Wa-ith akhathna mina annabiyyeena meethaqahum waminka wamin noohin wa-ibraheema wamoosa waAAeesa ibni (surah Ahzab: 7)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(33:7) And call to mind, (O Prophet), when We took the covenant from all Prophets; and also from you and Noah and Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary. We took from them a solemn covenant *15

Wa iz akhaznaa minan Nabiyyeena meesaaqahum wa minka wa min Noohinw wa Ibraaheema wa Moosaa wa Eesab-ni-Maryama wa akhaznaa minhum meesaaqan ghaleezaa

*15) Allah in this verse has reminded the Holy Prophet that, like alI other Prophets, He has taken from him too a solemn covenant which he should abide by strictly. A study of the preceding verse shows that the Covenant implies: "The Prophet will first himself obey and follow every Command received from Allah, and then make others also to obey and follow it: he will convey Allah's Commands intact to others and will show no laxity in the struggle to enforce them practically." This Covenant has been mentioned at several other places in the Quran, e.g.
(1)"He has appointed for you the same way of life whim he appointed for Noah and which (O Muhammad,) We have now revealed to you, and which We had already enjoined on Abraham and Moses and Jesus, stressing : `Establish this Way and be not divided in it." (Ash-Shura:13).
(2) "And remember that Allah had made the Covenant with the people who had been given the Scripture, and enjoined: `You shall spread the teachings of the Book among the people and shall not conceal them. " (Al`Imran: 187).
(3)"Remember that We made a solemn Covenant with the children of Israel to the effect: `Worship (and submit to) none save Allah." (AI-Baqarah: 83).
(4) "Has not the Covenant of the Book been taken from them.. .: `Hold fast the Book We have given you, and keep in mind what it contains: it is expected that you will refrain from wrong ways." (Al-A'raf: 169-171).
(5) "Keep in mind the blessing Allah has bestowed on you and do not forget the solemn Covenant which He made with you, when you said, `We have heard and submitted.' " (A1-Ma`idah: 7)
The reason why Allah is reminding of this Covenant in this context is that the Holy Prophet was feeling hesitant to break the custom of ignorance in respect of the adopted relations due to the apprehension that the enemies of Islam would put him to a disadvantage. He was feeling shy time and again at the thought: The question is of marrying a woman. I may take this initiative with the purest intention only for the sake of a social reform, but the enemies will certainly say that I have done so for the purpose of satisfying my sensual desires, and I am in fact trying to deceive others under the guise of a reformer. That is why Allah assures him, saying: "You arc a Prophet appointed by Us. Like all other Prophets, you also are bound in the Covenant that you will carry out whatever Command We give yourself and command others to follow it. Therefore, you should not bother at all about taunts and derision by others, do dot be afraid and fight shy of others, and carry out without hesitation the service that We want to take from you."
A section of the people think that this Covenant is the covenant that was taken from all the Prophets and their communities, who came before the Holy Prophet, to the effect that they would believe in the Prophet who came afterwards and cooperate with him. On the basis of this interpretation they claim that the door to Prophethood is still open after the Holy Prophet and this covenant has been taken from the Holy Prophet too, that his followers will believe in the prophet who will come after him. But the context in which the verse occurs is explicit that this interpretation is absolutely wrong, There is no occasion whatever in the context to indicate that other prophets will come also after the Holy Prophet and his followers should believe in them. If the verse is read in this sense, it becomes irrelevant and incoherent. Moreover, there is no indication in the words of the verse to show which covenant is implied here. Therefore, to find out the nature of the covenant, we shall have to turn to other verses of the Qur'an in which mention has been made of the covenants taken from the Prophets. Now, if only one sort of the covenants had been mentioned in the entire Qur'an, i.e., the covenant that the people shall believe in the prophets coming afterwards, it would be correct to think that here also the covenant implied the same covenant. But anyone who has studied the Qur'an with an open mind knows that it has mentioned many covenants, which were taken from the Prophets and their followers. Therefore, only that covenant from among the different covenant would be implied here, which fitted in with the context here, and not the one which was altogether irrelevant. Such wrong interpretations reveal the mentality of the people who wish to draw no guidance from the Qur'an but want to reinterpret it instead.