كَدَأْبِ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَأَغْرَقْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَكُلٌّ كَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ ﴿۵۴﴾ إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿۵۵﴾ الَّذِينَ عَاهَدْتَ مِنْهُمْ ثُمَّ يَنْقُضُونَ عَهْدَهُمْ فِي كُلِّ مَرَّةٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَتَّقُونَ ﴿۵۶﴾ فَإِمَّا تَثْقَفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْحَرْبِ فَشَرِّدْ بِهِمْ مَنْ خَلْفَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ﴿۵۷﴾ وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِنْ قَوْمٍ خِيَانَةً فَانْبِذْ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَى سَوَاءٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْخَائِنِينَ ﴿۵۸﴾

﴾54﴿ Kadaabi Aali Fir'awna wallazeena min qablihim; kazzaboo bi Aayaati Rabbihim faahlaknaahum bizunoobihim wa aghraqnaa Aala Fir'awn; wa kullun kaanoo zaalimeen
﴾55﴿ Inna sharrad dawaaabbi 'indal laahil lazeena kafaroo fahum laa yu'minoon
﴾56﴿ Allazeena'aahatta min hum summa yanqudoona 'ahdahum fee kulli marratinw wa hum laa yattaqoon
﴾57﴿ Fa immaa tasqafannahum fil harbi fasharrid bihim man khalfahum la'allahum yazzakkaroon
﴾58﴿ Wa immaa takhaafana min qawmin khiyaanatan fambiz ilaihim 'alaa sawaaa'; innal laaha laayuhibbul khaaa'ineen

﴾54﴿ Their condition is like that of Pharaoh’s people and those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned Pharaoh’s people. And they were all wrongdoers.
﴾55﴿ Surely, the worst of living beings in the sight of Allah are those who disbelieve, for they will not believe.
﴾56﴿ They are those with whom you made a treaty, yet they break their treaty every time, and they do not restrain themselves (from other sins).
﴾57﴿ So if you gain dominance over them in war, disperse by means of them those who are behind them, so that they may take heed.
﴾58﴿ And if you fear treachery from a people, then inform them (of the dissolution of the treaty), so that you and they are on equal terms. Surely, Allah does not love the treacherous.

[54] This verse is not a repetition, because in the previous verse, the comparison was related to disbelief, while in this verse, the comparison is about the changing of blessings.
Also, in the previous verse, the mention was of disbelief, while in this one, it is of denial, which is a greater form of disbelief.
And in that verse, there was a general mention of punishment, while in this verse, it is explained in detail with the phrase "so We destroyed them."
This indicates that the punishments of previous deniers were of various kinds—by flood, by earthquake, by raining stones, and by drowning.
Thus, the punishment of the polytheists of Mecca came through the sword and their killing.
[55] Since the common trait of all disbelievers was mentioned—which is wrongdoing—now the specific trait of a particular group of disbelievers is mentioned, in whom there are four vices.
These also became the cause of the previous punishment, as the punishment came upon them due to a specific reason: that they were wicked people.
Their four vices have been mentioned—two in this verse and two in the following verse.
"They do not believe" means they are firm in their disbelief, and there is no hope of them bringing faith.
[56] In this verse, two of their vices are mentioned: first, breaking the covenant; second, lack of piety.
The conclusion is that the wicked among the disbelievers, and the most wicked among them, are the enemies (opponents), and the wicked among these enemies are those who break their covenants.
"Those with whom you made a covenant"—the first examples of this are the Jews of Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayza, and the polytheists of Mecca. Yet the verse remains general.
The phrase "from among them" indicates that the covenant is originally made only with some of them—those who are the leaders.
[57] From here to the end is the second section, in which the rules of jihad are mentioned.
In this portion, there is one rule that applies to all fighters and another that is specific to the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and these also apply to the commanders of jihad.
At the end, there are five types of people mentioned and glad tidings are given to the believers.
This is the seventh rule, and the one addressed in it is the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and his deputy, the commander.
The essence of this rule is to be harsh in war against the polytheists so that others may take heed.
The phrase "so disperse them" (فَشَرِّدْ بِهِمْ) here mentions the result, but what is meant is the cause—i.e., act against them (by killing and shedding much blood), which will result in frightening those who come afterward.
[58] This is the continuation of the previous rule: when war is being waged against one group of disbelievers while a peace treaty exists with another group, but signs appear that they are about to break the treaty, then they should be informed that the treaty is being annulled.
The phrase "you fear" (تَخَافَنَّ) means that there is a strong presumption, based on clear signs, that they are going to break the treaty. This is considered a serious matter, and the term "fear" is used for the potential occurrence of such a serious issue.
"Then throw it back to them" (فَانْبِذْ إِلَيْهِمْ) means to annul the treaty, and the intent of "to them" is that they should be informed that the treaty has now ended, so that they do not accuse you of betrayal.
"On equal terms" (عَلَى سَوَاءٍ) means that just as you have knowledge of the treaty’s termination, they too should be made equally aware of it.