Chapter: The Prohibition of Betrayal

Allah the Exalted says, “O you who believe, fulfil all contracts,” and He also says, “And fulfil the covenant; indeed, the covenant will be questioned about.”

[Explanation]
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) titles this chapter in Riyad al-Salihin: “The Prohibition of Betrayal.”

Al-ghadr—betrayal—is for a person to act treacherously in a matter where he has been trusted. In other words, someone places his trust in you and you then betray him, whether or not you had given an explicit pledge. The reason is that the one who entrusted you relied on you and put his confidence in you; when you break that trust, you have committed betrayal.

The author then argues for the prohibition of betrayal by underscoring the obligation of keeping one’s word, for a thing is known by its opposite. To establish that obligation, he—may Allah have mercy on him—cites two verses. The first is the Almighty’s statement, “O you who believe, fulfil all contracts,” meaning: discharge them fully and comprehensively according to the agreement you made. This includes every form of contract, among them sales contracts. When you sell something to your brother, it is incumbent upon you to honour the contract. If there is a stipulated condition between you, you must fulfil it, whether it concerns refraining from something or performing something. For instance, if you sell your brother a house on the condition that you may live in it for a year, the purchaser is obliged to enable you to do so and not interfere with you, because the stipulation is that you reside there for a year, and that is what the contract entails. Likewise, if you sell your brother an item and stipulate that he must tolerate the defect it contains—meaning you said to him