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Morality

How should we treat our enemies?

One question. Nine perspectives. Original sources.

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Overview

Every tradition has something demanding to say about enemies. Several go beyond restraint to something like love or kindness toward those who wish us harm; others emphasise justice bounded by mercy; Taoism questions the enmity itself; and Shinto's foundational chronicle opens its first law code with a call to harmony.

Nine perspectives

Christianity

From scripture

Jesus' command is the most direct: 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.' Luke adds blessing those who curse you; Paul, echoing Proverbs, tells believers to feed a hungry enemy and overcome evil with good. Christians debate how this applies to self-defence and the state, but the personal ethic is clear.

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Islam

From scripture

The Qur'an teaches that good and evil are not equal, and commands repelling evil with what is better, so that an enemy may become a devoted friend. It permits defence against aggression but forbids transgression, and holds out the hope that God may put affection between enemies. Justice must be maintained even toward those one hates.

  • Qur'an 41:34 — 'Repel evil with what is better; the one who was your enemy will become as a devoted friend.'
  • Qur'an 60:7 — God may put affection between you and those you hold as enemies.
  • Qur'an 5:8 — Let not hatred of a people lead you to be unjust.
  • Qur'an 2:190 — Fight those who fight you, but do not transgress.
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Judaism

From scripture

The Torah forbids hatred in the heart and vengeance, and requires helping an enemy's fallen animal. Proverbs forbids rejoicing at an enemy's fall and counsels feeding a hungry enemy. The rabbis define the mighty person as one who conquers his own impulse and, in some readings, turns an enemy into a friend. Justice and self-defence remain obligations.

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Buddhism

From scripture

Buddhism dissolves enmity at its root: hatred is never ended by hatred, only by loving-kindness. The Metta Sutta extends boundless goodwill to all beings without exception; the simile of the saw teaches that even under violent attack the mind should not give way to hatred. Enemies are to be met with compassion, not because they deserve it, but because hatred harms the one who holds it.

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Hinduism

From scripture

The Gita describes the devotee as one who hates no creature and is friendly and compassionate to all, and the yogi as one who regards friend and foe alike. The epics praise forbearance while also treating righteous self-defence and just war as duties of the warrior class — a tension the Gita's own setting embodies. Non-violence (ahimsa) is a high ideal across many Hindu traditions.

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Sikhism

From scripture

Guru Arjan writes: 'No one is my enemy, and no one is a stranger; I get along with everyone.' Sheikh Farid's saloks counsel not striking back. Sikh teaching sees the one divine light in all people, which dissolves the category of enemy; at the same time, Sikh history honours the defence of the oppressed, and the saint-soldier ideal holds compassion and courage together.

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Bahá'í Faith

From scripture

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas calls Bahá'ís to consort with all religions in amity and concord, and Bahá'u'lláh's writings forbid contention and strife. 'Abdu'l-Bahá taught that if others do us harm we should respond with kindness, seeing enemies as friends. The emphasis is on the oneness of humanity, which leaves no room for enmity as a settled attitude.

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Taoism

From scripture

The Tao Te Ching advises requiting injury with kindness and describes the sage who is good even to the not-good. It regards weapons as instruments of ill omen, praises the commander who does not delight in victory, and says the best fighter is not angry and the best conqueror does not engage the enemy. Enmity is treated as a symptom of losing the Way.

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Shinto

From myth and chronicle

Shinto's chronicles preserve the Seventeen-Article Constitution attributed to Prince Shōtoku (604 CE), whose first article declares that harmony (wa) is to be valued and quarrelling avoided — a principle that has shaped Japanese ethics ever since, drawing on Confucian and Buddhist as well as native ideals. In Shinto practice, discord is a form of disharmony to be purified and mended, not a permanent state.

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Where traditions overlap

  • Every tradition rejects hatred and vengeance as a way of life.
  • Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, the Bahá'í Faith and Taoism explicitly teach returning good for evil.
  • Most affirm that enmity can be transformed — the enemy may become a friend.

Where they differ

  • Christianity and Buddhism frame the ethic as unconditional love or loving-kindness; Judaism and Islam hold it together with justice and lawful self-defence.
  • Hinduism and Sikhism combine compassion for all with a warrior ideal of defending the oppressed.
  • Taoism questions the enmity itself; Shinto approaches discord through harmony and purification rather than a doctrine of love for enemies.

