إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ عَٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْـًٔا وَلَمْ يُظَٰهِرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًا فَأَتِمُّوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَىٰ مُدَّتِهِمْ
Illa'lladhīna ʿāhadtum mina'l-mushrikīna thumma lam yanquṣūkum shayʾan wa lam yuẓāhirū ʿalaykum aḥadan fa-atimmū ilayhim ʿahdahum ilā muddatihim; inna'llāha yuḥibbu'l-muttaqīn
"Except those of the mushrikūn with whom you made a treaty and who then did not fall short with you in anything and did not back anyone against you. Complete their treaty with them to the end of its term. God loves those who guard themselves."
The fourth verse divides in two the party addressed in the first verse — and the measure by which it divides is not identity but conduct.
| Verse | Who | What they have done | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alladhīna ʿāhadtum mina'l-mushrikīn | (Later in the block: broke it — 7, 8, 12, 13) | A declaration of barāʾa |
| 4 | Alladhīna ʿāhadtum mina'l-mushrikīn | Lam yanquṣūkum + lam yuẓāhirū | The treaty is completed to its term |
The two verses use the same expression (alladhīna ʿāhadtum mina'l-mushrikīn) and issue two different rulings. The only difference between them is what the second group has not done.
This is a fact verifiable from the wording of the verse itself, and it is decisive for the reading of the block: the ruling is tied not to the name of a group but to an act.
| Condition | Wording | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْـًٔا | To have taken nothing away from the treaty |
| 2 | وَلَمْ يُظَٰهِرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًا | To have backed no one against you |
The root ن-ق-ص: to diminish, to reduce. Note: the verse uses not the root nakatha (to break) but the root ن-ق-ص. The measure, that is, is not the wholesale repudiation of the treaty; even a piece taken away from it counts.
The root ظ-ه-ر: the back. Ẓāhara (Form III) — to lend one's back, to back, to support. The concrete picture is plain: to stand behind someone. The root occurred in al-Fatḥ and in al-Aḥzāb.
I record this as an observation about the structure: both conditions are framed negatively — not "those who have done such and such" but "those who have not done such and such." To fall within the scope of the exception, that is, one need do nothing; not having broken it is enough.
One. ʿAhdahum — "their treaty." The pronoun belongs to the other party. The treaty is named as the other party's right.
Two. Ilā muddatihim — "to the end of their term." The term too is ascribed to the other party; no authority to shorten it is left to this side.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the two pronouns (hum): the verse frames the treaty not as a favour granted by this side but as a right belonging to the other.
The close of the verse must be recorded, and I give it as an observation: the keeping of a word that has been given is named taqwā. The same close will recur in verse 7 — that is, the sūra repeats the same ground twice, at the end of two separate notices about treaty.