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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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Landmarks on the path of steadfastness.

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Fulfilling covenants and contracts.

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Among the means of steadfastness:

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Fulfilling covenants and contracts.

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In Sahih Muslim:

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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

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"There has never been a prophet before me

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but that it was his duty to guide his Ummah

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to the best of what he knew for them,

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and to warn them against the worst of what he knew for them.

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And this Ummah of yours

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has its well-being placed in its beginning,

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but its latter part will be afflicted with trials and matters you will disapprove of.

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Then a trial will come, and one part of it will make the other seem light.

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A trial will come,

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and the believer will say,

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'This is what will destroy me.'

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Then it will pass.

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Then a trial will come,

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and the believer will say,

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'This is it, this is it.'

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So whoever wishes to be delivered from the Fire

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and admitted into Paradise,

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let death come to him

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while he believes in Allah and the Last Day,

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and let him treat people as he would love to be treated.

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And whoever pledges allegiance to an Imam,

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giving him the pledge of his hand

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and the fruit of his heart,

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let him obey him if he is able.

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But if another comes to dispute with him,

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then strike the neck of the latter."

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Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,

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leads astray those who break their covenants with Allah and with His creation,

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as He, the Exalted, says:

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"Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example—that of a mosquito

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or what is smaller than it."

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"And as for those who believe,

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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But as for those who disbelieve,

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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He misleads many thereby

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and guides many thereby.

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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Those who break the covenant of Allah after its ratification,

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and sever that which Allah has ordered to be joined,

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and cause corruption on earth—

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it is they who are the losers."

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Al-Sa'di said in his Tafsir:

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The Exalted says:

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"Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example—"

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meaning any example, whether a mosquito or something greater,

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because examples contain wisdom and clarify the truth.

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Allah is not timid regarding the truth.

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It is as if this is a response to those who objected to the use of examples involving lowly things

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and challenged Allah regarding that.

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There is no room for objection in this;

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rather, it is part of Allah’s teaching to His servants and His mercy toward them,

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so it must be received with acceptance and gratitude.

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That is why He said:

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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"So they understand them and reflect upon them."

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If they learn what they contain in detail,

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their knowledge and faith increase thereby.

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Otherwise, they know that they are true and that what they contain is true,

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even if the aspect of truth in them is hidden from them,

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because they know that Allah did not present them in vain,

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but for a profound wisdom and an abundant blessing.

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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So they object and become confused,

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and thus they increase in disbelief upon their disbelief,

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just as the believers increase in faith upon their faith.

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That is why He said:

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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This is the state of the believers and the disbelievers

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upon the revelation of Qur'anic verses.

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The Exalted says:

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“And whenever a surah is revealed there are some of them who say: Which one of you hath thus increased in faith? As for those who believe, it hath increased them in faith and they rejoice (therefor).” (9:124)

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“And whenever a surah is revealed there are some of them who say: Which one of you hath thus increased in faith? As for those who believe, it hath increased them in faith and they rejoice (therefor).” (9:124)

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“And whenever a surah is revealed there are some of them who say: Which one of you hath thus increased in faith? As for those who believe, it hath increased them in faith and they rejoice (therefor).” (9:124)

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“But as for those in whose hearts is disease, it only addeth wickedness to their wickedness, and they die while they are disbelievers.” (9:125)

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There is no greater blessing for the servants than the revelation of Qur'anic verses.

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Yet, for some people, they are a trial and a source of confusion,

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misguidance, and an increase of evil upon their evil,

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while for others, they are a gift, a mercy, and an increase of good upon their good.

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Exalted is He who differentiates between His servants,

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and is alone in guiding and leading astray.

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Then He mentioned His wisdom in leading astray those whom He leads astray,

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and that this is justice from Him, the Exalted.

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He said:

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“Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;” (2:26)

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meaning those who depart from the obedience of Allah,

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those who are obstinate toward the messengers of Allah,

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those for whom defiance has become their defining trait,

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such that they seek no substitute for it.

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Thus, His wisdom, the Exalted, necessitated their misguidance

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due to their lack of fitness for guidance,

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just as His wisdom and grace necessitated

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the guidance of those who are characterized by faith

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and adorned with righteous deeds.

