And when He, glorified and exalted is He, denied that there could be a covenant for the polytheists other than those exempted, He clarified the reason that necessitated the denial, repeating the tool of denial to emphasize the meaning. He said: ﴿How﴾ meaning: how could there be for them a firm covenant ﴿when﴾ meaning: while they harbor treachery and betrayal against you? So if ﴿they were to prevail over you﴾ meaning: if a matter of theirs were to triumph over your matter by them overcoming you after the covenant and the pact, ﴿they would not regard﴾ meaning: they would not look or care ﴿for you﴾ meaning: in harming you in every serious and trivial matter ﴿except﴾ meaning: a confirmed kinship ﴿and no covenant﴾ meaning: a pact, which means that the matter that permits the abandonment is the fear of betrayal. And the Knower of the unseen informs you that they are in utmost betrayal against you. And the term 'kinship' - this is the saying of Ibn Abbas. The root revolves around the tool, which is a spear in its blade, and it requires clarity, delicacy, and brightness. It is likened to swiftness in running and steadfastness in itself, and from it is kinship, covenant, and change in its description. And from it is the change of the vessel's smell, the decay of teeth, and the sound, and from it is the moaning and crying out in supplication along with weeping and the gurgling of water and stabbing and overpowering. And from it: this - meaning: the words of Musaylimah - what comes out from a tool, meaning: from lordship, and in the tool of Allah, meaning: His power and divinity.

And when that was a ground for saying: they have certainly confirmed for us the oaths and secured the covenants, and they have not left any door from the doors of entreaty, He said, explaining what has passed, responding to those who found it unlikely: ﴿They please you﴾ and He expressed with the utmost that can be conveyed by words from the hearts to confirm that there is nothing of it in their hearts. He said: ﴿with their mouths﴾ meaning: with that affirmation, and He stated the intended meaning by saying: ﴿but their hearts refuse﴾ meaning: to act upon what their tongues have expressed. And few among them are those who are driven by fear or the like to steadfastness or who return from sinfulness and believe. ﴿And most of them are disobedient﴾ meaning: firmly entrenched in disobedience, deviating - due to the contradiction of action with words - from what you desire. And if the majority breaks, the minority is compelled to agree with them.