all together: when they speak, they lie; when they promise, they break it; when they are trusted, they betray; they break the covenant of Allah after its ratification, they sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and they cause corruption in the earth. But when the upper hand is against them, they manifest the three traits: when they speak, they lie; when they promise, they break it; and when they are trusted, they betray (1).
The discourse regarding the interpretation of the statement of the Exalted: ﴿And sever what Allah has commanded to be joined﴾
Abu Jaʿfar said: The thing that Allah urged to be joined and blamed its severing in this verse is the ties of kinship. He explained that in His Book, where the Exalted said: {So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your ties of relationship?} [Sūra Muḥammad: 22]. By kinship, He meant the people of kinship whom one single mother's womb has gathered with him. Severing that is wronging it by neglecting to fulfill the rights that Allah bound upon it and made obligatory of dutifulness toward it. Joining it is rendering the duty owed to it from among the rights of Allah that He made obligatory for it, and showing compassion toward it with what is fitting to show compassion toward it.
And the particle "an" (that) accompanying "yūṣal" (to be joined) is in the genitive position, by way of referring it back to the position of the pronoun "-hi" in "bihi" (therewith). Thus the meaning of the speech was (2): "and they sever that which Allah commanded to be joined." The pronoun "-hi" in "bihi" is an allusion to the mention of "an yūṣal" (that it be joined). And in accordance with what we have said regarding the interpretation of His statement, "and sever what Allah has commanded to be joined," and that it refers to kinship, Qatāda used to say:
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