Tafseer of The Pen · Al-Qalam · 68:10
And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His word: And obey not every contemptible swearer of oaths. And obey not, O Muḥammad, anyone who frequently swears falsely; contemptible (mahīn): that is the weak one.
And in accordance with what we have said regarding this, the exegetes have spoken — except that some of them understood the meaning of "contemptible" as "the liar." I suspect that he did so because he held the view that, when someone is described with contemptibleness, this is only because of the contemptibleness of his own soul that rests upon him; and likewise the qualification "lying," for he lies only because of the contemptibleness of his soul that rests upon him.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And obey not every contemptible swearer of oaths, and the contemptible is: the liar.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: swearer of oaths, contemptible, he said: weak.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: And obey not every contemptible swearer of oaths, and that is the one who is frequently in evil.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: every swearer of oaths, contemptible, he says: everyone who frequently swears oaths is contemptible and weak.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Qatāda: And obey not every contemptible swearer of oaths, he said: that is the one who is frequently in evil.
