ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ
And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of Israel, [enjoining upon them], "Do not worship except Allah; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give zakah." Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you were refusing.
Tafsir
Verse range: 2:83
{وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ...} (And [recall] when We took the covenant from you...)
Know that this is another category of the blessings (Ni'am) with which Allah singled them out. This is because being tasked (Taklīf) with these obligations leads to the greatest blessing, which is Paradise. That which leads to a blessing is itself a blessing; thus, this obligation is undoubtedly a blessing.
Then, the Exalted and Sublime specified here that He obligated them with several things:
The First Obligation: His saying, the Exalted: {لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ} (You shall worship none but Allah). This contains several issues:
Ibn Kathir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisā’ī recited it with the Yā’ (يَعْبُدُونَ - they worship), while the rest recited it with the Tā’ (تَعْبُدُونَ - you worship).
There are five differing opinions regarding the grammatical position of {لَا تَعْبُدُونَ}:
“O Lāthimī, are you present at the fray, and [are you present] that I witness pleasures? Will you grant me eternity?” (He intended an aḥḍara - that I be present). Al-Akhfash, Al-Farrā’, Al-Zajjāj, Quṭrub, ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsā, and Abū Muslim supported this view.
This covenant indicates the completeness of what is necessary in religion. When Allah commanded the worship of Him alone and forbade the worship of others, this command and prohibition must be preceded by knowledge of His Essence, all that is obligatory, permissible, and impossible for Him, and knowledge of His Unity, His freedom from opposites, rivals, consorts, and offspring. It must also be preceded by knowledge of the how of that worship, which can only be known through revelation and prophethood. Therefore, {لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ} encompasses everything contained in the science of Kalām (theology), the science of Fiqh (jurisprudence), and rulings, because worship cannot be achieved without them.
The Second Obligation: His saying: {وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا} (And [covenant concerning] kindness to parents). This contains several issues:
What is the connection of the Bā’ in {وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا} and why is Iḥsānan in the accusative case (Naṣb)? There are three opinions:
The linking of kindness to parents immediately after the worship of Allah is due to several reasons:
The majority of scholars agreed that honoring parents is obligatory even if they are disbelievers. Evidence for this includes:
Kindness to them means never harming them and conveying to them whatever benefits they need. This includes inviting them to faith if they are disbelievers, and enjoining good upon them gently if they are wicked (Fāsiqūn).
The Third Obligation: His saying: {وَذِي الْقُرْبَى} (And to relatives by blood). This contains several issues:
Imam Shāfi‘ī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: If someone wills a bequest to the relatives of Zayd, it includes heirs and non-heirs. The father and son are not included because they are not typically referred to as mere "relatives" (Qarīb). Grandchildren and grandparents are included. Another view is that neither ascendants nor descendants are included, and a third view is that all are included.
There is a subtlety here: Arabs trace their lineage high up to distant ancestors, and all of them are relatives. If we trace back to a high ancestor, their descendants multiply. Therefore, Imam Shāfi‘ī said that the bequest extends to the closest ancestor to whom the person traces his lineage and is known by, even if that ancestor was a disbeliever. His companions gave the example: If someone wills a bequest to the relatives of Imam Shāfi‘ī, it applies to the descendants of Shāfi‘, not the descendants of ‘Abd Manāf, even though they are relatives, because Shāfi‘ is famously traced to Shāfi‘ rather than ‘Abd Manāf.
Shaykh Al-Ghazālī said: This was in Shāfi‘ī's time. In our time, it only applies to the children of Imam Shāfi‘, not tracing back to the descendants of Shāfi‘, because in our time, the closest known lineage is that of his children. As for maternal kinship, it is included in the bequest of non-Arabs, but not typically in the bequest of Arabs, as they do not count that as true kinship. However, if one says "to the Arḥām (wombs/kin) of so-and-so," it includes both paternal and maternal relatives.
The right of blood relatives follows the right of parents because one's relatives are connected to him through his parents. Connection to the parents takes precedence over connection to blood relatives, which is why Allah mentioned them after the parents.
It is narrated from Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "The kinship tie (Ar-Raḥim) is a tether from the Most Merciful. When the Day of Judgment comes, it will complain: 'O Lord, I have been wronged; I have been treated badly; I have been cut off.' The Lord will answer it: 'Are you not pleased that I cut off whoever cuts you off and maintain connection with whoever maintains you?'" Then he recited: {فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَن تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَتَقَطَّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ} (Then is it expected of you, if you turned away, [that] you would cause corruption in the land and sever your ties of kinship?).
The rational basis for emphasizing the care of this right is that kinship is a source of unity, affection, support, and aid. If none of this is present, it is more painful to the heart and more severe in causing distress and alienation. The stronger the bond, the more obligatory its protection. Hence, the rights of relatives must be observed.
