Having commanded what is obligatory by the revealed law itself, He then commanded fulfillment of what the servant makes binding upon himself, saying: ⦗448⦘
(91–92) “Fulfill Allah’s covenant when you have made a covenant, and do not break your oaths after confirming them, having made Allah your guarantor. Surely Allah knows what you do. Do not be like the woman who unravels her yarn after it has been firmly spun, reducing it to loose strands. You make your oaths a means of deception among yourselves merely because one community is more numerous than another. Allah is only testing you through this, and on the Day of Resurrection He will certainly make clear to you the matters over which you differed.”
This encompasses everything concerning which the servant has made a covenant with his Lord, including acts of worship, vows, and binding oaths, provided their fulfillment is righteous. It also encompasses agreements between him and others, such as covenants between contracting parties and a promise that a person makes to another and solemnly binds himself to fulfill. In all such matters, he must honor and carry them through to completion, so far as he is able. Allah therefore forbids breaking them, saying, “Do not break your oaths after confirming them,” by making them binding in Allah’s name. “Having made Allah your guarantor”—O parties to the covenant. It is therefore not lawful for you to fail to uphold a commitment for which you have made Allah your guarantor, for that would mean abandoning due reverence for Allah and treating Him lightly. The other party accepted your word because of the oath and solemn assurance in which you made Allah the guarantor. Just as he trusted you and thought well of you, you must fulfill what you said and solemnly affirmed.
“Surely Allah knows what you do.” He will recompense everyone for his deeds according to his intention and purpose.
“Do not be”—in breaking your covenants—like the worst and ugliest example, the one that most clearly reveals the folly of whoever behaves in this way: namely, “the woman” who spins yarn firmly, but once it has become strong and complete as intended, unravels it and reduces it to “loose strands.” She toils first at spinning it and then at unravelling it, gaining nothing but disappointment, hardship, foolishness, and deficient judgment. The same is true of anyone who breaks a covenant he has made: he is unjust, ignorant, foolish, and deficient in religion and moral integrity.
His statement, “You make your oaths a means of deception among yourselves merely because one community is more numerous than another,” means that such conduct is not fitting for you: you make solemn oaths and then watch for opportunities to break them. If the person making the oath is weak and unable to prevail against the other party, he fulfills it—not out of reverence for the covenant and oath, but only because he lacks the power to break it. If he is strong and sees some worldly advantage in breaking it, he does so without regard for Allah’s covenant or his oath.
All of this amounts to following the shifting whims of the soul and placing them above what Allah desires from you, above human dignity, and above praiseworthy character, merely so that one community may surpass another in numbers and strength.
This is a trial and test from Allah. He tests you through it by bringing about circumstances of adversity through which the truthful and faithful person is distinguished from the wicked and wretched one.
“On the Day of Resurrection He will certainly make clear to you the matters over which you differed.” He will recompense everyone for what he did and disgrace the treacherous.