Then he clarified them by saying: "Those who break [the covenant]" from the word [naqḍ] which means to separate parts of something from one another. "The covenant of Allah" means that which He took from them regarding what He has of greatness, by which He has instilled in them of intellects and set for them of evidence. The covenant is the prior commitment in the matter, as stated by al-Harali.

And since the intended covenant is a specific one, which is the sending of the messengers, peace be upon them, he affirmed the report by saying: "After His covenant" meaning by the indication of the books upon the tongues of the messengers, along with its proximity to the innate nature and its facilitation for contemplation. The [wathaq] is the strength of the bond and the power by which it is bound - as stated by al-Harali. "And they cut what Allah has commanded to be joined" meaning the Most Great King. And since the explanation after the generality is more impressive to the soul, he said: "by it" then he explained it by saying: "to be connected" meaning from the good deeds. Al-Harali said: Cutting is the separation in a single matter, and connecting is leading to a completion with the completer as one thing, like what is observed in the conveyance of water and the like. This indicates that they cut the connected innate nature and similar things, thus they fall short of its level. And Allah has commanded that it be connected with additional knowledge that connects to it until its growth reaches the most complete state it can attain. Likewise is their condition in every matter that must be connected, so they come in what they seek in the most complete matter with its opposite, the deficient. End of quote.

"And they cause corruption"; and since the action was limited to be more general, he said: "in the earth" meaning by turning away from the path of truth. Al-Harali said: And since the earth is the place for growth from it and in it, and the place of the appearance of all necessary physical forms, and the place for the emergence of the soul's form through actions and morals, and corruption is the breaking of forms, as He, the Exalted, said: "And when he goes away, he strives in the earth to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and offspring. And Allah does not like corruption" [Al-Baqarah: 205]. Their action in it is similar to their action in placing the bad opposite in the place of the most complete opposite, and the deficiency is what is related to completion, thus it was corruption of that. End of quote.

And since it is as if it was said: Indeed, the action of these people is very ugly, what is their state? He said: "Those are" meaning the far ones from the truth. "They are the losers" meaning those who have confined loss to themselves. Loss is the deficiency in what pertains to growth, as stated by al-Harali. And it is known that this is the result of what has preceded of their attributes. Al-Harali said: And since the loser is one who has a capital prepared for growth and increase, then his loss is due to poor management. And their matter in the three circumstances mentioned is like the state of one who has diminished what pertains to growth, thus they are by that losers. Therefore, the verse concluded with this; and they were referred to with the tool of distance to place them in the farthest locations from the place of good. End of quote.