16. Sūrat al-Naḥl

١٦۔ سُورَةُ النَّحْل

16.17 Don't break your covenants…

١٦۔١٧ مقطع في سُورَةُ النَّحْل

quran:16:91

And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have taken it, ˹O believers˺, and do not break oaths after their confirmation while you have made Allah, over you, a witness. Indeed, Allah knows what you do.  

And fulfil God’s covenant, ˹effected˺ by way of pledges of allegiance and oaths and in other ways, when you made a covenant, and do not break ˹your˺ oaths after pledging them and having made God surety over you, that you will fulfill ˹the covenant˺, for you have sworn ˹the oath˺ by Him (the sentence wa-qad ja‘altumu’Llāha ‘alaykum kafīlan, ‘and having made God surety over you’, is a circumstantial qualifier). Truly God knows what you do — ˹this is˺ a threat for them.
القرآن:١٦:٩١

وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ إِذَا عَاهَدْتُمْ وَلَا تَنْقُضُوا الْأَيْمَانَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمُ اللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ  

{وأوْفوا بعهد الله} من البيع والأيمان وغيرها {إذا عاهدتم ولا تنقضوا الأيمان بعد توكيدها} توثيقها {وقد جعلتم الله عليكم كفيلاً} بالوفاء حيث حلفتم به والجملة حال {إن الله يعلم ما تفعلون} تهديد لهم.
quran:16:92

And do not be like she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong ˹by˺ taking your oaths as ˹means of˺ deceit between you because one community is more plentiful ˹in number or wealth˺ than another community. Allah only tries you thereby. And He will surely make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that over which you used to differ.  

And do not be like her who undoes, spoils, her yarn, that which she has spun, after having made it strong, ˹having˺ set and spun it, ˹breaking it up˺ into fibres (ankāthan is a circumstantial qualifier, ˹ankāth is˺ the plural of nikth, and means that which is undone ˹yunkathu˺) — this was an imbecile Meccan woman who used to spin all day and then undo it — by making (tattakhidhūna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person of ˹the verb˺ takūnū, ‘˹do not˺ be like’), in other words, ˹what is meant is˺ ‘do not be like her by making’, your oaths a ˹means of˺ deceit, (dakhal, is what enters ˹yadkhulu˺ into something but does not belong to it), in other words, as ˹a means of causing˺ mischief or as trickery, between you, by breaking these ˹oaths˺, so that one group may become more numerous than ˹another˺ group. They used to enter into an alliance with a given group, but if they encountered another more numerous and more powerful ˹group˺, they would renege on their alliance with the former and forge a ˹new˺ alliance with these ˹latter˺. God only tries, tests, you thereby, in other words, by that which He enjoins, in the way of fulfilling the covenant, so that He may observe the obedient and the disobedient among you, or when ˹it is the case that˺ one group is more numerous ˹than another˺, that He may observe whether you fulfil ˹your obligation to them˺ or not; and certainly He will make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that wherein you used to differ, during ˹the life of˺ this world, with regard to covenants and otherwise, by punishing he who reneged and rewarding he who was faithful ˹to his covenant˺.
القرآن:١٦:٩٢

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَهَا مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنْكَاثًا تَتَّخِذُونَ أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ أَنْ تَكُونَ أُمَّةٌ هِيَ أَرْبَىٰ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ ۚ إِنَّمَا يَبْلُوكُمُ اللَّهُ بِهِ ۚ وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ لَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ  

{ولا تكونوا كالتي نقضت} أفسدت {غزلها} ما غزلته {من بعد قوة} إحكام له وبرم {أنكاثا} حال جمع نكث وهو ما ينكث أي يحل إحكامه وهي امرأة حمقاء من مكة كانت تغزل طوال يومها ثم تنقضه {تتخذون} حال من ضمير تكونوا: أي لا تكونوا مثلها في اتخاذكم {أيمانكم دخلاً} هو ما يدخل في الشيء وليس منه أي فسادا أو خديعة {بينكم} بأن تنقضوها {أن} أي لأن {تكون أُمة} جماعة {هي أربى} أكثر {من أمة} وكانوا يحالفون الحلفاء فإذا وجد أكثر منهم وأعز نقضوا حلف أولئك وحالفوهم {إنما يبلوكم} يختبركم {الله به} أي بما أمر به من الوفاء بالعهد لينظر المطيع منكم والعاصي أو يكون أمة أربى لينظر أتفون أم لا {وليبينن لكم يوم القيامة ما كنتم فيه تختلفون} في الدنيا من أمر العهد وغيره بأن يعذب الناكث ويثبت الوافي.
quran:16:93

And if Allah had willed, He could have made you ˹of˺ one religion, but He causes to stray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And you will surely be questioned about what you used to do.  

For if God had willed, He could have made you one community, people of a single religion, but He leads astray whom He will and guides whom He will, and you will surely be questioned, on the Day of Resurrection, a questioning of rebuke, about what you used to do, so that you might be requited for it.
القرآن:١٦:٩٣

وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَٰكِنْ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَلَتُسْأَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ  

{ولو شاء الله لجعلكم أمة واحدة} أهل دين واحد {ولكن يضل من يشاء ويهدي من يشاء ولتسألُن} يوم القيامة سؤال تبكيت {عما كنتم تعملون} لتجازوا عليه.
quran:16:94

And do not take your oaths as ˹means of˺ deceit between you, lest a foot slip after it was ˹once˺ firm, and you would taste evil ˹in this world˺ for what ˹people˺ you diverted from the way of Allah, and you would have ˹in the Hereafter˺ a great punishment.  

And do not make your oaths a ˹means of˺ deceit between you — He repeats this ˹here˺ for emphasis — lest a foot should slip, that is, ˹lest˺ your feet ˹should slip˺ off the path of Islam, after being steady, having been set upon it, and ˹lest˺ you should taste evil, that is, chastisement, forasmuch as you barred ˹people˺ from the way of God, in other words, for your refraining to fulfil covenants or barring others from ˹doing˺ this, since your custom ˹once established˺ will be followed ˹by others˺, and there be a tremendous chastisement for you, in the Hereafter.
القرآن:١٦:٩٤

وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ فَتَزِلَّ قَدَمٌ بَعْدَ ثُبُوتِهَا وَتَذُوقُوا السُّوءَ بِمَا صَدَدْتُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَلَكُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ  

{ولا تتخذوا أيمانكم دخلاً بينكم} كرره تأكدا {فتزل قدم} أي أقدامكم عن محجة الإسلام {بعد ثبوتها} استقامتها عليها {وتذوقوا السوء} أي العذاب {بما صددتم عن سبيل الله} أي بصدكم عن الوفاء بالعهد أو بصدكم غيركم عنه لأنه يستن بكم {ولكم عذاب عظيم} في الآخرة.