Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:63
And [recall] when We took your covenant, [O Children of Israel, to abide by the Torah] and We raised over you the mount, [saying], "Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that perhaps you may become righteous."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ ("And when We accepted your covenant")
Abū Jaʿfar said: "Al-mīthāq" (the covenant) is of the pattern "al-mifʿāl," derived from "al-wathīqa" (the surety), whether by means of an oath, or by an agreement, or by something else among the forms of surety. (26)
By His saying (And when We accepted your covenant) He means the covenant of which He — exalted is His praise — has informed that He accepted it from them, in His saying: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلا اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا [Al-Baqarah: 83-85] ("And when We accepted the covenant of the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah, and show goodness to parents"), the verses mentioned therewith. The reason that the covenant was accepted from them — according to what Ibn Zayd has mentioned — was the following:
1115 - Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: When Mūsā returned from his Lord with the Tablets, he said to his people, the Children of Israel: "Verily, in these Tablets is the Book of Allah, in which is His command that He has enjoined upon you and His prohibition that He has forbidden you." (27) They said: "And who accepts it on the basis of your word alone? No, by Allah, not until we see Allah openly, until Allah appears to us and says: 'This is My Book, take it!' What is the matter with Him that He does not speak to us as He spoke to you, O Mūsā, and then say: 'This is My Book, take it'?" He said: Then there came a wrath from Allah, and a thunderbolt came upon them that struck them, and they all died. He said: Then Allah brought them back to life after their death, and Mūsā said to them: "Take the Book of Allah." They said: "No." He said: "What has befallen you?" They said: "We died and were then brought back to life again!" (28) He said: "Take the Book of Allah." They said: "No." Then He sent His angels, and the mountain was torn up above them, and it was said to them: "Do you recognize this?" They said: "Yes, this is the Ṭūr." He said: "Take the Book, or else we will cast it down upon you." He said: Then they accepted it with the covenant. And he recited the saying of Allah: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلا اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا until he reached: وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ [Al-Baqarah: 83-85] ("And Allah is not heedless of what you do"). He said: And had they accepted it the first time, they would have accepted it without a covenant. (29)
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ ("And We raised the Ṭūr above you")
Abū Jaʿfar said: As for "al-Ṭūr," it is the mountain in the language of the Arabs. To that belongs the saying of al-ʿAjjāj:
"He drew his two wings close from the mountain and shot forth, the downward swoop of the falcon when the falcon folds its wings." (30)
It has been said: it is the name of a particular mountain. And it has been mentioned that it is the mountain upon which Allah spoke confidentially to Mūsā. And it has been said: it is, among the mountains, those that bring forth vegetation, as opposed to those that bring forth nothing. (31)
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* Mention of those who said: it is the mountain, whatever it may be:
1116 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: Mūsā commanded his people to enter the gate kneeling and to say: حِطَّةٌ ("forgiveness"). And the gate was lowered for them so that they would kneel, but they did not kneel and entered backwards, and they said "ḥinṭa" (grain). Then the mountain was torn up above them — he says: He pulled the root of the mountain out of the earth and raised it above them like a canopy — and "al-Ṭūr" in Syriac is the mountain — as an intimidation, or out of fear, Abū ʿĀṣim doubted. Then they entered kneeling out of fear, with their eyes fixed on the mountain. It is the mountain to which his Lord manifested Himself. (32)
1117 - And al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: The mountain was raised above them like a cloud, and it was said to them: "You shall indeed believe, or else it will fall down upon you." Then they believed. And the mountain in Syriac is: "al-Ṭūr."
1118 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying (And when We accepted your covenant and We raised the Ṭūr above you), he said: The Ṭūr is the mountain; they were at its foot, and it was raised above them, above their heads, and He said: "You shall indeed accept My command, or else I will cast it upon you."
1119 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: (And We raised the Ṭūr above you), he said: The Ṭūr is the mountain. Allah tore it up and raised it above them, and He said: خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ ("Take what We have given you with strength"). Then they acknowledged that.
1120 - And al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ādam related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya: (And We raised the Ṭūr above you), he said: The mountain was raised above them to intimidate them thereby.
1121 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of al-Naḍr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: The Ṭūr is the mountain.
1122 - And Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: When Allah said to them: "Enter the gate kneeling and say: 'forgiveness' (ḥiṭṭa)," and they refused to kneel, Allah commanded the mountain to fall upon them. They looked at it while it already overshadowed them, and they fell down kneeling on one side, and looked with the other eye. Then Allah had mercy upon them and removed it from them. That is His saying: وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ [Al-Aʿrāf: 171] ("And when We tore up the mountain above them as though it were a canopy"), and His saying: (And We raised the Ṭūr above you).
1123 - And Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: The mountain in Syriac is al-Ṭūr.
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And others said: "al-Ṭūr" is the name of the mountain upon which Allah spoke confidentially to Mūsā.
* Mention of those who said that:
1124 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: The Ṭūr is the mountain upon which the Tawrāt was sent down — that is, upon Mūsā — and the Children of Israel were beneath it. Ibn Jurayj said: And ʿAṭāʾ said to me: The mountain was raised above the Children of Israel, and He said: "You shall indeed believe in it, or else it will fall down upon you." That is His saying: كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ ("as though it were a canopy").
* * *
And others said: The Ṭūr is, among the mountains, specifically those that bring forth vegetation.