The Fourth Obligation: His saying: {وَالْيَتَامَى} (And to orphans). This contains two issues:
The orphan is one whose father has died until he reaches puberty. The plural is Aytaam and Yitāmā, like Nadīm and Nadāmā. One whose mother dies is not called an orphan. Al-Zajjāj said: This applies to humans; for non-humans, being an orphan is due to the loss of the mother.
The orphan follows the care of relatives' rights. Because of his youth, he cannot benefit himself, and his orphanhood and lack of a guardian necessitate someone to benefit him. People are rarely inclined to associate with such a person. Since this obligation is difficult on the soul, its rank in religion is great.
The Fifth Obligation: His saying: {وَالْمَسَاكِينِ} (And to the needy). This contains several issues:
The singular of Masākīn is Miskīn, derived from Sukūn (stillness), as if poverty has settled upon him. According to most linguists, the Miskīn is in a worse state of poverty than the Faqīr. This is the view of Abū Ḥanīfah. They cite His saying: {أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ} (Or a needy person covered in dust) (Al-Balad: 16).
According to Imam Shāfi‘ī, the Faqīr is in a worse state because Faqīr is derived from Faqār (the backbone), as if his backbone is broken due to extreme need. This is the view of Ibn Al-Anbārī. They cite in rebuttal His saying: {أَمَّا السَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَاكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِي الْبَحْرِ} (As for the ship, it belonged to needy men working at sea) (Al-Kahf: 79), where they were called Masākīn even though the ship was their property.
Their rank is delayed after orphans because the needy person might be capable of being employed or utilized for service, making people more inclined to associate with him than with orphans. Furthermore, the needy person can attend to his own affairs and livelihood, whereas the orphan cannot. Hence, Allah mentioned the orphan before the needy.
Kindness to relatives, orphans, and the needy must be distinct from Zakah, because conjunction (‘Aṭf) implies difference.
The Sixth Obligation: His saying: {وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا} (And speak kindly to people). This contains several issues:
Ḥamzah and Al-Kisā’ī recited it with a Fatḥa on the Ḥā’ and Sīn (حَسَنًا), meaning it describes the speech (i.e., "Speak to people a good word"). The rest recited it with a Ḍammah on the Ḥā’ and Sukūn on the Sīn (حُسْنًا). They cite {وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا} (And We enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment) (Al-‘Ankabūt: 8) and {ثُمَّ بَدَّلَ حُسْنًا بَعْدَ سُوءٍ} (Then changed good [state] after evil) (An-Nahl: 11).
There are four interpretations for the latter recitation:
Why were they commanded to speak kindly after the narration of the covenant? There are three answers:
Is the command {وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا} part of the covenant taken from them, or is it a command given to Moses and his people afterward?
Some said that kind speech is only obligatory toward believers, not disbelievers or the wicked. Their evidence:
If specification occurred based on the addressee, it means: "Speak kindly to the believers." If it occurred based on the speech itself, it means: "Speak kindly when calling to Allah or enjoining good."
Abū Ja‘far Muhammad ibn ‘Alī Al-Bāqir asserted that this generality remains as it is, and there is no need for specification. This is the stronger view, evidenced by Moses and Aaron being commanded to be gentle with Pharaoh, and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) being commanded regarding gentleness: {وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ} (And if you had been rude in speech, harsh in manner, they would have broken away from you around you) (Āl ‘Imrān: 159). Also, {ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ} (Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction) (An-Nahl: 125), and {وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ} (And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge) (Al-An‘ām: 108).
To those who argue that cursing them is necessary and incompatible with kind speech:
The people of verification state that speech between people is either about religious matters or worldly matters.
The apparent meaning suggests that kindness to relatives, orphans, and the needy, as well as kind speech, were obligatory in their law because taking a covenant implies obligation (as the command implies obligation, and they were blamed for turning away). In our law, it is also obligatory in some respects. Ibn ‘Abbās narrated that Zakah abrogated every other right, but this is weak, as there is no dispute that if someone is in dire need, we must give charity, even if Zakah is not due, and if Zakah is insufficient, charity becomes obligatory. The obligation to speak to people in a way that does not harm them is also certain.
The Seventh and Eighth Obligations: His saying: {وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي...} (And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of...). These have already been explained.
After explaining that He took the covenant from them regarding these eight obligations—and this was a blessing intended to elevate them to the highest station with their Lord—they turned away and wronged themselves, failing to accept their Lord's blessings despite the strong proofs and covenants. This increases the ugliness of their turning away, as opposing Allah after the utmost clarity and confirmation is greater than opposition stemming from ignorance.
There are three views on who is meant by {ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ} (Then you turned away):
Verse 84: {وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لَا تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَلَا تُخْرِجُونَ أَنفُسَكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ} (And [recall] when We took your covenant, [saying], "You shall not shed the blood of yourselves or expel yourselves from your homes." Then you agreed and [were] witnesses.)
