and support them, and lend Allah a good loan, I will surely absolve you of your sins and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever among you disbelieves after that has certainly strayed from the straight path.’”

“For breaking their covenant, We cursed them and hardened their hearts,”

and the verses that follow. The Exalted thus states that, by neglecting the duties He had imposed upon them through the covenant—even though these were also obligatory by His command—they incurred these punishments. These included falling into such forbidden things as hardness of heart, distorting words from their proper places, and neglecting a portion of what they had been reminded of.

Further into the surah, He states that He cast enmity and hatred among them, saying:

“The Jews said, ‘Allah’s hand is shackled.’ May their hands be shackled, and may they be cursed for what they said! Rather, both His hands are outstretched; He spends as He wills,”

and the rest of the verse. Quran commentators among the early generations, such as Qatāda and others, have said concerning the Christian sects what we have indicated.

Likewise, if you reflect on those within this community who have gone astray or fallen into error, you will find that the root cause is neglecting good deeds, rather than committing evil deeds. The foundation of what they affirm is sound; their error arises from what they deny. Affirmation amounts to performing a good deed, and negation to refraining from an evil deed. It thus becomes clear that neglecting good deeds is more harmful than committing evil deeds, and is its root cause.

An example of this is the Waʿīdiyya (those who insist on the fulfilment of divine threats of punishment), among the Khārijites and others, in the gravity they attach to