وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِیثَـٰقَ بَنِیۤ إِسۡرَ ٰۤءِیلَ لَا تَعۡبُدُونَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَبِٱلۡوَ ٰلِدَیۡنِ إِحۡسَانࣰا وَذِی ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡیَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَـٰكِینِ وَقُولُوا۟ لِلنَّاسِ حُسۡنࣰا وَأَقِیمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّیۡتُمۡ إِلَّا قَلِیلࣰا مِّنكُمۡ وَأَنتُم مُّعۡرِضُونَ. وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِیثَـٰقَكُمۡ لَا تَسۡفِكُونَ دِمَاۤءَكُمۡ وَلَا تُخۡرِجُونَ أَنفُسَكُم مِّن دِیَـٰرِكُمۡ ثُمَّ أَقۡرَرۡتُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ تَشۡهَدُونَ
قَوْلُهُ تَعالى: ﴿وإذْ أخَذْنا مِيثاقَ بَنِي إسْرائِيلَ لا تَعْبُدُونَ إلا اللَّهَ وبِالوالِدَيْنِ إحْسانًا﴾ يَدُلُّ عَلى تَأْكِيدِ حَقِّ الوالِدَيْنِ ووُجُوبِ الإحْسانِ إلَيْهِما كافِرَيْنِ كانا أوْ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ؛ لِأنَّهُ قَرَنَهُ إلى الأمْرِ بِعِبادَتِهِ تَعالى وقَوْلُهُ: ﴿وذِي القُرْبى﴾ يَدُلُّ عَلى وُجُوبِ صِلَةِ الرَّحِمِ والإحْسانِ إلى اليَتامى والمَساكِينِ. ﴿وقُولُوا لِلنّاسِ حُسْنًا﴾ رُوِيَ عَنْ أبِي جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ: " وقُولُوا لِلنّاسِ حُسْنًا كُلُّهم “،
His, the Exalted’s, statement: {And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel, “You shall not worship except Allah, and to parents, good treatment”} indicates the emphasis on the right of the parents and the obligation of good treatment towards them, whether they be disbelievers or believers; because He conjoined it with the command to worship Him, the Exalted. And His statement: {and kinsfolk} indicates the obligation of maintaining kinship ties and good treatment to the orphans and the needy. {And speak to people good words}. It is narrated from Abī Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī: “And speak to people good words, all of them.”
قالَ أبُو بَكْرٍ: وهَذا يَدُلُّ عَلى أنَّهم كانُوا مُتَعَبِّدِينَ بِذَلِكَ في المُسْلِمِ والكافِرِ وقَدْ قِيلَ: إنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلى مَعْنى قَوْلِهِ تَعالى: ﴿ادْعُ إلى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالحِكْمَةِ والمَوْعِظَةِ الحَسَنَةِ وجادِلْهم بِالَّتِي هي أحْسَنُ﴾ [النحل: ١٢٥] والإحْسانُ المَذْكُورُ في الآيَةِ إنَّما هو الدُّعاءُ إلَيْهِ والنُّصْحُ فِيهِ لِكُلِّ أحَدٍ ورُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبّاسٍ وقَتادَةَ أنَّها مَنسُوخَةٌ بِالأمْرِ بِالقِتالِ.
Abū Bakr said: And this indicates that they were religiously obligated by that regarding the Muslim and the disbeliever. And it has been said: that that is in the meaning of His, the Exalted’s, statement: {Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best} [An-Nahl: 125]. And the good treatment mentioned in the verse is none other than the call to Him and giving good counsel in it to everyone. And it is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās and Qatādah that it is abrogated by the command to fight.
وقَدْ قالَ تَعالى: ﴿لا يُحِبُّ اللَّهُ الجَهْرَ بِالسُّوءِ مِنَ القَوْلِ إلا مَن ظُلِمَ﴾ [النساء: ١٤٨] وقَدْ أمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعالى بِلَعْنِ الكُفّارِ والبَراءَةِ مِنهم والإنْكارِ عَلى أهْلِ المَعاصِي، وهَذا مِمّا لا يَخْتَلِفُ فِيهِ شَرائِعُ الأنْبِياءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلامُ، فَدَلَّ ذَلِكَ عَلى أنَّ المَأْمُورَ بِهِ مِنَ القَوْلِ الحَسَنِ أحَدُ وجْهَيْنِ: إمّا أنْ يَكُونَ خاصًّا في المُسْلِمِينَ ومَن لا يَسْتَحِقُّ اللَّعْنَ والنَّكِيرَ، وإنْ كانَ عامًّا فَهو الدُّعاءُ إلى اللَّهِ تَعالى والأمْرُ بِالمَعْرُوفِ والنَّهْيُ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ، وذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ حَسَنٌ وأخْبَرَنا اللَّهُ تَعالى أنَّهُ كانَ أخَذَ المِيثاقَ عَلى بَنِي إسْرائِيلَ بِما ذُكِرَ، والمِيثاقُ هو العَقْدُ المُؤَكَّدُ إمّا بِوَعِيدٍ أوْ بِيَمِينٍ، وهو نَحْوُ أمْرِ اللَّهِ الصَّحابَةَ بِمُبايَعَةِ النَّبِيِّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ عَلى شَرائِطِها المَذْكُورَةِ وقَوْلُهُ تَعالى: ﴿وإذْ أخَذْنا مِيثاقَكم لا تَسْفِكُونَ دِماءَكم ولا تُخْرِجُونَ أنْفُسَكم مِن دِيارِكُمْ﴾ يَحْتَمِلُ وجْهَيْنِ:
