طَاعَةٌ وَقَوْلٌ مَعْرُوفٌ فَإِذَا عَزَمَ الْأَمْرُ فَلَوْ صَدَقُوا اللَّهَ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ﴿۲۱﴾ فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ ﴿۲۲﴾ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فَأَصَمَّهُمْ وَأَعْمَى أَبْصَارَهُمْ ﴿۲۳﴾ أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا ﴿۲۴﴾

﴾21﴿ Taa'atunw wa qawlum ma'roof; fa izaa 'azamal amru falaw sadaqul laaha lakaana khairal lahum
﴾22﴿ Fahal 'asaitum in tawallaitum an tufsidoo fil ardi wa tuqatti'ooo arhaamakum
﴾23﴿ Ulaaa'ikal lazeena la'anahumul laahu fa asammahum wa a'maaa absaarahum
﴾24﴿ Afalaa yatadabbaroonal Qur-aana am 'alaa quloobin aqfaaluhaa

﴾21﴿ (It would have been better) for them to obey and speak good words. But when the command for fighting was confirmed, if they had been true to Allah in their promise, it would have surely been better for them
﴾22﴿ Then indeed, you are close to spreading corruption in the land and severing your ties of kinship if you turn away
﴾23﴿ These are the ones whom Allah has cursed, so He made them deaf and blinded their eyes
﴾24﴿ Do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon their hearts

[21] (خَيْرًا لَهُمْ) – Meaning, if they did not fear jihad but instead obeyed, it would have been much better for them. The obedience referred to here is the obedience of Allah the Exalted and His Messenger in general, and specifically in the matter of jihad.
[22] The meaning of (توليتم) is turning away from the Book of Allah and from jihad—this is the statement of Qatādah. Thus, in this verse, there is an indication of the harmful consequences of turning away from the Book of Allah and abandoning jihad. That is, if you turn away from the Qur'an and neglect jihad, then sins, transgression, and unjust killing will increase in the land—this is corruption.
And kinship ties will be severed—meaning, oppression among relatives will begin, and looting and plundering will occur, like in the days of ignorance.
Note: (أَرْحَامَكُمْ) – Qurtubi has stated that arḥām (kinship ties) are of two types:
1. General kinship – the bond of the religion of Islam, which is the right of all Muslims.
2. Specific kinship – the right of blood relatives only.
[23,24] These are other traits of the hypocrites—five are mentioned in each of the two verses.
This indicates that the purpose of the Qur’an is not merely to recite its words, but to reflect and ponder over its meanings, purposes, and wisdoms. A similar point is mentioned in Surah An-Nisā’ (4:82).
The true reason for their lack of reflection is that locks have been placed upon their hearts, just as locks are placed on doors—so nothing can enter. Likewise, the truth cannot enter their hearts.