وَٱتَّقُوا۟ فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنكُمْ خَآصَّةً … يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَخُونُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوٓا۟ أَمَٰنَٰتِكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ · وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَآ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَٰدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ
"Guard yourselves against a trial that will not strike only those among you who do wrong… Do not betray God and the Messenger, and do not knowingly betray the trusts placed in you. And know that your possessions and your children are a trial."
| Verse | What fitna is |
|---|---|
| 25 | A collective outcome — one that is not confined to the wrongdoers |
| 28 | Possessions and children — what is in hand |
The root ف-ت-ن was analysed in detail in al-ʿAnkabūt 29/2-10 (the testing of gold in fire) and in al-Kahf 18/7 it was treated that what is on the earth is an instrument of testing. I rely on that treatment.
And if the same expression (innamā amwālukum wa awlādukum fitna) occurs in al-Taghābun, that place may be consulted as well.
I record this as my own reading: the sūra had opened with a dispute about spoils. The twenty-eighth verse names what is being disputed: what is in hand is not gain but trial.
خ-و-ن is the root: to act contrary to a trust. The root was treated in Ghāfir (al-Muʾmin) 40/19 (khāʾinata'l-aʿyun).
And the construction of the sentence must be recorded: lā takhūnu'llāha wa'r-rasūla wa takhūnū amānātikum. Two betrayals in the same sentence, the second attached as though it were the consequence of the first.
I record this as an observation: the verse does not separate what is done against what is above from what is done against the trust held among themselves. And the record wa antum taʿlamūn is added — that it is done knowingly.