And He, the Exalted, has said: {Allah does not like the public utterance of evil in speech except by one who has been wronged} [An-Nisa: 148]. And Allah, the Exalted, has commanded the cursing of the disbelievers, dissociation from them, and denunciation of the people of disobedience. And this is something in which the laws of the Prophets, peace be upon them, do not differ. So this indicates that the good speech which is commanded is one of two aspects: either it is specific to the Muslims and those who do not deserve cursing and denunciation, or if it is general, then it is the call to Allah the Exalted, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. And all of that is good. And Allah, the Exalted, informed us that He had taken the covenant from the Children of Israel with what has been mentioned. And the covenant (mīthāq) is the confirmed contract, either by a threat or by an oath, and it is similar to Allah’s command to the Companions to pledge allegiance to the Prophet, peace be upon him, upon its mentioned conditions. And His, the Exalted’s, statement: {And when We took your covenant, “You shall not shed your blood or evict yourselves from your homes”} admits two possibilities:
أحَدُهُما: أنْ لا يَقْتُلَ بَعْضُكم بَعْضًا كَقَوْلِهِ تَعالى: ﴿ولا تَقْتُلُوا أنْفُسَكُمْ﴾ [النساء: ٢٩] وكَذَلِكَ إخْراجُهم مِن دِيارِهِمْ، وكَقَوْلِهِ: ﴿وقاتَلُوا وقُتِلُوا﴾ [آل عمران: ١٩٥]
The first of them: that you not kill one another, like His, the Exalted’s, statement: {And do not kill yourselves} [An-Nisa: 29], and likewise their eviction from their homes, and like His statement: {and they fought and were killed} [Aal Imran: 195].
والآخَرُ: أنْ لا يَقْتُلَ كُلُّ واحِدٍ نَفْسَهُ، إمّا بِأنْ يُباشِرَ ذَلِكَ كَما يَفْعَلُهُ الهِنْدُ وكَثِيرٌ مِمَّنْ يَغْلِبُ عَلَيْهِ اليَأْسُ مِنَ الخَلاصِ مِن شِدَّةٍ هو فِيها، أوْ بِأنْ يَقْتُلَ غَيْرَهُ فَيُقْتَلَ بِهِ فَيَكُونَ في مَعْنى قَتْلِ نَفْسِهِ واحْتِمالُ اللَّفْظَيْنِ المَعْنَيَيْنِ يُوجِبُ أنْ يَكُونَ عَلَيْهِما جَمِيعًا وهَذا الَّذِي أخْبَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ مِن حُكْمِ شَرِيعَةِ التَّوْراةِ مِمّا كانَ يَكْتُمُهُ اليَهُودُ لِما عَلَيْهِمْ في ذَلِكَ الوَكْسِ ويَلْزَمُهم في ذَلِكَ مِنَ الذَّمِّ، فَأطْلَعَ اللَّهُ نَبِيَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وجَعَلَهُ دَلالَةً وحُجَّةً عَلَيْهِمْ في جَحْدِهِمْ نُبُوَّتَهُ؛ إذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ مِمَّنْ قَرَأ الكُتُبَ ولا عَرَفَ ما فِيها إلّا بِإعْلامِ اللَّهِ تَعالى إيّاهُ، وكَذَلِكَ جَمِيعُ ما حَكى اللَّهُ بَعْدَ هَذِهِ الآيَةِ عَنْهم مِن قَوْلِهِ: ﴿وكانُوا مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾ [البقرة: ٨٩] وسائِرُ ما ذَمَّهم هو تَوْقِيفٌ مِنهُ لَهُ عَلى ما كانُوا يَكْتُمُونَ وتَقْرِيعٌ لَهم عَلى ظُلْمِهِمْ وكُفْرِهِمْ وإظْهارِ قَبائِحِهِمْ، وجَمِيعُهُ دَلالَةٌ عَلى نُبُوَّتِهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ.
The other: that each one not kill himself, either by directly undertaking that, as the Indians do and many of those who are overcome by despair of deliverance from a hardship they are in, or by killing another and then being killed for it, which would be in the meaning of killing oneself. And the possibility of the wording admitting both meanings necessitates that it applies to both of them together. And this, which Allah informed of from the ruling of the law of the Torah, was among what the Jews used to conceal, because of the deficiency that was upon them in that, and the blame that it necessitated for them. So Allah informed His Prophet of it and made it an indication (dalālah) and a proof (ḥujjah) against them in their denial of his prophethood; since he, peace be upon him, was not one who read the books nor knew what was in them except by Allah the Exalted’s informing him. And likewise, all of what Allah recounted after this verse about them, from His statement: {And they had before been asking for victory over those who disbelieved} [Al-Baqarah: 89], and the rest of what He blamed them for is an informing from Him to him about what they used to conceal, and a reprimand to them for their injustice and their disbelief, and an exposing of their vile deeds. And all of it is an indication of his prophethood, peace be upon him.