تِلْكَ الْقُرَى نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ

(Those were the towns that We relate to you) O Muhammad,

مِنْ أَنبَآئِهَا

The verse 102 has said, "And We did not find with most of them any covenant (unbroken)." The Companion ` Abdullah ibn Abbas ؓ has said that the covenant referred to in this verse is the Covenant called . That is, the covenant that Allah made with the spirits of all the creatures before creating them, when Allah said to them: أَلَسْتُ بِرَ‌بِّكُمْ ''Am I not your Lord?" All the human spirits entered into a covenant by answering" Yes" to the question. Most of the people forgot this covenant after they came to earth, and got involved in worshipping false gods instead of worshipping Allah. The verse, therefore, has said that Allah did not find most of the people true to this covenant. (Tafsir Kabir)

The respected companion ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ عنہما has said that the covenant referred to in this verse is the covenant of 'Iman' the Faith as has been indicated in the Holy Qur'an in these words إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّخَذَ عِندَ الرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ عَهْدًا "Except the one who entered into a covenant with Rahman (Allah), the covenant in this verse signifies the covenant of Faith. The verse, therefore, implies that most of the people deviated from their covenant with Allah. We usually note that nearly every individual when he finds himself trapped in some distress, no matter how sinful he is, turns to Allah and often makes a promise in words or in his heart that he will be faithful to Allah and obey Him and avoid disobedience if he is relieved from this calamity. But when they are out of the mess, they indulge in their mundane desires having no regard for their covenant with Allah.