Misconception:

Walaa' (loyalty), they allege, means just to deal with the other and also means to love the other, even just humanely speaking.

Baraa' (Disavowal) on the other hand, means to declare the other as disbeliever and kill him. Walaa' as such, according to their misconception should only be shown to Muslims, and Baraa' should be shown to non-Muslims.

Reply:

• Walaa' is a ritual covenant which is based on worshiping Allah alone and devoting all acts of worship to Him. It is based on loving His Messenger. This love should be based on respect and support. It also means loving the believers through strengthening the ties of fraternity and deepening the concepts of mutual cooperation and support for the sake of religion and supporting the state. It means not to help non-Muslims against Muslims except for a right cause, based on the Hadith "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed." A man enquired: "O Messenger of Allah! I help him when he is oppressed, but how can I help him when he is an oppressor?" He (PBUH) said, "You can keep him from committing oppression. That will be your help to him".
• This is the basis of peace, justice, tolerance in the Muslims society.
• Baraa', on the other hand, is an act of worship which means that a Muslims hates the polytheistic faiths and renounce them, as these faiths are contrary to the basics of Muslim's belief. However, this does not necessarily mean to hate, in general terms, followers of these faiths.
• We should not forget that Allah addressed his Prophet in the Qur'an saying, " Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided."