Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 27

Mufti Taqi Usmani

- those who break the Covenant of Allah after it has been made binding, and cut off the relations Allah has commanded to be joined, and spread disorder on the earth - it is these who are the losers.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

those who violate Allah’s covenant after it has been affirmed, break whatever ˹ties˺ Allah has ordered to be maintained, and spread corruption in the land. It is they who are the ˹true˺ losers.

Ruwwad Translation Center

those who break the covenant of Allah after it has been ratified, sever bonds that Allah has commanded to be maintained, and spread corruption in the land. It is they who are the losers.

A. J. Arberry

such as break the covenant of God after its solemn binding, and such as cut what God has commanded should be joined, and such as do corruption in the land -- they shall be the losers.

Abdul Haleem

those who break their covenant with God after it has been confirmed, who sever the bonds that God has commanded to be joined, who spread corruption on the earth- these are the losers.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Who break the covenant of Allah after the ratification thereof, and sunder that which Allah hath commanded should be joined, and act corruptly on the earth. These! they are the losers.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Those who break Allah's Covenant after it is ratified, and who sunder what Allah Has ordered to be joined, and do mischief on earth; These cause loss (only) to themselves.

Abul Ala Maududi

who break Allah's covenant after ratifying it; who cut asunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and who produce chaos on the Earth. These are the people who are indeed the losers.

Ahmed Ali

Who, having sealed it, break God's covenant, dividing what He ordained cohered; and those who spread discord in the land will suffer assuredly.

Ahmed Raza Khan

Those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it – and sever what Allah has ordered to join, and who cause turmoil (evil / religious chaos) in the earth; it is they who are the losers.

Ali Quli Qarai

—those who break the covenant made with Allah after having pledged it solemnly, and sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and cause corruption on the earth—it is they who are the losers.

Ali Ünal

(Those) who break God’s covenant after its solemn binding, and sever the bonds God commanded to be joined, and cause disorder and corruption on earth. Such are those who are the losers (in both this world and the next).

Amatul Rahman Omar

(Transgressors are the people) who break the covenant (they have made) with Allâh after its solemn binding, and sever the ties which Allâh has bidden to be joined and create disorder in the land. It is they who are the losers.

English Literal

Those who break God`s promise/contract (their promise to God) from after its affirmation , and they cut/sever what God ordered with it that (it) be reached/connected , and they corrupt in the earth/Planet Earth, those they are the losers.

Faridul Haque

Those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it - and sever what Allah has ordered to join, and who cause turmoil (evil / religious chaos) in the earth; it is they who are the losers.

Hamid S. Aziz

Those who break Allah´s covenant after the fixing thereof, and cut asunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and do evil in the earth, these it is who are losers.

Hilali & Khan

Those who break Allah's Covenant after ratifying it, and sever what Allah has ordered to be joined (as regards Allah's Religion of Islamic Monotheism, and to practise its legal laws on the earth and also as regards keeping good relations with kith and kin), and do mischief on earth, it is they who are the losers.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Who break the covenant of Allah after its confirmation and cut asunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and make mischief in the land. These it is that are the losers.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Who break the covenant of Allah after its confirmation and cut asunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and make mischief in the land; these it is that are the losers.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it, and sever that which Allah ordered to be joined, and (who) make mischief in the earth: Those are they who are the losers.

Muhammad Sarwar

who break their established covenant with Him and the relations He has commanded to be kept and who spread evil in the land. These are the ones who lose a great deal.

Qaribullah & Darwish

who break the covenant of Allah after accepting it and sever what Allah has bidden to be joined and corrupt in the land. These are the losers.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Those who break Allah's covenant after ratifying it, and sever what Allah has ordered to be joined and do mischief on earth, it is they who are the losers.

Wahiduddin Khan

those who break God's covenant after they have pledged to keep it, and sever whatever God has ordered to be joined, and spread corruption in the land -- it is they who are the losers.

Talal Itani

Those who violate God’s covenant after its confirmation, and sever what God has commanded to be joined, and commit evil on earth. These are the losers.

Tafsir jalalayn

Those such as, He has described, break the covenant of God, the contract He made with them in the [revealed] Books to belief in Muhammad (s), after its solemn binding, after it has been confirmed with them, and such as cut what God has commanded should be joined, of belief in the Prophet, of kinship and other matters (an [in the phrase an ysala, `that it be joined'] substitutes for the pronoun [suffixed] in bihi [of the preceding words m amara Llhu bihi, `that which God has commanded']); and such as do corruption in the land, by way of their transgressing and impeding faith, they, the ones thus described, shall be the losers, since, they shall end up in the Fire, made everlasting for them.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Those who break Allah's covenant after ratifying it, and sever what Allah has ordered to be joined and do mischief on earth, it is they who are the losers.

