His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿And do not be like she who unraveled her spun thread after it was strong, taking your oaths as a means of deception among you, so that one nation may be more numerous than another nation. Indeed, Allah tests you thereby, and He will surely make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that in which you used to differ.﴾

﴿And if Allah had willed, He would have made you one nation, but He misguides whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And you will surely be questioned about what you used to do.﴾

This verse likens the one who swears an oath or makes a covenant or concludes a contract to a woman who spins her thread and twists it firmly. It compares the one who breaks his covenant after it has been firmly established to that spinner when she unravels the strong thread. It is narrated that there was a foolish woman in Mecca named Rayta bint Sa'd who used to do that, and it is because of her that this comparison was made. This was said by Abdullah ibn Kathir and Al-Suddi, who did not name the woman. It was said that there was a woman who was obsessive, named Khattiya, who spun near the stone and did that. Mujahid and Qatadah said that this is a parable and not about a specific woman.

And "Ankathan" is in the accusative case as a state, and "Ankath" means breaking. And "Al-Quwwah" in the language is one of the strengths of the thread and rope and other things that are twisted together. From this is the saying of Al-Aghlab the poet:

A rope of an old woman, seven strengths twisted.

It appears to me that what is meant by "Al-Quwwah" in the verse is the strength that occurs from the twisting of the threads. If we were to consider it as one strength, it would not be subject to being unraveled. The Arabs say: "The rope has unraveled" when its strengths have broken. However, if the spun thread is defined as one strength but has parts, it is as if it has many strengths. Mujahid said: the meaning is after the establishment of strength.

And "Al-Dakhal": is the deceit itself, which is the means to trickery and betrayal. This is because the one who is sworn to is assured, so the one who swears can harm him by what he intends.

And His saying: ﴿So that one nation may be more numerous than another nation﴾, the interpreters said: This verse was revealed about the Arabs, where one tribe among them would ally with another, then one of them would be a large, strong tribe and would deceive the first and break the covenant with them and return to this larger tribe. So Allah, exalted and glorified is He, said: Do not break the covenants for the sake of being a tribe that is greater than another in number and strength. And "Al-Riba": means increase, and it is possible that the saying means: do not break your oaths for the sake of being more than others, meaning: greater in good. So its meaning is: do not seek to increase some of you over others by breaking covenants. And "Yablukum": means He tests you, and the pronoun in "Bihi" may refer to the fulfillment that Allah has commanded, and it may refer to the increase, meaning that Allah has tested His servants with envy and the desire of some of them to appear over others, and He has tested them with that to see who struggles against his soul and who follows his desires. And the rest of the verse is a clear warning about the Day of Resurrection.

And His saying: ﴿It is greater﴾, the position of "greater" according to the Basri scholars is in the nominative case, and according to the Kufi scholars it is in the accusative case. And "It is" is a subject, and the subject cannot be used here according to the Basri scholars; because it cannot be with an indefinite noun, and "nation" is an indefinite noun. The proof of the Kufi scholars is that "nation" and what follows it from the names of kinds being indefinite is close to being definite. Do you not see that adding the definite article to it does not specify it in a significant way? There is consideration in this.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And if Allah had willed, He would have made you one nation﴾, this verse informs that Allah, the Exalted, tests His servants with commands and prohibitions so that each one goes to what is made easy for him. And this is from Him, the Exalted, by right of ownership, and He is not questioned about what He does. If He had willed, all people would have been on one path, either in guidance or in misguidance. However, He, the Exalted, willed to differentiate between them, and to designate a people for happiness and a people for misery. And "misguiding" and "guiding" means: "He creates that in the hearts," contrary to the saying of the Mu'tazila. Then He warned at the end of the verse about questioning each one on the Day of Resurrection regarding their deeds, and this is a question of reproach, and there is no question of understanding, and that is what is negated in the verses.