Sources

TraditionPassageSummary
ChristianityMatthew 5:43–44
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'
ChristianityLuke 6:27–28
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you.
ChristianityRomans 12:20–21
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
Feed your enemy; overcome evil with good.
IslamQur'an 41:34
Quran.com
'Repel evil with what is better; the one who was your enemy will become as a devoted friend.'
IslamQur'an 60:7
Quran.com
God may put affection between you and those you hold as enemies.
IslamQur'an 5:8
Quran.com
Let not hatred of a people lead you to be unjust.
IslamQur'an 2:190
Quran.com
Fight those who fight you, but do not transgress.
JudaismExodus 23:4–5
Sefaria
Return your enemy's stray animal; help with its burden.
JudaismLeviticus 19:17–18
Sefaria
Do not hate in your heart; do not take vengeance.
JudaismProverbs 24:17
Sefaria
'Do not rejoice when your enemy falls.'
JudaismPirkei Avot 4:1
Sefaria
Who is mighty? One who conquers his impulse.
BuddhismDhammapada 5
Access to Insight, Buddharakkhita
'Hatred is never appeased by hatred... only by non-hatred.'
BuddhismKaraniya Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8)
SuttaCentral, Sujato
Goodwill toward all beings, without exception.
BuddhismKakacupama Sutta (MN 21)
SuttaCentral, Sujato
The simile of the saw: no hatred even under attack.
BuddhismAkkosa Sutta (SN 7.2)
SuttaCentral, Sujato
The Buddha declines to accept abuse.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 12:13–14
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
One who hates no being, friendly and compassionate to all.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 6:9
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
Equal-minded toward friends, enemies and the indifferent.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 16:1–3
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
Non-violence, forgiveness and absence of malice among divine qualities.
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 1299 (Guru Arjan)
SikhiToTheMax
'No one is my enemy, and no one is a stranger.'
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 1378 (Sheikh Farid)
SikhiToTheMax
Do not strike back; go peacefully home.
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 1349 (Bhagat Kabir)
SikhiToTheMax
All beings come from the one light; who is good and who is bad?
Bahá'í FaithKitáb-i-Aqdas ¶144
Bahá'í Reference Library
'Consort with all religions with amity and concord.'
Bahá'í FaithHidden Words, Persian 5
Bahá'í Reference Library
Against disputing idly and seeking to advance oneself over one's brother.
Bahá'í FaithGleanings CXXVIII
Bahá'í Reference Library
'Be fair to yourselves and to others, that the evidences of justice may be revealed.'
TaoismTao Te Ching 63
ctext.org, Legge
Requite injury with kindness.
TaoismTao Te Ching 68
ctext.org, Legge
The good fighter is not angry; the good conqueror does not engage.
TaoismTao Te Ching 31
ctext.org, Legge
Weapons are instruments of ill omen; victory is not to be gloried in.
ShintoNihon Shoki, Book 22 (Seventeen-Article Constitution, art. 1)
Wikisource, Aston 1896
'Harmony is to be valued.'
ShintoEncyclopedia of Shinto — 'Harae'
Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin
Purification as the restoration of harmony.

All citations on this page were opened in the linked reference editions and compared with the summaries (last full pass September 12, 2026). Links open at the verse, paragraph or section wherever the edition supports it; otherwise at the chapter or entry. Translations vary; we link to widely used public editions so you can compare. Evidence labels on each perspective follow our editorial standards.

Frequently asked questions

Which religions teach 'love your enemies'?

The phrase is from Jesus (Matthew 5:44). Buddhism's Metta Sutta, the Qur'an's 'repel evil with what is better' (41:34), Sikh and Bahá'í texts and the Tao Te Ching express closely related teachings in their own terms.

Do these teachings forbid self-defence?

Not in most traditions. Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism permit or require defence of self and others within limits; Christian and Buddhist traditions vary, with strong pacifist strands in each.

What is the 'simile of the saw'?

In the Kakacupama Sutta (MN 21) the Buddha teaches that even if bandits were sawing one limb from limb, giving way to hatred would be a failure to follow his teaching.

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