Allah Almighty says: {O you who believe, fulfill your contracts} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 1] And He says: {and fulfill the covenant, for you will certainly be questioned about the covenant.} [Surat al-Isrā’: 34]
1) Treachery is to betray someone in a situation where trust and honesty are expected.
2) Honoring contracts is obligatory, and so is avoiding betrayal and deceit.
3) Fulfilling covenants is one of the requirements and complementary elements of faith, and it is a sign of the soundness of faith.
1584/1 - ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever has the following four (traits) is a sheer hypocrite, and whoever has one trait of them has one of the traits of hypocrisy until he gives it up: whenever he is entrusted, he betrays the trust; whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous; and whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a shameless insulting manner.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) The Hadīth warns of treachery as one of the characteristics of the hypocrites.
2) A Muslim should constantly seek to rid himself of dispraised characteristics that place him within the category of the wicked and hypocrites, and to adopt such praiseworthy characteristics that promote him to the category of the favored believers.
1585/2- Ibn Mas‘ūd, Ibn ‘Umar, and Anas (may Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “For every treacherous one, there will be a flag on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said: This flag proclaims the treachery of so-and-so.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1586/3- Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every treacherous one will have a flag by his buttocks on the Day of Resurrection. It will be raised higher according to the nature of his treachery. Behold, there will be no greater treachery than that of a ruler who acted treacherously with the Muslim masses.” [Narrated by Muslim]
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1) The Hadīth warns of treachery as one of the major sins.
2) The greater the treachery is the greater will be the scandal and sinfulness of the treacherous on the Day of Judgment. That is, treachery committed against one person is not equal to that committed against a group or community. Hence, one can visualize how huge the sin of those who are treacherous towards the Muslims is. They only care for satiating their own desires and attaining their own interests. Allah Almighty is their Reckoner in the worldly life and the Hereafter.
1587/4 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah, the Exalted, said: ‘I will contend on the Day of Resurrection against three (types of) people: One who gave a promise in My Name and then broke it; one who sold a free man as a slave and devoured his price; and one who hired a workman and took the full work from him then did not pay him his wages.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
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1) Treachery is strictly warned against as it entails contending against Allah on the Day of Judgment.
2) The Hadīth warns against breaking covenants because it is not one of the characteristics of the believers.