Why do you say that which you do not do (Surah As-Saff 61: 2-3)

Chastising Those Who say what They do not do

Allah's statement,

O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do.  This refutes those who neglect to fulfill their promises. This honorable Ayah supports the view that several scholars of the Salaf held, that it is necessary to fulfill the promise, regardless of whether the promise includes some type of wealth for the person receiving the promise or otherwise. They also argue from the Sunnah, with the Hadith recorded in the Two Sahihs in which Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said,

There are three signs for a hypocrite: when he promises, he breaks his promise; when speaks, he lies; and when he is entrusted, he betrays.  And in another Hadith in the Sahih,

There are four characteristics which if one has all of them, he is the pure hypocrite, and if anyone has any of them, he has a characteristic of hypocrisy, until he abandons it.

So he mentioned breaking the promise among these four characteristics. We mentioned the meaning of these two Hadiths in the beginning of the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, and to Allah is the praise and the thanks. Therefore Allah implied this meaning, when He continued His admonishment by saying,

Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.  Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amir bin Rabi`ah (Radhi Allahu Anhu) said, "Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) came to us while I was a young boy, and I went out to play. My mother said, `O `Abdullah! Come, I want to give you something.' Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said to her,

What did you want to give him She said, `Dates.' He said,

If you had not given them to him, it would have been written as a lie in your record.''

Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "The faithful believers said, `If we only knew the dearest good actions to Allah, we would perform them.' Thus, Allah told them about the dearest actions to Him, saying,

Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows (Ayah 4)  Allah stated what He likes, and they were tested on the day of Uhud. However, they retreated and fled, leaving the Prophet behind. It was about their case that Allah revealed this Ayah:

O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do, Allah says here, `The dearest of you to Me, is he who fights in My cause.''' Some said that it was revealed about the gravity of fighting in battle, when one says that he fought and endured the battle, even though he did not do so. Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak said that this Ayah was sent down to admonish some people who used to say that they killed, fought, stabbed, and did such and such during battle, even though they did not do any of it.



Source: Tafsir ibn Kathir (Abridged)