أَوَكُلَّمَا عَٰهَدُوا۟ عَهْدًا نَّبَذَهُۥ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُم بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ١٠٠
Is it not [true] that every time they took a covenant a party of them threw it away? But, [in fact], most of them do not believe.
Quran verses about Covenants and pledges
العهد والميثاق
44 verses in 16 surahs · 9 subtopics
Allah took covenants from the children of Adam, the prophets, the Children of Israel, the People of the Book and the believers: these verses speak of them and command keeping one’s pledges, praising those who honour them and blaming those who break them. They also address treaties with enemies: honouring them until their term as long as the other side does, and openly declaring their termination.
Verses gathered from a topical index of the Quran, in Mushaf order; every verse is quoted in full.
Subtopics
Choose a subtopic to show only its verses.
- All verses 44
- Honouring a treaty to its term unless the enemy breaks it 1
- The right of a treaty takes precedence over all rights 1
- Censure of those who break covenants 7
- Allah’s covenant with Adam and his children 2
- Allah’s covenant with Abraham and Ishmael 1
- Fighting the enemy if it breaks the treaty 2
- The duty to fulfil it and praise for those who do 11
- The duty to give notice when ending a treaty 1
- The covenant (al-mithaq) 20
- The covenant taken from the Children of Israel 5
- The covenant taken from the prophets 2
- The covenant taken from the People of the Book in general 1
- The covenant taken from the believers 1
- The covenant taken from the Christians 1
- The covenant taken from Adam’s offspring to acknowledge the Lord who has no partner 1
- Those who keep their covenants are people of understanding 1
- Covenants are inviolable and respecting them is sacred 3
- Those who break them are the defiantly disobedient, the losers 2
- Breaking covenants, a trait of the Children of Israel 2
- Those who break their covenant with Allah and their punishment 1
- Jacob takes a solemn pledge from his sons 1
Censure of those who break covenants · 7 verses
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ وَأَيْمَٰنِهِمْ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ لَا خَلَٰقَ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَلَا يَنظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ٧٧
Indeed, those who exchange the covenant of Allāh and their [own] oaths for a small price will have no share in the Hereafter, and Allāh will not speak to them or look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and they will have a painful punishment.
وَمَا وَجَدْنَا لِأَكْثَرِهِم مِّنْ عَهْدٍ وَإِن وَجَدْنَآ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَفَٰسِقِينَ ١٠٢
And We did not find for most of them any covenant; but indeed, We found most of them defiantly disobedient.
إِنَّ شَرَّ ٱلدَّوَآبِّ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ٥٥
Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allāh are those who have disbelieved, and they will not [ever] believe-
وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ عَٰهَدَ ٱللَّهَ لَئِنْ ءَاتَىٰنَا مِن فَضْلِهِۦ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ٧٥
And among them are those who made a covenant with Allāh, [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous."
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ ٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مِيثَٰقِهِۦ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِۦٓ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ لَهُمُ ٱللَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوٓءُ ٱلدَّارِ ٢٥
But those who break the covenant of Allāh after contracting it and sever that which Allāh has ordered to be joined and spread corruption on earth - for them is the curse, and they will have the worst home.
فَرَجَعَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ غَضْبَٰنَ أَسِفًا قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ أَلَمْ يَعِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ وَعْدًا حَسَنًا أَفَطَالَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْعَهْدُ أَمْ أَرَدتُّمْ أَن يَحِلَّ عَلَيْكُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُم مَّوْعِدِى ٨٦
So Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved. He said, "O my people, did your Lord not make you a good promise? Then, was the time [of its fulfillment] too long for you, or did you wish that wrath from your Lord descend upon you, so you broke your promise [of obedience] to me?"
The root ع ه د in the Quran · All topics · Search “Covenants and pledges” in the Quran
Verses gathered from a human-made thematic index of the Quran; the introduction summarises its subtopics. For a legal opinion, consult a scholar.