The Quran contains many covenants and solemn pledges concerning duties already made obligatory by Allah’s command. Among these are His words, Exalted is He:

“And when We took your covenant and raised the Mount above you,”

and the remainder of the verse; and His words:

“And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel: ‘Worship none but Allah, and show kindness to parents,’”

through to the end of the passage; and His words:

“And when We took your covenant and raised the Mount above you: ‘Hold firmly to what We have given you, and listen.’ They said, ‘We hear and disobey.’”

And His words:

“Among the People of the Book are some who, if you entrust them with a great sum, will return it to you; and among them are some who, if you entrust them with a single dinar, will not return it to you,”

continuing to His words:

“Yes, whoever fulfills his covenant and fears Allah—indeed, Allah loves those who fear Him.”

“Indeed, those who exchange Allah’s covenant and their oaths for a small price will have no share in the Hereafter.”

His words, “Yes, whoever fulfills his covenant,” following His mention of faith, indicate that this means fulfilling the obligations arising from contracts in transactions and the like. Likewise, He says in the verse concerning sales:

“But if you trust one another, let the one entrusted discharge his trust.”

Discharging a trust means fulfilling the contractual obligations arising from transactions, such as taking possession and making delivery. This is obligatory by virtue of the contract alone. He then says:

“Indeed, those who exchange Allah’s covenant and their oaths…”

Allah’s covenant is what He has enjoined upon them, while their oaths are those they have solemnly sworn. The occasion of this verse’s revelation was the incident involving al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays, related in the two Sahīh collections, concerning his dispute with a Jewish man, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever swears a false oath to appropriate a Muslim’s property will meet Allah while He is angry with him.”

Allah then revealed this verse. That property already had to be handed over to its rightful owner