until it covers (1) the heart; this is the rust. Al-Kalbi said: His sins have brought him to ruin. The proof is Allah’s saying, “unless you are overwhelmed” (Joseph 12:66)—that is, unless you perish. “Such are the inhabitants of the Fire; they will abide therein forever.”
Allah’s saying: “And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel,” in the Torah. A covenant is a solemn, binding pledge. “Worship none but Allah.” Ibn Kathir, Hamzah, and al-Kisa’i recited it, “that they worship none but Allah,” in the third person; the others recited it in the second person, in view of His saying, “Speak kindly to people.” Its meaning is: that you worship none but Allah. When the particle “that” is omitted, the verb becomes indicative. Ubayy ibn Ka‘b recited: “Do not worship anyone but Allah,” as a prohibition.
“And show kindness to parents”—that is, We enjoined them to show kindness to their parents: to treat them dutifully and tenderly, and to comply with their commands in whatever does not contravene Allah’s command. “And relatives”—that is, kindness to relatives. The term qurbā (kinship) is a verbal noun, like ḥusnā (the fairest). “And orphans”: the plural of orphan, namely, a child who has no father. “And the needy,” meaning the poor.
“And speak kindly to people”: speak truthfully and rightly concerning Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whoever asks you about him, tell him the truth, make his description clear, and do not conceal his matter. This is the view of Ibn ‘Abbas, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, Ibn Jurayj, and Muqatil. Sufyan al-Thawri said: Enjoin them to what is right and forbid them from what is wrong. It is also said that it means gentleness in speech and treating others with good character. Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, and Ya‘qub recited, “a good saying,” with both the initial and middle consonants vowelled with fathah.
“And establish the prayer and give zakah. Then you turned away”—you turned away from the covenant and the pledge—“except for a few of you.” This is because a group among them believed. “And you were averse,” just as your forefathers were averse.