(12, 13) “Allah did indeed take the covenant of the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders from among them. Allah said: I am with you. If you establish prayer, give zakāh, believe in My messengers and support them, and lend Allah a goodly loan, I will surely expiate your sins and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever among you disbelieves after that has certainly strayed from the straight way. Thus, because they broke their covenant, We cursed them and hardened their hearts. They distort words from their proper places and forgot a portion of what they had been reminded of. You will continue to discover treachery on their part, except for a few of them. So pardon them and overlook their offenses. Indeed, Allah loves those who do good.”

Allah Most High informs us that He exacted a solemn, binding covenant from the Children of Israel. He described the terms of that covenant, their reward if they fulfilled it, and their sin if they failed to do so. He then stated that they did not fulfill it and mentioned the punishments He imposed upon them. He said: “Allah did indeed take the covenant of the Children of Israel,” meaning their solemn, binding pledge, “and We appointed twelve leaders from among them,” meaning a chief and overseer over those under him, so that he would supervise them, urge them to carry out what they had been commanded, and press and call upon them to do so.

“Allah said” to the leaders who had shouldered such burdens: “I am with you,” meaning with aid and victory, for aid is commensurate with the burden.

He then mentioned what He had covenanted with them to do: “If you establish prayer,” outwardly and inwardly, performing everything required and appropriate in it and persevering in that; “give zakāh” to those entitled to it; “believe in My messengers,” all of them, the foremost and most perfect of whom is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him; “and support them,” meaning honor them and render them the respect and obedience due to them; “and lend Allah a goodly loan,” namely charity and benevolence arising from truthfulness, sincerity, and lawful earnings. If you do all of that, “I will surely expiate your sins and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow.” Thus, He combined for them the attainment of what is desired—Paradise and the bliss it contains—with the removal of what is feared through the expiation of sins and the averting of the punishments resulting from them.

“But whoever disbelieves after that”—after that firm covenant, reinforced by oaths and commitments and accompanied by encouragement through mention of its reward—“has certainly strayed from the straight way,” deliberately and knowingly. He therefore deserves what those who stray deserve: deprivation of reward and the infliction of punishment. One might then ask, “What did they do, I wonder? Did they fulfill what they had covenanted with Allah to do, or did they break it?”

He made clear that they broke it, saying: “Thus, because they broke their covenant…”

That is, because of this, We punished them with several punishments.

The first was: “We cursed them,” meaning that We expelled them and banished them from Our mercy, for they closed the gates of mercy upon themselves and failed to uphold the covenant exacted from them, although it was the greatest means of attaining that mercy.

The second is His statement: “and We hardened their hearts,” meaning that they became coarse hearts in which admonitions produce no benefit and which signs and warnings do not help. No encouragement inspires them, and no warning alarms them. This is among the greatest punishments that can befall a servant: that his heart should become such that guidance and goodness bring him nothing but further evil.

The third is that “they distort words from their proper places.” That is, they were afflicted with alteration and substitution, assigning to Allah’s words a meaning other than that intended by Allah and His Messenger.

The fourth is that they “forgot a portion of what they had been reminded of.” They had been reminded through the Torah and what Allah revealed to Moses, but they forgot a portion of it. This includes forgetting its knowledge: they forgot it, and it became lost to them. Much of what Allah caused them to forget as a punishment can no longer be found.

It also includes forgetting to act upon it—that is, abandoning it. They were therefore not granted success in carrying out what they had been commanded. This may be cited against the People of the Scripture when they deny something that was mentioned in their Book or occurred during their time: it is among the things they forgot.

The fifth is the persistent treachery described in the words: “You will continue to discover treachery on their part,” meaning treachery toward Allah and His believing servants.

Among their gravest acts of treachery is their concealment of the truth [from] those whom they admonish and who think well of them, thereby leaving them in disbelief. This is a grave betrayal. These reprehensible qualities are found in everyone who assumes their characteristics.

Thus, everyone who fails to fulfill what Allah commanded and for which He exacted a commitment from him will have a share of the curse and hardness of heart. He will be afflicted with distorting words, failing to be guided to what is right, forgetting a portion of what he was reminded of, and inevitably becoming afflicted with treachery. We ask Allah for well-being.

Allah Most High called what they had been reminded of a “share” because it is the greatest of all shares; everything else is merely a worldly share. Allah Most High said: “So he came out before his people in his splendor. Those who desired the life of this world said, ‘If only we had the like of what Qārūn was given! He truly possesses a tremendous share.’” ⦗226⦘ Concerning the beneficial share, He said: “None are granted it except those who are patient, and none are granted it except one who possesses a tremendous share.”

His words, “except for a few of them,” mean that those few fulfilled what they had covenanted with Allah to do, so He granted them success and guided them to the straight path.

“So pardon them and overlook their offenses.” That is, do not hold them to account for such harm as may be pardoned, and overlook it, for this is part of doing good. “Indeed, Allah loves those who do good.” Excellence is to worship Allah as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He surely sees you. In relation to created beings, it consists of extending religious and worldly benefit to them.