Breaching covenants – a trait of the immoral

Whenever a person makes a promise, he or she must fulfill it; if he or
she commits him/herself to something, whether it concerns other people
or Allaah The Almighty, and then falls shortof delivering on it, that
is considered a breach of the pledge. The righteous believers never
break their covenants, which is rather typical of immoralpeople and
hypocrites. Allaah TheAlmighty Says (what means):{AndWe did not find
for most of them any covenant; but indeed, We found most of them
defiantly disobedient.}[Quran 7:102]
The Prophet,, also warned us:"A person who has the following four
[characteristics] is a pure hypocrite and he who possesses one of them
has a traitof hypocrisy until he abandons it: when he talks, he lies;
when he isparty to a covenant, he proves to be treacherous; when he
makes apromise, he breaks it; and when he disagrees with others, he
disputes violently."[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim] In fact, he,, depicted a
person who has this dispraised trait as one who has lost his or her
nobility and religion, when he said:"A person who is not trustworthy
has no faith and whoever breaches his pledge has no religion."[Ahmad]
That is why Ibn Al-Jawzisaid,"Violating an agreement is characteristic
of the depraved and those who [do that] will receive their punishment
some day."Also, Muhammad ibn Ka'b Al-Qurathisaid,"Three traits afflict
the one who has them: scheming, being unjust and breaching a
covenant"; he then recited the verses where Allaah The Almighty Says
(what means):
{But the evil plot does not encompass except its own people.}[Quran 35:43]
{O mankind, your injustice is only against yourselves.}[Quran 10:23]
{So he who breaks his word only breaks it to the detriment of
himself.}[Quran 48:10]"
Commenting on the third verse, Ibn 'Atiyyahsaid,"Breaking one's word
means contravening a pledge; thus, [a man who does so] harms his soul
and his breaching of the covenant is only to his own detriment."
The prohibition of this major sin
Allaah The Almighty forbade the believers from breaking their pledges
and rendered it compulsory for them to fulfill them, as He Says (what
means):
{And fulfill [every] commitment. Indeed, the commitment is ever [that
about which one will be] questioned.}[Quran 17:34]
{O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts.}[Quran 5:1]
There is abundant proof indicating the obligation of fulfilling
covenants and the prohibition of breaching it. Consequently, some
scholars considered violating an agreement as one of the gravest
errors. Among them are:
- Imaam Ath-Thahabiwho said,"The forty-fifth major sin is treachery
and breaching a covenant."
- Imaam Ibn Hajarwho stated,"Considering infringementof an agreement
as one of the major sins is the view of many scholars."
- Imaam Ibn 'Atiyyahwho declared,"It is prohibited to violate any
permissible pact between Muslims."
Consequences of breaching a covenant
This act has many evil consequences that affect both individuals and
communities. It leads to dispute and dissension, hostility and hatred;
it removes confidence from within the society and causes others to
lose faith in the Muslim community. Inaddition to this, Allaah The
Almighty threatened those who go against their word, with various
punishments, some of which are:
1- 1. A curse on, and hardness of,the heart
In the following Quranic verse, Allaah The Almighty relates abouta
group of the Children of Israel, when He Says (what means):{So for
their breaching of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts
hard. They distort words from their [proper]usages and have forgotten
a portion of that of which they were reminded. And you will still
observe deceit among them, except a few of them.}[Quran 5:13] Shaykh
Ash-Shinqeetisaid,"He who violates a pact that he was a party to,
harms no one but himself and subjects himself to the Curse of Allaah."
2- 2. Great loss in this life and theHereafter
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{Who break the covenantof Allaah
after contracting it and sever that which Allaah has ordered to be
joined and cause corruption on earth. It is those who are the
losers}[Quran 2:27], both in this life and in the Hereafter.
Al-Haafith Ibn Hajardrew attention to this when he said,"When the
Quraysh infringed their treaty with the tribe of Khuzaa'ah, who were
allies of the Prophetthe repercussions were that the Muslims invaded
them and conquered Makkah. Those people then sought security and
instantly became humiliated following their previous state of pride
and power; and they remained this way until they reverted to Islam."
3- 3. Prevalence of murder and being overcome by enemies
This is one of the immediate retributions that afflict communities
when they allow the habit of breaking pledges to permeate them. This
is indicated by the Hadeeth where the Prophet,, said:"Whenever people
[begin to] breach the covenant, killing spreads among them."[Ibn
Maajah, Saheeh - Albaani] Talking about some punishments that afflict
the Ummah when certain acts of disobedience become rampant among
Muslims, the Prophet,, said:"When they breach the Covenant of Allaah
and that of HisMessengerAllaah would give a foreign enemy power over
them, who would seize some of what they have."[Ibn Maajah and others]
4- 4. Disgrace and painful punishment on the Day of Resurrection
On the Day of Judgment, when Allaah The Almighty gathers all
ofmankind, every treacherous person will be branded by a sign; and it
will be announced, "This is the treachery of so-and-so, the son of
so-and-so." That is the disgrace, followed by a painful punishment, as
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{Butthose who break the Covenant
of Allaah after contracting it and sever that which Allaah Has Ordered
to be joined and spread corruption on earth - for them is the curse,
and they will have the worst home.}[Quran 13:25]
5- 5. The ignominy of being the worst people in the Sight of Allaah
The Almighty
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{Indeed, the worst of living
creatures in the Sight of Allaah are those who have disbelieved, and
they will not [ever] believe - the ones with whom you made a covenant
but then they break their covenant every time, and they do not fear
Allaah.}[Quran 8:55-56] Commenting on these verses, Imaam Ibn
Katheersaid,"Allaah The Almighty states here that the most debased
living things on earth are the disbelievers who do not have faith in
Him and who break their covenants whenever they committo them and even
when they vowto honor them. They are not mindful of Allaah The
Almighty in any of the sins they do."
Islam warnsagainst breaching covenants, even with enemies. Our
righteous predecessors have set wonderful examples in this respect.
'Amr ibn 'Abasahrelates:"There was a [provisional]covenant between
Mu'aawiyahand the Romans. Before the end of the period, he moved
towards their land in order to invade them after the treaty would
expire. Upon seeing this, an old man remarked, 'Allaah is The
Greatest, Allaah is The Greatest! Fulfill the covenant and do not
breach it. The Messenger of Allaahsaid,'Whoever enters into an
agreement with some people is not permitted to make a single move [in
breach of it] until the term expires or he renounces [it] with them on
equal terms.''"Hence, as soon as Mu'aawiyahheard that, he withdrew.
We will conclude with the remarks of Al-Haafith Ibn Hajarregarding
this topic:"Treachery is a grave major sin, particularly when it comes
from aperson who is in a position of authority. That is because his
infringement harms many peopleand he is not forced to do that because
fulfilling it instead is within his capacity."