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Defiance (fisq) is of two types:

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A type that expels one from the religion,

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which is the defiance that necessitates exiting from faith,

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like that mentioned in this verse and its likes.

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And a type that does not expel one from faith,

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as in His saying, the Exalted:

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"O you who have believed,

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“O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did.” (49:6)

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then investigate."

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Then He described the defiant ones, saying:

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"Those who break the covenant of Allah

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after its ratification."

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This encompasses the covenant between them and Him,

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and that which is between them and His servants,

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which He confirmed for them

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with solemn oaths and obligations.

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They do not care about those oaths;

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rather, they break them, abandon His commands,

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and commit His prohibitions.

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They break the covenants between them and the creation,

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and sever that which Allah has ordered to be joined.

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This includes many things,

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for Allah has commanded us to maintain what is between us and Him

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through faith in Him

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and fulfilling His servitude,

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and what is between us and His Messenger

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through faith in him, loving him,

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honoring him, and fulfilling his rights,

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and what is between us and our parents, relatives, companions,

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and the rest of creation,

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by fulfilling those rights that Allah has commanded us to maintain.

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As for the believers,

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they maintained what Allah commanded to be joined of these rights

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and fulfilled them in the most perfect manner.

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As for the defiant ones, they severed them,

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cast them behind their backs,

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replacing them with defiance, severance,

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and the commission of sins,

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which is corruption on earth.

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"It is they—"

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meaning those with this description—

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"who are the losers" in this world and the Hereafter.

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He restricted the loss to them

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because their loss is general in all their states;

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they have no form of profit,

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because every righteous deed

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has faith as its condition.

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So whoever has no faith has no deeds.

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This loss is the loss of disbelief.

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As for the loss that may be disbelief,

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or may be a sin,

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or may be negligence in abandoning a recommended act,

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which is mentioned in His saying, the Exalted:

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“Lo! man is a state of loss,” (103:2)

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This is general for every created being,

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except for those who are characterized by faith, righteous deeds,

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mutual exhortation to truth, and mutual exhortation to patience.

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The reality of missing out on good

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is that which the servant was in a position to attain

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and was within his capability.

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When the predecessors among the People of the Scripture broke

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their covenants with Allah,

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Allah punished them with the severest of worldly punishments,

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as He, the Exalted, says:

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"So for their breaking of their covenant,

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“And because of their breaking their covenant, We have cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change words from their context and forget a part of that whereof they were admonished. Thou wilt not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them. But bear with them and pardon them. Lo! Allah loveth the kindly.” (5:13)

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they distort words from their places."

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“And because of their breaking their covenant, We have cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change words from their context and forget a part of that whereof they were admonished. Thou wilt not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them. But bear with them and pardon them. Lo! Allah loveth the kindly.” (5:13)

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"And you will still observe

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deceit among them,

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except for a few of them.

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So pardon them and overlook.

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Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good."

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"And from those who said,

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'We are Christians,' We took their covenant;

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“And with those who say: "Lo! we are Christians," We made a covenant, but they forgot a part of that whereof they were admonished. Therefor We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection, when Allah will inform them of their handiwork.” (5:14)

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so We provoked among them animosity

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and hatred until the Day of Resurrection.

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And Allah is going to inform them

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about what they used to do."

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And He said:

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“And those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it, and sever that which Allah hath commanded should be joined, and make mischief in the earth: theirs is the curse and theirs the ill abode.” (13:25)

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"after its ratification,

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and they sever

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and they sever that which Allah has ordered

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to be joined,

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and cause corruption on earth.

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Those will have the curse,

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and they will have the worst of the home."

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Breaking covenants is among the traits of the hypocrites

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who, when they swerved, Allah caused their hearts to swerve.

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In the two Sahihs,

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on the authority of 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar,

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that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

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"There are four qualities, whoever has them all

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is a pure hypocrite,

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and whoever has one of them

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has a trait of hypocrisy

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until he leaves it:

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when he is entrusted, he betrays;

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when he speaks, he lies;

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when he makes a covenant, he acts treacherously;

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and when he disputes, he behaves wickedly."

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And in the two Sahihs,

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on the authority of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both),

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from the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said:

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"A banner will be raised for the treacherous one on the Day of Resurrection,

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and it will be said:

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'This is the treachery of so-and-so, son of so-and-so.'"