7 Preface كَيفَ يَكونُ لِلمُشرِكينَ عَهدٌ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَعِندَ رَسولِهِ إِلَّا الَّذينَ عاهَدتُم عِندَ المَسجِدِ الحَرامِ ۖ فَمَا استَقاموا لَكُم فَاستَقيموا لَهُم ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ المُتَّقينَYusuf AliHow can there be a league, before God and His Messenger, with the Pagans, except those1 with whom ye made a treaty near the sacred Mosque? As long as these stand true to you, stand ye true to them: for God doth love the righteous.In this section we have the reasons why the treaties with treacherous Pagan foes were denounced. The clause introducing the exception is a parenthetical clause. The word “Pagans” must be connected with verse 8 which follows. In that verse the word kayfa resumes the clause introduced by the word kayfa at the beginning of verse 7. The exceptional Pagan tribes which remained true to their word were the Bariu Ḥamza and the Banū Kinana, who swore their treaty near the Sacred Masque and faithfully observed it They were to be given the full benefit of their fidelity even though their kindred tribes were treacherous.