Aal-i-Imraan • EN-ASBAB-AL-NUZUL-BY-AL-WAHIDI
﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ بِطَانَةًۭ مِّن دُونِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالًۭا وَدُّوا۟ مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ ٱلْبَغْضَآءُ مِنْ أَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِى صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴾
“O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take for your bosom-friends people who are not of your kind. They spare no effort to corrupt you; they would love to see you in distress. Vehement hatred has already come into the open from out of their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is yet worse. We have indeed made the signs [thereof] clear unto you, if you would but use your reason.”
(O ye who believe! Take not for intimates others than your own folk�) [3:118]. Ibn �Abbas and Mujahid said: �This was revealed about a group of believers who took some hypocrites as intimate friends and had ties with some Jewish men due to bonds of kinship, friendship, alliance, neighbourhood and milk relations which they had with them. Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse warning them against taking them as intimates for fear lest they turn them away from their religion�.