Allah says to His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): “We have certainly sent down to you clear signs,” through which whoever seeks guidance may be guided and the proof may be established against whoever obstinately resists. Their clarity and demonstration of the truth have reached such a tremendous degree that none refuses to accept them except one who has rebelled against Allah’s command, departed from obedience to Him, and become utterly arrogant.

(100) “Is it not the case that every time they made a covenant, a group of them cast it aside? Rather, most of them do not believe.”

This expresses astonishment (1) at how frequently they made covenants and how little perseverance they showed in fulfilling them.

The word “whenever” indicates repetition: every time a covenant was made, its violation followed. What was the reason for this? The reason was that most of them did not believe. Their lack of faith was what led them to break their covenants. Had their faith been sincere, they would have been like those of whom Allah says: “Among the believers are men who have proved true to what they pledged to Allah.”