Why is going astray brought forward here, and guidance is delayed? “By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the right path;” Guidance is always put first before misguidance, but here, it is brought forward in answer to their question so that the first thing they hear is what will make them more furious. “What means Allah by this similitude?” And the answer is “By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the right path;” and to add grief to their grief, the verse concludes: “but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path),-”
Who are they who forsake the path?:
27 Those who break Allah’s Covenant after it is ratified, and who sunder what Allah Has ordered to be joined, and do mischief on earth: These cause loss (only) to themselves.
What is the covenant that they broke after ratifying it?
The covenant is classified into three:
1- The covenant that the Children of Adam took to worship Allah only without associating partners with Him:
- And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware; (Al-A’raaf)
2- The covenant ratified by all prophets:
- He hath ordained for you that religion which He commended unto Noah, and that which We inspire in thee (Muhammad), and that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus, saying: Establish the religion, and be not divided therein. Dreadful for the idolaters is that unto which thou callest them. Allah chooseth for Himself whom He will, and guideth unto Himself him who turneth (toward Him). (Ash-Shuraa)
3- The covenant Allah made with the prophets:
- When Allah made (His) covenant with the Prophets, (He said): Behold that which I have given you of the Scripture and knowledge. And afterward there will come unto you a messenger, confirming that which ye possess. Ye shall believe in him and ye shah help him. He said: Do ye agree, and will ye take up My burden (which I lay upon you) in this (matter)? They answered: We agree. He said: Then bear ye witness. I will be a witness with you. (Aali Imraan)
It is said that there is the fourth covenant, which is evident in what we see every day, night and day: the sun and the moon, rivers, mountains and whatnot. Observe the birds as they fly or mate, lay eggs and bring chicks to the world. Observe the skies as the clouds condense moisture and rains drop from them. Observe the animals as they feed their young ones, protect them and give them comfort. Is it possible for all this to be without one who designs, directs and controls them? Have all these exist by themselves, or was there a creator? Then, this is yet another covenant that they broke of recognising the creator of all through observing what He created.
Up to the arrival of Muhammad, the prophets shall accept him and leave a legacy to their followers to do the same when the Messenger comes.
The covenant was taken by people from the tongues of Allah’s messengers on belief in and obedience to Allah.
So, when Allah speaks concerning the disbelievers who break His Covenant in verse 27 of Al-Baqarah, He was referring to these covenants.
Those who repudiate the covenant of Allah include the monks who hid the descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam in the Injeel, who refused to heed to their prophet’s admonitions, advice and forsaking what he taught of following the last prophet of Allah when he comes.
Also, breaking Allah’s covenant involves forgetting the promise we made to worship Allah without associating partners with Him, of rejecting Allah after seeing all the evidence of His existence in what He created.
“…and who sunder what Allah Has ordered to be joined,…”
Like severing the ties of kinship:
‘Abdu’r-Rahman ibn ‘Awf heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, “Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, said, ‘I am the Merciful (ar-Rahman). I have created kinship ties and derived a name for it from My Name. If anyone maintains ties of kinship, I maintain a connection with him, and I shall cut off anyone who cuts them off.’”
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
And the Messenger of Allah said in another narration:
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah Almighty created creation. When He had finished it, ties of kinship rose up. Allah said, ‘Stop!’ They said, ‘This is the place for anyone seeking refuge with You from being cut off’ Allah said, ‘Are you not content that I should maintain connections with the one who maintains a connection with you and I should cut off the one who cuts you off?’ It replied, ‘Yes indeed, my Lord.’ He said, ‘You have that.’”
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Also, to fail to act like a Muslim is to sunder what Allah has ordered to be joined. Are you a Muslim? Yes, then, you have to behave and act like a Muslim. You must match words with action. Do you believe in all the prophets and messengers of Allah? Yes, then, know that those who believe in some and reject some have sundered what Allah has ordered to be joined. If you believe in all messengers sent by Allah but reject Musa, Isa, or Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, you have sundered what Allah ordered to be joined.
136 Say ye: “We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam).” (Al-Baqarah)
- The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) the believers. Each one believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers We make no distinction between any of His messengers and they say: We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying. (Al-Baqarah)
And:
150 – 151. Lo! those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers, and seek to make distinction between Allah and His messengers, and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and seek to choose a way in between; Such are disbelievers in truth; and for disbelievers We prepare a shameful doom. (An-Nisaa)
All the above are part of those who sundered what Allah ordered to be joined. If you deny your neighbour his rights, like when he is hungry, you don’t care, or you dispose of refuse in front of his house, or you don’t visit him when he’s sick, you sunder what Allah has ordered to be joined. I’m speaking of all kinds of neighbours – Muslim relations who happen to be your neighbours and non-Muslim neighbours because good neighbourliness is part of what Allah has ordered to be joined.
“…and do mischief on earth:…”
Any wrongdoing is mischief on earth. Anything that alters the fair ordering of things is mischief on earth. Disbelief in Allah is Fasaad on earth. Disbelief in the Messengers of Allah is Fasaad on earth. Disbelief in Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, the final of Allah’s messengers, is Fasaad on earth. Neglecting Salah, encouraging vice, disobedience to parents, littering our streets with dirt, and beating the traffic light – are all mischiefs on earth. Making it difficult for people to embrace Islam by maligning the Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the Qur’an, and thus making the path to Allah crooked, this is making mischief on earth.
These cause loss (only) to themselves.
That is the result of working corruption on earth.
