Al-Qur'an Surah At-Tawbah Verse 8

Mufti Taqi Usmani

How (can they have a treaty) while if they overcome you, they will not observe any bond or treaty with you. They want to please you with (words of) their mouths, but their hearts refuse. Most of them are sinners.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

How ˹can they have a treaty˺? If they were to have the upper hand over you, they would have no respect for kinship or treaty. They only flatter you with their tongues, but their hearts are in denial, and most of them are rebellious.

Ruwwad Translation Center

How [can there be a treaty] – if they were to overcome you, they would neither respect ties of kinship nor treaty? They please you with their tongues, while their hearts are averse to it, and most of them are wicked.

A. J. Arberry

How? If they get the better of you, they will not observe towards you any bond or treaty, giving you satisfaction with their mouths but in their hearts refusing; and the most of them are ungodly.

Abdul Haleem

[How,] when, if they were to get the upper hand over you, they would not respect any tie with you, of kinship or of treaty? They please you with their tongues, but their hearts are against you and most of them are lawbreakers.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

How indeed! whereas if they get the better of you they respect not regarding you either kinship or agreement. They please you with their mouth, the while their hearts refuse; and most of them are Ungodly.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

How (can there be such a league), seeing that if they get an advantage over you, they respect not in you the ties either of kinship or of covenant? With (fair words from) their mouths they entice you, but their hearts are averse from you; and most of them are rebellious and wicked.

Abul Ala Maududi

How can there be any covenant with the other polytheists for were they to prevail against you, they will respect neither kinship nor agreement. They seek to please you with their tongues while their hearts are averse to you, and most of them are wicked.

Ahmed Ali

How (can they be trusted)? If they prevail against you they will neither observe pacts nor good faith with you. They flatter you with their tongues, but their hearts are averse to you, for most of them are iniquitous.

Ahmed Raza Khan

Therefore how – when they are such that if they gain control over you, they would not have regard for any relations nor for any treaty? They please you with their mouths whereas their hearts contain rejection; and most of them are disobedient.

Ali Quli Qarai

How? For if, they get the better of you, they will observe toward you neither kinship nor covenant. They please you with their mouths while their hearts spurn you; and most of them are transgressors.

Ali Ünal

How (could there be a covenant with the others) when, if they were to prevail against you, they would observe towards you neither any bond, nor law, nor agreement, they seek to please you with their mouths but in their hearts they are averse; and most of them are transgressors (who habitually disregard all bounds of equity).

Amatul Rahman Omar

How (can there be a treaty with deliberate violators of agreements) while, if they get the better of you they would respect no bond, nor words of honour in dealing with you. They would try to please you with (mere words of) their mouths whereas their hearts dissent (from what they say), and most of them are perfidious.

English Literal

How, and if they conquer/defeat on you, they do not observe/guard (respect) in you a relationship/contract and nor promise/contract/guarantee , they please/satisfy you with their mouths and their hearts/minds refuse/hate, and most of them (are) debauchers .

Faridul Haque

Therefore how - when they are such that if they gain control over you, they would not have regard for any relations nor for any treaty? They please you with their mouths whereas their hearts contain rejection; and most of them are disobedient.

Hamid S. Aziz

How (can there be any treaty)! - for if they prevail against you, they respect neither ties of blood nor of agreements. They please you with their mouths while their heart refuse; and most of them work abomination (or are wicked and rebellious).

Hilali & Khan

How (can there be such a covenant with them) that when you are overpowered by them, they regard not the ties, either of kinship or of covenant with you? With (good words from) their mouths they please you, but their hearts are averse to you, and most of them are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

How can there be an agreement for the idolaters with Allah and with his Messenger, except those with whom you made an agreement at the Sacred Mosque? So as long as they are true to you, be true to them. Surely Allah loves those who keep their duty.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

How (can it be)! while if they prevail against you, they would not pay regard in your case to ties of relationship, nor those of covenant; they please you with their mouths while their hearts do not consent; and most of them are transgressors.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

How (can there be any treaty for the others) when, if they have the upper hand of you, they regard not pact nor honour in respect of you? They satisfy you with their mouths the while their hearts refuse. And most of them are wrongdoers.

Muhammad Sarwar

How could God and His Messenger grant them (pagans) peace when if they were to acquire superiority over you, they would respect none of the peace treaties nor their kindred relations with you! They only try to please you by paying lip-service to you but their hearts are against you and most of them are evil-doers.

Qaribullah & Darwish

How? If they prevail against you they will respect neither agreements nor ties of kindred. They satisfy you with their tongues, but their hearts are averse; and most of them are wicked.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

How When if you are overpowered by them, they regard not the ties, either of kinship, (Ill) or of covenant (Dhimmah) With their mouths they please you, but their hearts are averse to you, and most of them are rebellious.

Wahiduddin Khan

How [can there be a treaty] for, if they get the upper hand over you, they will respect neither kinship nor covenant. They [try to] please you with their tongues but their hearts reject you; most of them are perfidious.

Talal Itani

How? Whenever they overcome you, they respect neither kinship nor treaty with you. They satisfy you with lip service, but their hearts refuse, and most of them are immoral.

Tafsir jalalayn

How, can they have a pact, when, if they get the better of you, [if] they have the upper hand over you, they do not respect, [they do not] take into consideration, any bond, kinship, or treaty, pact, with regard to you, but will instead harm you as much as they can (the conditional sentence [`if they ...'] is [also] a circumstantial qualifier), pleasing you with their tongues, with charming words, while their hearts refuse, to be true to these [words]; and most of them are wicked, violators of pacts.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Allah says,

كَيْفَ وَإِن يَظْهَرُوا عَلَيْكُمْ لَا يَرْقُبُواْ فِيكُمْ إِلاًّ وَلَا ذِمَّةً يُرْضُونَكُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتَأْبَى قُلُوبُهُمْ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ



How when if you are overpowered by them, they regard not the ties, either of kinship, (Ill) or of covenant (Dhimmah)! With their mouths they please you, but their hearts are averse to you, and most of them are rebellious.

Allah encourages the believers to show enmity to the idolators and to dissociate from them, affirming that they do not deserve to enjoy a covenant of peace, because of their Shirk in Allah and disbelief in Allah's Messenger.

If these disbelievers have a chance to defeat Muslims, they will cause great mischief, leave nothing unharmed, disregard the ties of kinship and the sanctity of their vows.

Ali bin Abi Talhah, Ikrimah and Al-Awfi narrated that Ibn Abbas said,

"Ill means kinship, while, Dhimmah means covenant."

Ad-Dahhak and As-Suddi said similarly