Page 17 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an

The Misinterpretation of Loyalty
breach their oath, disregarding what they swore before Allah. The
Qur'an describes the condition of those who promised to band to-
gether with believers, but then went back on their commitment
when it came time to fight alongside the Prophet (saas):

They have sworn by Allah with their most earnest oaths
that if you give them the command, they will go out. Say:
"Do not swear. Honorable obedience is enough. Allah is
aware of what you do." (Surat an-Nur, 53)
If it had been a case of easy gains and a short journey, they
would have followed you, but the distance was too great

for them. They will swear by Allah: "Had we been able to,
we would have gone out with you." They are destroying
their own selves. Allah knows that they are lying. (Surat at-
Tawba, 42)
To hide their evil intentions, and to attempt to win the trust of
the Prophet (saas), they swear in the name of Allah. In this way they
thought they could disguise their unfaithfulness and the true inten-
tions hidden in their hearts, that they might achieve what they
wanted. However, their behavior inevitably reveals their true inten-
tions. One of the most definite signs of sincere loyalty to Allah is a

person's willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of gaining His
favor. Those who have no conception of the significance of such
faithfulness invent unfounded excuses to avoid self-sacrifice, swear-
ing in the name of Allah to convince others otherwise.
One of the reasons why such people swear false oaths is be-
cause they want to exploit the loyalty of the believers for their own
advantage. They think they assume the characteristics of a believer,

who is self-sacrificing, generous and compassionate, and enjoy the

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