Allah only forbids you to be friends with those who have fought against you on account of religion and who have driven you out of your homes and have abetted in your expulsion. And any who make friends with them, they are the wrong-doers.1
Footnotes
[1]
The instructions to sever relations with the disbelievers
given in the preceding verses, could cause the people the
misunderstanding that this was because of their being the
disbelievers. Therefore, in these verses it has been made
clear that its real cause is not their disbelief but their
hostility to Islam and their tyrannical treatment of the
followers of Islam. The Muslims, therefore, should
distinguish between the hostile disbeliever and the nonhostile
disbeliever, and should treat those disbelievers well
who have never treated them with evil. Its best explanation
is the incident that took place between Asma, daughter of
Abu Bakr, and her disbelieving mother. A wife of Abu
Bakr’s was Qutaylah bint Abdul Uzza, who was a
disbeliever and had remained behind in Makkah after the
migration. Asma had been born of her. After the peace
treaty of Hudaibiyah when the traffic opened between
Makkah and Madinah, she came to Al-Madinah to see her
daughter and also brought some gifts. Asma herself has
related that she went to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
and asked: Should I see my mother. And can I treat her as
a daughter should treat her mother. The Prophet (peace be
upon him) replied: Yes, treat her as your mother. (Musnad
Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim). Asma’s son, Abdullah bin
Zubair, has given further details of this incident. He says
that Asma in the beginning had refused to see her mother.
Then, when she received Allah and His Messenger’s
permission she met her. (Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Jarir, Ibn
Abi Hatim). This by itself leads to the conclusion that a
Muslim’s serving his unbelieving parents and his helping
his unbelieving brothers and sisters and relatives is
permissible when they are not hostile to Islam. Likewise,
one can also spend his charities on the indigent among the
dhimmis. (Al-Jassas, Ahkam al-Quran; Ruh al-Maani).