 | Yuqīmūna'l-ṣalāt | Turned upward |
| 4 | Yuʾtūna'l-zakāt | Turned towards wealth |
| 5 | Yuṭīʿūna'llāha wa rasūlah | Allegiance |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the order: the list begins with two verbs turned towards society. The same pair occurred in Luqmān at 31/17 in the middle of a list of counsel (wa'mur bi'l-maʿrūfi wa'nha ʿani'l-munkar); there it was an individual piece of advice. Here it is the description of a community. The difference is that the subject is plural.
I record this as an observation: both verses build the same structure, and every one of the verbs enumerated is ascribed to both sides. Enjoining, forbidding, prayer, alms and obedience — all five verbs belong to a shared subject.