What they said on fulfilling a covenant with the polytheists

Muhammad bin Suqah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A man asked Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) about a man whom the Daylamites had taken captive. They took the covenant and pledge of Allah from him and released him on the condition that if he sent them the ransom, he would be free of obligation. They had fixed the ransom. And if he did not send the ransom, then according to the covenant and pledge he would return to them. The man could not obtain the ransom money because he was in hardship. What should he do now? He said: "He must fulfil the covenant." The man said: "Sir, they are polytheists!" Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) refused and said: "The covenant must be fulfilled in every case."

Jami' bin Abi Rashid (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Maymun bin Mihran (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: Three things are to be rendered to both the righteous and the wicked: Ties of kinship are to be maintained, whether the relative is righteous or wicked; a trust is to be returned to both the righteous and the wicked; and a promise is to be fulfilled with both the righteous and the wicked.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Tufayl (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) stated: Nothing prevented me from taking part in the Battle of Badr except this: I and my father Husayl (may Allah be pleased with him) had set out when the disbelievers of Quraysh seized us and said: "You are going to Muhammad." We said: "We are not going to him; we only intend to go to Madinah." So they took a covenant and pledge from us that we would return to Madinah and would not fight alongside Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Then we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him what had happened. He said: "Both of you go back. We will fulfil the covenant with them and seek Allah's help against them."