Ayah

Word by Word
وَلَا
And (do) not
تَكُونُواْ
be
كَٱلَّتِي
like her who
نَقَضَتۡ
untwists
غَزۡلَهَا
her spun yarn
مِنۢ
after
بَعۡدِ
after
قُوَّةٍ
strength
أَنكَٰثٗا
(into) untwisted strands
تَتَّخِذُونَ
you take
أَيۡمَٰنَكُمۡ
your oaths
دَخَلَۢا
(as) a deception
بَيۡنَكُمۡ
between you
أَن
because
تَكُونَ
is
أُمَّةٌ
a community
هِيَ
[it]
أَرۡبَىٰ
more numerous
مِنۡ
than
أُمَّةٍۚ
(another) community
إِنَّمَا
Only
يَبۡلُوكُمُ
Allah tests you
ٱللَّهُ
Allah tests you
بِهِۦۚ
by it
وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ
And He will make clear
لَكُمۡ
to you
يَوۡمَ
(on) the Day
ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ
(of) the Resurrection
مَا
what
كُنتُمۡ
you used (to)
فِيهِ
in it
تَخۡتَلِفُونَ
differ
وَلَا
And (do) not
تَكُونُواْ
be
كَٱلَّتِي
like her who
نَقَضَتۡ
untwists
غَزۡلَهَا
her spun yarn
مِنۢ
after
بَعۡدِ
after
قُوَّةٍ
strength
أَنكَٰثٗا
(into) untwisted strands
تَتَّخِذُونَ
you take
أَيۡمَٰنَكُمۡ
your oaths
دَخَلَۢا
(as) a deception
بَيۡنَكُمۡ
between you
أَن
because
تَكُونَ
is
أُمَّةٌ
a community
هِيَ
[it]
أَرۡبَىٰ
more numerous
مِنۡ
than
أُمَّةٍۚ
(another) community
إِنَّمَا
Only
يَبۡلُوكُمُ
Allah tests you
ٱللَّهُ
Allah tests you
بِهِۦۚ
by it
وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ
And He will make clear
لَكُمۡ
to you
يَوۡمَ
(on) the Day
ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ
(of) the Resurrection
مَا
what
كُنتُمۡ
you used (to)
فِيهِ
in it
تَخۡتَلِفُونَ
differ
Translation

And be not like a woman who breaks into untwisted strands the yarn which she has spun, after it has become strong. Nor take your oaths to practise deception between yourselves, lest one party should be more numerous than another: for Allah will test you by this; and on the Day of Judgment He will certainly make clear to you (the truth of) that wherein ye disagree.
Tafsir

