۞ وَلَقَدْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَـٰقَ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ ٱثْنَىْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا ۖ وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ إِنِّى مَعَكُمْ ۖ لَئِنْ أَقَمْتُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَيْتُمُ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَءَامَنتُم بِرُسُلِى وَعَزَّرْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَقْرَضْتُمُ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا لَّأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۚ فَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ مِنكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ 12
Translations
And Allāh had already taken a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We delegated from among them twelve leaders. And Allāh said, "I am with you. If you establish prayer and give zakāh and believe in My messengers and support them and loan Allāh a goodly loan, I will surely remove from you your misdeeds and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever of you disbelieves after that has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way."
Transliteration
Wa laqad akhaza Allahu mithāqa banī Isrāʾīla wa baʿathnā minhum ithnay ʿashara naqībā. Wa qāla Allahu innī maʿakum. La-in aqamtumu al-salāta wa ātaytumu al-zakāta wa āmantum bi-rusulī wa ʿazzartumūhum wa aqraḍtumu Allāha qarḍan ḥasanan la-ukaffiranna ʿankum sayyiʾātikum wa la-udkhilannakum jannātin tajrī min taḥtihā al-anhār. Fa-man kafara baʿda dhālik minkum fa-qad ḍalla sawāʾa al-sabīl.
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah took a covenant (mīthāq) with the Children of Israel and appointed twelve representatives (naqībs) from among them as leaders and witnesses to this agreement. Allah promised that if they established prayer, gave zakah, believed in His messengers, honored and supported them, and made righteous loans to Allah (spent in His cause), He would forgive their sins and admit them to gardens with rivers flowing beneath. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, this covenant represented a binding obligation of obedience and righteousness, with the condition that those who rejected it afterward would stray from the straight path.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the Medinan period and addresses the historical covenant taken from Bani Israel through their leaders (the twelve naqībs). It is presented in the context of reminding the Children of Israel of their obligations and the consequences of breaking their covenant, serving as both a historical reminder and a warning to the Muslim community about fulfilling their own obligations to Allah.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The best charity is like a loan given in the way of Allah' (Sunan Ibn Majah). Additionally, the concept of the twelve naqībs reflects the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet appointed twelve leaders from among the Ansar as representatives of their people.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Allah's favor is conditional upon both internal faith and external righteous actions, while highlighting that those entrusted with leadership must exemplify these qualities. For believers today, it emphasizes that sincere commitment to Islam's pillars—prayer, charity, faith in all prophets, and support of religious leaders—combined with genuine devotion, leads to Allah's mercy and eternal reward.
Related Ayahs
قَالَ ٱللَّهُ هَـٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ ۚ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allāh will say, "This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness." For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allāh being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.
قَالُوا۟ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِنَّ فِيهَا قَوْمًا جَبَّارِينَ وَإِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا حَتَّىٰ يَخْرُجُوا۟ مِنْهَا فَإِن يَخْرُجُوا۟ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّا دَٰخِلُونَ
They said, "O Moses, indeed within it is a people of tyrannical strength, and indeed, we will never enter it until they leave it; but if they leave it, then we will enter."
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ وَإِلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ قَالُوا۟ حَسْبُنَا مَا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ ءَابَآءَنَآ ۚ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ ءَابَآؤُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ شَيْـًٔا وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ
And when it is said to them, "Come to what Allāh has revealed and to the Messenger," they say, "Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our fathers." Even though their fathers knew nothing, nor were they guided?
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allāh will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allāh does not guide the disbelieving people.