When Allah mentions how the hypocrites broke their promise to Him that they would not turn their backs. He describes the believers as firmly adhering to their covenant and their promise:
}[they] have been true to their covenant with Allah; of them some have fulfilled their Nahbah;}
Some of them said: "Met their appointed time (i.e., death)." Al-Bukhari said, "Their covenant, and refers back to the beginning of the Ayah." [1]
}and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed in the least.}
means, they have never changed or broken their covenant with Allah.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Zayd bin Thabit said: "When we wrote down the Mushaf, an Ayah from Surat Al-Ahzab was missing, which I used to hear the Messenger of Allah reciting. I did not find it with anyone except Khuzaymah bin Thabit Al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, whose testimony the Messenger of Allah counted as equal to that of two other men. (The Ayah in question was:)
}Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah}
This was recorded by Al-Bukhari but not by Muslim, It was also recorded by Ahmad in his Musnad, and by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i in the chapters on Tafsir in their Sunans. At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih." [2]
Al-Bukhari also recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "We think that this Ayah was revealed concerning Anas bin An-Nadr, may Allah be pleased with him:
}Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah .}" [3]
This was reported only by Al-Bukhari, but there are corroborating reports with other chains of narration. Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas said: "My paternal uncle Anas bin Al-Nadr, may Allah be pleased with him, after whom I was named, was not present with this Messenger of Allah at Badr, and this distressed him. He said: 'The first battle at
"Their covenant,
}and some of them are still waiting} they are waiting for battle so that they can do well." [1] Al-Hasan said:
}of them some have fulfilled their Nahbah ;} "They died true to their covenant and loyal, and some are still waiting to die in a similar manner, and some of them have never changed in the least ." [2]
This was also the view of Qatadah and Ibn Zayd. Some of them said that the word Nahbah means a vow.
}but they have never changed in the least.}
means, they never changed their covenant or were disloyal or committed treachery, but they persisted in what they had promised and did not break their vow, unlike the hypocrites who said:
}Truly , our homes lie open." And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.} (33:13)
}And indeed they had already made a covenant with Allah not to turn their backs,} (33:15)
}That Allah may reward the men of truth for their truth, and punish the hypocrites, if He wills, or accept their repentance by turning to them.}
Allah tests His servants with fear and shaking so as to tell the evil from the good, as each will be known by his deeds. Although Allah knows what the outcome will be before anything happens, still He does not punish anyone on the
[1] Fath Al-Bari 8:377.
[2] Ahmad 5:188, Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi 8:520, An-Nasa'i in Al-Kubra 6:430.
[3] Fath Al-Bari 8:377.
[1] At-Tabari 20:238.
[2] At-Tabari 20:239.