And do not be like her who undoes, spoils, her yarn, that which she has spun, after having made it strong, [having] set and spun it, [breaking it up] into fibres (ankaathan is a circumstantial qualifier, [ankaath is] the plural of nikth, and means that which is undone [yunkathu]) - this was an imbecile Meccan woman who used to spin all day and then undo it - by making (tattakhidhoona is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person of [the verb] takoonoo, '[do not] be like'), in other words, [what is meant is] 'do not be like her by making', your oaths a [means of] deceit, (dakhal, is what enters [yadkhulu] into something but does not belong to it), in other words, as [a means of causing] mischief or as trickery, between you, by breaking these [oaths], so that one group may become more numerous than [another] group. They used to enter into an alliance with a given group, but if they encountered another more numerous and more powerful [group], they would renege on their alliance with the former and forge a [new] alliance with these [latter]. God only tries, tests, you thereby, in other words, by that which He enjoins, in the way of fulfilling the covenant, so that He may observe the obedient and the disobedient among you, or when [it is the case that] one group is more numerous [than another], that He may observe whether you fulfil [your obligation to them] or not; and certainly He will make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that wherein you used to differ, during [the life of] this world, with regard to covenants and otherwise, by punishing he who reneged and rewarding he who was faithful [to his covenant].
"
The Command to fulfill the Covenant
Allah says:
وَأَوۡفُواۡ بِعَهۡدِ اللّهِ إِذَا عَاهَدتُّمۡ
And fulfill the covenants (taken in the Name of) Allah when you have taken them,
This is one of the commands of Allah, to fulfill covenants, keep promises and to fulfill oaths after confirming them.
Thus Allah says:
وَلَا تَنقُضُواۡ الَايۡمَانَ بَعۡدَ تَوۡكِيدِهَا
and do not break the oaths after you have confirmed them.
There is no conflict between this and the Ayat:
وَلَا تَجۡعَلُواۡ اللَّهَ عُرۡضَةً لاًّيۡمَـنِكُمۡ
And do not use Allah as an excuse in your oaths. (2:224)
ذلِكَ كَفَّارَةُ أَيۡمَـنِكُمۡ إِذَا حَلَفۡتُمۡ وَاحۡفَظُواۡ أَيۡمَـنَكُمۡ
That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn. And protect your oaths. (5:89)
meaning, do not forgo your oaths without offering the penance.
There is also no conflict between this Ayah (16:91) and the Hadith reported in the Two Sahihs according to which the Prophet said:
إِنِّي وَاللهِ إِنۡ شَاءَ اللهُ لَا أَحۡلِفُ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَأَرَى غَيۡرَهَا خَيۡرًا مِنۡهَا إِلاَّ أَتَيۡتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيۡرٌ وَتَحَلَّلۡتُهَا وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ وَكَفَّرۡتُ عَنۡ يَمِينِي
By Allah, if Allah wills, I will not swear an oath and then realize that something else is better, but I do that which is better and find a way to free myself from the oath.
According to another report he said:
""and I offer penance for my oath.""
There is no contradiction at all between all of these texts and the Ayah under discussion here, which is:
وَلَا تَنقُضُواۡ الَايۡمَانَ بَعۡدَ تَوۡكِيدِهَا
(and do not break the oaths after you have confirmed them), because these are the kinds of oaths that have to do with covenants and promises, not the kind that have to do with urging oneself to do something or preventing him from doing something.
Therefore Mujahid said concerning this Ayah:
وَلَا تَنقُضُواۡ الَايۡمَانَ بَعۡدَ تَوۡكِيدِهَا
(and do not break the oaths after you have confirmed them),
""The oath here refers to oaths made during Jahiliyyah.""
This supports the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from Jubayr bin Mut`im, who said that the Messenger of Allah said:
لَاا حِلۡفَ فِي الاۡاِسۡلَامِ وَأَيُّمَا حِلۡفٍ كَانَ فِي الۡجَاهِلِيَّةِ فَإِنَّهُ لَاا يَزِيدُهُ الاۡاِسۡلَامُ إِلاَّ شِدَّة
There is no oath in Islam, and any oath made during the Jahiliyyah is only reinforced by Islam.
This was also reported by Muslim.
The meaning is that Islam does not need oaths as they were used by the people of the Jahiliyyah; adherence to Islam is sufficient to do away with any need for what they used to customarily give oaths for.
In the Two Sahihs it was reported that Anas said:
""The Messenger of Allah swore the treaty of allegiance between the Muhajirin (emigrants) and the Ansar (helpers) in our house.""
This means that he established brotherhood between them, and they used to inherit from one another, until Allah abrogated that. And Allah knows best.
وَقَدۡ جَعَلۡتُمُ اللّهَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ كَفِيلً
- and indeed you have appointed Allah as your guarantor.
إِنَّ اللّهَ يَعۡلَمُ مَا تَفۡعَلُونَ
Verily, Allah knows what you do.
This is a warning and a threat to those who break their oaths after confirming them.
Allah says
وَلَا تَكُونُواۡ كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتۡ غَزۡلَهَا مِن بَعۡدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنكَاثًا
And do not be like the one who undoes the thread which she has spun, after it has become strong,
Abdullah bin Kathir and As-Suddi said:
""This was a foolish woman in Makkah. Every time she spun thread and made it strong, she would undo it again.""
Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said:
""This is like the one who breaks a covenant after confirming it.""
This view is more correct and more apparent, whether or not there was a woman in Makkah who undid her thread after spinning it.
The word Ankathan could be referring back to the word translated as ""undoes"", reinforcing the meaning,
or it could be the predicate of the verb ""to be"", meaning, do not be Ankathan, the plural of Nakth (breach, violation), from the word Nakith (perfidious).
Hence after this, Allah says:
تَتَّخِذُونَ أَيۡمَانَكُمۡ دَخَلً بَيۡنَكُمۡ
by taking your oaths as a means of deception among yourselves,
meaning for the purposes of cheating and tricking one another.
أَن تَكُونَ أُمَّةٌ هِيَ أَرۡبَى مِنۡ أُمَّةٍ
when one group is more numerous than another group.
meaning, you swear an oath with some people if they are more in number than you, so that they can trust you, but when you are able to betray them you do so.
Allah forbids that, by showing a case where treachery might be expected or excused, but He forbids it. If treachery is forbidden in such a case, then in cases where one is in a position of strength it is forbidden more emphatically.
Mujahid said:
""They used to enter into alliances and covenants, then find other parties who were more powerful and more numerous, so they would cancel the alliance with the first group and make an alliance with the second who were more powerful and more numerous. This is what they were forbidden to do.""
Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said something similar.
إِنَّمَا يَبۡلُوكُمُ اللّهُ بِهِ
Allah only tests you by this,
Sa`id bin Jubayr said:
""This means (you are tested) by the large numbers.""
This was reported by Ibn Abi Hatim.
Ibn Jarir said:
""It means (you are being tested) by His command to you to adhere to your covenants.""
وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ لَكُمۡ يَوۡمَ الۡقِيَامَةِ مَا كُنتُمۡ فِيهِ تَخۡتَلِفُونَ
And on the Day of Resurrection, He will certainly clarify that which you differed over.
Everyone will be rewarded or punished in accordance with his deeds, good or evil."
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