These are the characteristics of the disbelievers and they contradict the qualities of the believers.

Similarly, Allah said in Surah Ar-Ra`d,

أَفَمَن يَعْلَمُ أَنَّمَأ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَبِّكَ الْحَقُّ كَمَنْ هُوَ أَعْمَى إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُواْ الَالْبَـبِ

الَّذِينَ يُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يِنقُضُونَ الْمِيثَـقَ

وَالَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ مَأ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ وَيَخَافُونَ سُوءَ الحِسَابِ

Shall he then, who knows that what has been revealed unto you (O Muhammad) from your Lord is the truth, be like him who is blind! But it is only the men of understanding that pay heed.

Those who fulfill the covenant of Allah and break not the Mithaq (bond, treaty, covenant).

And those who join that which Allah has commanded to be joined (i.e. they are good to their relatives and do not sever the bond of kinship), and fear their Lord, and dread the terrible reckoning. (13;19-21)) until,

وَالَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِن بَعْدِ مِيثَـقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَأ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ أُوْلَـيِكَ لَهُمُ اللَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ

And those who break the covenant of Allah, after its ratification, and sever that which Allah has commanded to be joined (i.e. they sever the bond of kinship and are not good to their relatives), and work mischief in the land, on them is the curse (i.e. they will be far away from Allah's mercy), and for them is the unhappy (evil) home (i.e. Hell). (13;25)

The covenant that these deviant people broke is Allah's covenant with His creation, that is, to obey Him and avoid the sins that He prohibited. This covenant was reiterated in Allah's Books and by the words of His Messengers. Ignoring this covenant constitutes breaking it.

It was said that the Ayah (2;27) is about the disbelievers and the hypocrites among the People of the Book. In this case, the covenant that they broke is the pledge that Allah took from them in the Tawrah to follow Muhammad when he is sent as a Prophet, and to believe in him, and in what he was sent with. Breaking Allah's covenant in this case occurred when the People of the Book rejected the Prophet after they knew the truth about him, and they hid this truth from people, even though they swore to Allah that they would do otherwise. Allah informed us that they threw the covenant behind their backs and sold it for a miserable price.

It was also reported that the Ayah (2;27) refers to all disbelievers, idol worshippers and hypocrites. Allah took their pledge to believe in His Oneness, showing them the signs that testify to His Lordship. He also took a covenant from them to obey His commands and refrain from His prohibitions, knowing that His Messengers would bring proofs and miracles that none among the creation could ever produce. These miracles testified to the truth of Allah's Messengers. The covenant was broken when the disbelievers denied what was proven to them to be authentic and rejected Allah's Prophets and Books, although they knew that they were the truth.

This Tafsir was reported from Muqatil bin Hayyan, and it is very good. It is also the view that Az-Zamakhshari held.

Allah's statement next,

وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ

And sever what Allah has ordered to be joined,

is in reference to keeping the relations with the relatives, as Qatadah asserted.

This Ayah is similar to Allah's statement,

فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَن تُفْسِدُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُواْ أَرْحَامَكُمْ


Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship. (47;22)

Ibn Jarir At-Tabari preferred this opinion.

However, it has been said that the meaning of the Ayah (2;27) here is more general. Hence, everything that Allah has commanded to nurture, and the people severed, is included in its meaning.
The Meaning of `Loss

Muqatil bin Hayyan commented on Allah's statement,
أُولَـيِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُون
(It is they who are the losers),

"In the Hereafter."

Similarly, Allah said,

أُوْلَـيِكَ لَهُمُ اللَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ

On them is the curse (i.e. they will be far away from Allah's mercy), and for them is the unhappy (evil) home (i.e. Hell). (13;25)

Also, Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said,

"Every characteristic that Allah describes those other than the people of Islam - such as being losers - then it refers to disbelief. However, when they are attributed to the people of Islam, then these terms refer to sin."

Ibn Jarir commented on Allah's statement,
أُولَـيِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُون
(It is they who are the losers),

"Losers is plural for loser, this word refers to whoever decreased his own share of Allah's mercy by disobeying Him, just as the merchant loses in his trade by sustaining capital loss. Such is the case with the hypocrite and the disbeliever who lose their share of the mercy that Allah has in store for His servants on the Day of Resurrection. And that is when the disbeliever and the hypocrite most desperately need Allah's mercy.