(Verily ye have in them a goodly pattern for everyone who looketh to Allah and the Last Day…) [60:6-8].
Allah, exalted is He, says to the believers: “You have in Abraham as well as in the prophets and friends of Allah good role models, regarding their declaration of enmity towards their relatives who were idolaters, which should be emulated”. So when this verse was revealed, the believers declared their relatives who were idolaters to be their enemies. They showed this enmity to them and absolved themselves of all the things that they did or believed in. Allah, exalted is He, knew that this was hard on the believers and so He revealed (It may be that Allah will ordain love between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity) [60:7]. And He did just that when many of them embraced Islam, thus becoming brothers and friends. Consequently, they mingled with and married from among each other. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, married Umm Habibah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. As a result, Abu Sufyan mellowed a little. When he heard of the news of his daughter's marriage, he said while he was still an idolater: “He is an outstanding person, no harm shall come to him”.
Abu Salih Mansur ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Bazzaz informed us> Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hiri> Abu Ya'la> Ibrahim ibn al-Hajjaj> 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak> Mus'ab ibn Thabit> 'Ami ibn 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr> his father who said: “Qutaylah bint 'Abd al-'Uzza went to visit her daughter Asma' bint Abi Bakr and took with her gifts: desert lizards, clarified butter and dry cheese. However, Asma' refused to let her in her house and rejected her gifts. 'A'ishah went on behalf of Asma' to ask the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this. Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion) [60:8]. Asma' then let her mother into her house and accepted her gifts”. This was narrated by al-Hakim Abu 'Abd Allah in his Sahih> Abu'l-'Abbas al-Sayyari> 'Abd Allah al-Ghazal> Ibn Shaqiq> Ibn al-Mubarak.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou