Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ { كَيْفَ يَكُوْنُ لِلْمُشْرِكِيْنَ۠ عَهْدٌ … :} That is, those people who are themselves polytheists, who have not fulfilled the covenant of monotheism with their Creator, how can it be possible for them to fulfill any covenant? Whatever covenant they make, they break it.
➋ { اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ عٰهَدْتُّمْ عِنْدَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ:} By this are meant the same people whose mention has already passed in «اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ عٰهَدْتُّمْ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنْقُصُوْكُمْ شَيْـًٔا وَّ لَمْ يُظَاهِرُوْا عَلَيْكُمْ اَحَدًا فَاَتِمُّوْۤا اِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ اِلٰى مُدَّتِهِمْ » [ التوبۃ : ۴ ]. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which was agreed upon for ten years between the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the disbelievers of Quraysh, was concluded at the place of Hudaybiyyah, which is near the boundaries of the Haram, therefore it was called {’’ عِنْدَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ‘‘}. (Ibn Kathir) The meaning is that those who remained firm on this covenant, do not fight them. The condition in this treaty was that neither party would attack the other, nor help anyone against the other. In this treaty, Banu Khuza'ah were included with the Muslims and Banu Bakr were allies of Quraysh, but after some time, fighting broke out between Banu Bakr and Banu Khuza'ah, and the polytheists, violating the treaty, helped Banu Bakr against Banu Khuza'ah. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) attacked Makkah in Ramadan 8 AH and conquered it. (Ibn Kathir) Ibn Jarir Tabari preferred the view that this refers to those tribes of Banu Bakr who remained firm on their covenant of Hudaybiyyah and neither attacked Banu Khuza'ah nor helped in it, because at the time of the revelation of these verses, a year had passed since the conquest of Makkah, and Quraysh had already received the punishment for their breach of covenant. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "Three types of treaties were mentioned: one with whom no term was fixed, they were answered (that you are given four months' respite); but those who were included in the treaty of Makkah (then) as long as they do not betray, this is the respect of Makkah; and third, those with whom a term was fixed, that treaty remained, but in the end, all the polytheist Arabs embraced faith." (Mawaddih) In {’’اسْتَقَامُوْا ‘‘}, due to the addition of the letters "Seen" and "Ta", the translation is "remain fully firm."
➌ {اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِيْنَ:} And fulfilling the covenant is also a necessary condition for being God-fearing.

7. 1 This interrogative is for negation, meaning that except for those polytheists with whom you have a treaty, now no treaty remains with anyone else.

7. 2 That is, fulfilling a covenant is a very beloved act in the sight of Allah. Therefore, caution is necessary in this matter.

How can there be a covenant for the polytheists with Allah and His Messenger? Except for those with whom you made a treaty at the Sacred Mosque. So as long as they remain true to you, remain true to them [7]. Surely, Allah loves those who are mindful of Him.

[7]
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and Allied Tribes:

By these are meant the three polytheist tribes: Banu Khuza‘ah, Banu Kinana, and Banu Damrah, who became allies of the Muslims at the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. When the declaration of disassociation (Bara’ah) was made, there were still nine months remaining in their treaty period. According to verse 4 of this Surah, they were not to be harmed during this period. Also, according to this verse, it was permitted that as long as any polytheist remained true to his treaty, you must also remain true to it; but if he breaks his covenant, then you are permitted to take hostile action. In other words, the violation of the treaty should never be initiated from your side under any circumstances, and the example of this is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, according to which it was agreed that Muslims and the Quraysh of Makkah would not fight each other for ten years, and that the tribes allied to the Muslims would not be harmed by the Quraysh, and those allied to the Quraysh would not be harmed by the Muslims. By this treaty, Banu Khuza‘ah became allies of the Muslims and Banu Bakr of the Quraysh. There was enmity between Banu Khuza‘ah and Banu Bakr. Not even a year had passed since the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah when a fight broke out between Banu Khuza‘ah and Banu Bakr, and the Quraysh, violating the treaty, supplied weapons to Banu Bakr and openly supported them, and Banu Khuza‘ah were severely beaten. A delegation from Banu Khuza‘ah, led by ‘Amr bin Salim, went to Madinah and pleaded with the Prophet ﷺ, saying that the Quraysh had broken the covenant. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Very well, now I am justified in helping you.” The Quraysh’s breach of covenant was, in fact, a declaration of war against the Muslims. However, the Prophet ﷺ presented three conditions to the Quraysh, asking them to accept any one of them:
1. The blood money for those killed from Banu Khuza‘ah should be paid.
2. The Quraysh should withdraw their support from Banu Bakr.
3. It should be announced that the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is terminated.
When the envoy presented these conditions to the Quraysh, their youth immediately flared up, and one of them, Fart bin ‘Amir, announced on behalf of the Quraysh that only the third condition was accepted. When the envoy left, they realized the gravity of the situation and sent Abu Sufyan to Madinah to renew the treaty. Abu Sufyan arrived in Madinah and requested the renewal of the treaty, but the Prophet ﷺ gave no reply. Then, in turn, he pleaded with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ, Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ, and even Sayyida Fatimah ؓ for intercession. But when all refused, he stood in the Prophet’s Mosque and unilaterally announced that he had renewed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. However, he did not respond to any of the conditions presented by the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, there was no longer any room for reconciliation, and this very breach of covenant by the Quraysh ultimately became the cause for the Muslim advance on Makkah.

The Breach of Covenant by Quraysh and Banu Bakr and the Muslim Advance on Makkah:

Fulfilling covenants is among the fundamental teachings of Islam, and breach of covenant is a major sin, which has been described in hadith as a sign of hypocrisy. Whether the covenant is with Allah or with a person, whether it relates to transactions, marriage and divorce, or peace and war, whether it is between individuals or nations, it must be fulfilled, even if there is a risk of great loss. Since this Surah discusses the laws relating to peace and war, we will focus on this aspect. The enemies continued to breach covenants and betray the Prophet ﷺ throughout his life, but the Prophet ﷺ never tolerated the violation of a covenant as a retaliatory measure. The treachery of the Jews is well known; they repeatedly violated the Charter of Madinah, and their betrayals and breaches of covenant have been mentioned in several places. Other tribes also left no stone unturned in breaching covenants. After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Quraysh of Makkah openly violated the treaty by supporting Banu Bakr. Banu Tha‘labah, under the pretext of seeking Islamic instruction, requested ten men from the Prophet ﷺ, who sent ten of the most learned scholars with them, and they treacherously martyred them. The same was done by Banu ‘Ukil and Qarah, who, under the guise of seeking Islamic instruction, treacherously martyred ten scholars, and the incident of Bi’r Ma‘unah is even more tragic, in which, against seventy distinguished Qurra’ and scholars, the tribes of Ra‘l and Dhakwan brought their forces and martyred them. This caused the Prophet ﷺ immense grief. Moreover, after this incident, the enemy tribes became even more emboldened against the Muslims, and within a short time, the anti-Islamic nations and tribes gathered on a single platform in the form of the Battle of Ahzab. Now, listen to the incidents of the Prophet’s ﷺ fulfillment of covenants, how, at critical moments, he sacrificed all his interests solely for the sake of fulfilling covenants:
1. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman and his father Yaman, whose kunyah was Abu Husayl, set out to participate in the Battle of Badr but were captured by the Quraysh on the way, who did not release them until they promised not to participate in the battle. They then met the Prophet ﷺ at Badr and related the incident. The Prophet ﷺ told them: “Go to Madinah and you are not permitted to fight,” and said, “We will fulfill our promise in all circumstances. We seek Allah’s help.” [مسلم۔ كتاب الجهاد۔ والسير۔ باب الوفاء بالعهد] Even though at that time the Prophet ﷺ was in dire need of every man.
2. In the incident of Bi’r Ma‘unah, one of the seventy, ‘Amr bin Umayyah, survived but was later captured. ‘Amir bin Tufayl, who had the Qurra’ martyred, saw ‘Amr bin Umayyah and said, “My mother had vowed to free a slave, so to fulfill her vow, I set ‘Amr bin Umayyah free.” As ‘Amr bin Umayyah left, he encountered two men from the same murderous tribe and killed them. Coincidentally, the Prophet ﷺ had already granted them protection, which ‘Amr bin Umayyah did not know. Now, the situation demanded that, due to the treachery of Banu ‘Amir, the harshest measures be taken against them, but the Prophet ﷺ, considering his covenant, paid their blood money. [البدايه والنهايه ج 4 ص 73]
3. The terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah had been written, but before the written agreement was signed, Abu Jandal, the son of the Quraysh’s representative Suhayl bin ‘Amr, who had been imprisoned for accepting Islam, escaped and, in chains, reached the Muslims, showing his wounds and pleading with the Prophet ﷺ not to be returned. The hearts of all the Companions ؓ were moved. The Prophet ﷺ himself was the Mercy to the Worlds, but solely for the sake of fulfilling the covenant, he returned him and said: “Abu Jandal, be patient. Allah will soon make a way for you. Now the treaty has been agreed upon, and we cannot break our word.” [بخاري۔ كتاب الشروط۔ باب الشروط على الجهاد و المصالحة]
4. Among such oppressed Muslims was ‘Utbah bin Asid (Abu Basir), who, tormented by the Quraysh’s oppression, managed to escape from Makkah and reach Madinah. According to the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, two men from the Quraysh came to Madinah to retrieve Abu Basir. For the sake of fulfilling the covenant, the Prophet ﷺ handed Abu Basir over to the disbelievers and advised him to be patient, saying that soon Allah would make a way (for details of this incident, see the opening footnotes of Surah al-Fath).
5. The Prophet’s ﷺ fulfillment of covenants was so frequent that even the enemies openly acknowledged this quality. During the Battle of Ahzab, when the Jewish chief of Banu Nadir, Huyayy bin Akhtab, tried to force Ka‘b bin Asdas, the chief of Banu Qurayzah, to break his covenant, Ka‘b said to him:
«اني لم ارمن محمد الا صدقا و وفآء» (I have always found Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to be truthful and one who fulfills his covenants) [طبري ج 1۔ غزوه خندق]
This quality was not limited to the Prophet ﷺ alone, but his successors also set examples by strictly adhering to covenants.
6. During the era of ‘Umar Farooq, the conquest of Syria was underway. Sayyiduna Abu ‘Ubaydah had besieged Damascus. Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid, along with a few brave men, scaled the wall and opened the gates of the fortress. Khalid’s army entered the fortress victoriously. The people of Damascus, on the other side, requested a peace settlement from Abu ‘Ubaydah, who, unaware of the new situation, accepted it. When he learned the true situation, he was greatly troubled, but for the sake of fulfilling the covenant, Abu ‘Ubaydah returned the conquered territory to the people of Damascus. [تاريخ اسلام حميد الدين ص 138]
7. During the Syrian conquests, the Christians sent their envoy George to Sayyiduna Abu ‘Ubaydah to negotiate peace. He arrived at the time of congregational prayer and was greatly impressed by the spiritual scene. Later, he asked some questions about Sayyiduna ‘Isa ؑ, to which Abu ‘Ubaydah gave satisfactory answers, resulting in George accepting Islam and wishing not to return to the Christians. But Abu ‘Ubaydah ؓ, solely to prevent the Romans from suspecting the Muslims of breach of covenant, compelled George to return and said: “Tomorrow, when the envoy departs, you must go with him at least once and inform them of the true situation yourself, then you may return.” [الفاروق ص 196]
Now, take a look at the treaties of the so-called civilized and advanced nations and the champions of human rights in the present age. Besides their apparent treaties, they have also woven a web of secret underground agreements and have given this hypocrisy and breach of covenant the beautiful name of “diplomacy.” The hypocrisy that was revealed during the First World War was as follows: On one side were Germany, Austria, and Hungary, labeled as aggressors or oppressors. On the other side were Britain, France, Russia, and Italy, who called themselves righteous, champions of human rights, and helpers of the oppressed. These “righteous” ones, to gain the support of the Arabs, assured them that they would free the Arabs from Turkish domination and, after the war, give them the opportunity to establish independent governments so that they could freely practice their Islamic rituals. In reality, these “righteous” ones wanted to strangle the Caliphate of Turkey, the center of the Muslim Ummah. In this regard, in 1917, General Maude publicly announced and confirmed the treaty with the Arabs, stating that they had come not as conquerors but to grant freedom. But the reality was something else. France and Britain made secret agreements in 1915 and 1916. According to the secret agreement of 1916, known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, it was decided that after the war:
1. Iraq would remain entirely under British control.
2. All of Syria would be under the French Empire.
3. Palestine would be an international territory, and Haifa, including its port, would be under British influence.
4. The remaining countries between Iraq and the Syrian coast would be divided into two parts: one under British influence and the other under French.
Since Britain and France were even more “righteous” than their other righteous allies, they kept this agreement secret even from their partners and continued to publicly declare that they had come to grant full freedom to the Arabs. When the Arabs saw that French forces had occupied the Syrian coast and British forces had entered Iraq and Palestine, they realized they had been deceived and that this scheme was merely to sow discord between the Turks and Arabs and to seize the land. When the Arabs finally realized, they made many efforts and even established a national government under Faisal bin Hussein, but by then it was too late. The British cunningly selected a few men from among the Arabs to form a government entirely under British influence. Thus, the British achieved all their interests and could also claim that they had fulfilled their promise to the Arabs. These secret agreements were not limited to the Arabs alone; the Allies would also make such agreements among themselves, keeping them secret from their other “righteous” partners, depending on the direction of the wind. This scheme of international banditry would have remained secret had Russia not fallen into revolution during the war. In April 1917, when their government was overthrown and the Bolsheviks came to power, they exposed the heinous character of the capitalist governments by publishing all the secret agreements they found in the archives of the Tsar’s government. There was not a single clause in these agreements in which the “righteous” ones had not decided to divide among themselves some territory or economic resource of the opposing empires.