Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:224

(And do not make Allah an obstacle for your oaths). Ibn Jarir reported from Ibn Jurayj that it was revealed concerning the Truthful One (Abu Bakr), may Allah be pleased with him, when he swore not to spend on Mistah, his cousin, who was among the poor Emigrants, after he had engaged in the slander against Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. Al-Kalbi said: It was revealed concerning Abdullah ibn Rawahah when he swore against his brother-in-law, Bashir ibn al-Nu’man, that he would never visit him, never speak to him, and never reconcile between him and his wife, after Bashir had divorced her and desired to return to her and reconcile.

Al-‘urdah (the obstacle/shield) is a noun in the form fi’lah conveying the meaning of the passive object, like al-qabdah (the handful) and al-ghurfah (the scoop). In this context, it is derived from ‘arada (to expose/place) — from the nasara or daraba verb classes — meaning to make something an obstacle, or from ‘arada al-shay’a for sale — from the daraba class — when one presents it for that purpose and sets it up.

On the first interpretation, the meaning is: "Do not make Allah an obstacle for what you have sworn upon and abandoned regarding various forms of righteousness." Thus, the intent by "oaths" (al-ayman) refers to the matters being sworn upon, and they are termed "oaths" either because of their connection to them, or because al-yamin (oath) is synonymous with al-hilf (swearing); just as one says halaftu yaminan (I swore an oath), one says halaftu halfan (I swore a swearing). Thus, the effect is named after the source, as in the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ) in what was reported by Muslim and others: "Whoever swears an oath (yamin) and then sees that something else is better than it, let him offer expiation for his oath and do that which is better." It is also said that the ’ala (on/upon) in the Hadith is an additional particle to incorporate the meaning of elevation.

His saying: (That you be righteous, and fear Allah, and make peace between people) is an explanatory apposition (‘atf bayan) for "your oaths," which is frequent in non-proper nouns and even more so in them. It is also said to be a substitute (badal), but this has been weakened on the basis that the thing substituted from (mubdal minhu) cannot be intended to be subordinate, but rather a preparation and introduction for the substitute, which is not the case here. The lam (in li-aymanikum) is a connective to ‘urdah, and it carries the meaning of obstruction, or it is linked to taj’alu. The first is better, even if the result is the same. It is also permitted that "the oaths" be taken literally, the lam be for causality (ta’lil), and that "that you be righteous" be understood as "for the sake of," being a connective to the verb or to ‘urdah. The meaning would be: "Do not make Allah the Exalted an obstacle, due to your swearing by Him, against righteousness, piety, and reconciliation."

On the second interpretation: "And do not make Allah a target for your oaths, thereby cheapening Him by swearing by Him frequently in every truth and falsehood, for in that there is a type of audacity toward Allah the Exalted." This is the interpretation reported from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, and it is the view held by al-Jubba’i and Abu Muslim. The Imamiyyah also reported it from the pure Imams. In this case, "that you be righteous" serves as the cause for the prohibition, meaning: "I forbid you from that in order to seek your righteousness, piety, and reconciliation, for one who swears frequently is audacious toward Allah, and one who is audacious toward Him is far from possessing those qualities." It leads to: "Do not swear often by Allah the Exalted, so that you may be righteous and pious, and so that people may rely upon you and you may reconcile between them."

The estimation of a request (or similar) is necessary if "that you be righteous" is in the position of the accusative, in order to fulfill the condition for the omission of the lam (causality), which is the state of comparison; for the comparison to the prohibition is not the righteousness, piety, and reconciliation themselves, but rather the seeking of them. If it is in the position of the genitive, based on the principle that the omission of the preposition from an or anna is standard, then it is not strictly necessary; they merely estimated it to clarify the meaning. The intent here is the request of Allah the Exalted, not the request of the servant. If the latter were intended, it would be the cause for the desisting implied by the prohibition, as if it were said: "Desist yourselves from making Him, the Glorified, an obstacle, and the servant's request is eligible for desisting." And Allah is All-Hearing of your words and your oaths, All-Knowing of your conditions and your intentions; so preserve what you have been charged with. The appropriateness of the verse to what precedes it is that when Allah commanded them to have piety, He forbade them from cheapening His name—which is contrary to piety—or He forbade them from allowing His Great Name to be an obstacle to it and a barrier against it.