* Mention of those who said that:
1125 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Minjāb, saying: Bishr ibn ʿUmāra related to us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying (the Ṭūr), he said: The Ṭūr is, among the mountains, those that bring forth vegetation; and that which brings forth no vegetation is not a Ṭūr.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted — exalted is His mention: خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ ("Take what We have given you with strength")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The linguists have differed concerning the explanation of this. Some of the grammarians of Basra said: This belongs to that in which the indication of the uttered portion suffices without what has been omitted from mention. For the meaning of the words is: And We raised the Ṭūr above you, and We said to you: "Take what We have given you with strength, or else we will cast it down upon you."
And some of the grammarians of Kūfa said: The accepting of the covenant is a saying (qawl), so the clause does not require an implied presumed saying, such that it would consist of two sayings. Rather, it ought to be that everything which diverges from the saying, among the words that have the meaning of a saying, is accompanied by "an," as Allah — exalted is His praise — has said: إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ أَنْ أَنْذِرْ قَوْمَكَ [Nūḥ: 1] ("Verily, We sent Nūḥ to his people: warn your people"). He said: And it is permissible for "an" to be omitted.
The correct view concerning this, in our opinion, is: that every saying that is uttered — by which the intended meaning is understood — contains in it the sufficiency without anything else.
And by His saying (Take what We have given you) He means: what We have enjoined upon you in the Tawrāt.
And the origin of "al-ītāʾ" is "al-iʿṭāʾ" (the giving). (33)
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And by His saying (with strength) He means: with exertion in fulfilling what He has enjoined upon you therein and made obligatory upon you, as in:
1126 - It was related to me on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (Take what We have given you with strength). He said: That you act according to what is in it.
1127 - And al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
1128 - And al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ādam related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya: (Take what We have given you with strength), he said: with obedience.
1129 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: (Take what We have given you with strength). He said: "Al-quwwa" (the strength) is the exertion, "or else I will cast it down upon you." He said: Then they acknowledged that: that they would accept what was given to them with strength.
1130 - Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (with strength), that is: with exertion and diligence.
1131 - And Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said — and I asked him about the saying of Allah: (Take what We have given you with strength) — he said: Take the Book that Mūsā brought, which confirms and verifies.
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The explanation of the verse is thus: Take what We have imposed upon you as obligations in Our Book, accept it, and act according to it with exertion in carrying it out, without shortcoming and without sluggishness. That is the meaning of their accepting it "with strength," with exertion.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted — exalted is His mention: وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (63) ("And remember what is in it, that you may become God-fearing")
Abū Jaʿfar said: He means: And remember what is in what We have given you of Our Book of promise and stern threat, encouragement and intimidation; so recite it, take a lesson from it, and ponder it. When you do that, it is so that you may be God-fearing and fear My punishment (34) on account of your persistence in your error, so that you would turn to My obedience and withdraw from that in which you are engaged of disobedience toward Me. As in:
1132 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (that you may become God-fearing), he said: that you withdraw from that in which you are engaged.
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And what Allah gave them, that is the Tawrāt. As in:
1133 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ādam related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya: (And remember what is in it), he says: Remember what is in the Tawrāt.
1134 - As it was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying: (And remember what is in it), he says: They were commanded with what is in the Tawrāt.
1135 - And Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I asked Ibn Zayd about the saying of Allah: (And remember what is in it), he said: Act according to what is in it, with obedience to Allah and sincerity. (35) He said: And he said: Remember what is in it, do not forget it and do not be heedless of it.
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Footnotes:
(26) See what was said earlier in 1:414, concerning the saying of the Exalted: "after his covenant" [Surah Al-Baqarah: 27].
(27) In the printed edition: "and His command that He has enjoined upon you"; the correction is taken from its narration under number 959.
(28) In number 959: "They said: 'There befell us that we died...'"
(29) Narration number 1115 — most of it has already been given under number 959.
(30) His dīwān: 17. It is from an excellent qaṣīda in which he mentions the glorious deeds of ʿUmar ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Maʿmar al-Taymī, who held the great administrative offices, made many conquests, and fought against the Khawārij. The pronoun in his saying "dānā" (he drew close) refers to something that comes later, namely "the falcon" mentioned in the following verse. For before that he mentioned ʿUmar ibn ʿUbayd Allāh and his troops around him:
"Around Ibn Gharrāʾ, a strong steed, when he takes vengeance he escapes, and when he seeks retribution for the rancor, he is able. When the noble ones vie for precedence, he vies, he drew his two wings close..."
He means: "he vied, swooping down like the downward swoop of the falcon from the mountain, he drew his two wings close... and shot forth," placing fore and aft. It is among the excellent forms of fronting and postponing (taqdīm wa-taʾkhīr). His saying "dānā" means: he folded his two wings together, drew them close and narrowed the space between them, in preparation for swooping down from the summit of the mountain. And "marra": he sped forth with great speed. And his saying "taqaḍḍā": the original form is "taqaḍḍaḍa," in which the final ḍād was changed into a yāʾ, because three ḍāds were felt to be heavy, as they did with "ẓanna" and "taẓannā" according to the transformation. And "taqaḍḍaḍa al-ṭāʾir": the bird swooped down in its flight intending to alight. And "al-bāzī": a kind of falcon, powerful. And "kasara al-ṭāʾir janāḥayhi" (the bird folded its wings): he drew them in somewhat — that is, a little — intending to descend.
(31) This is a statement that I have not found in the linguistic works under this entry.
(32) Narration number 1116 — a part of it has already been given under number 1027.
(33) See what was said earlier in 1:574.
(34) See what was given earlier in the explanation of "laʿalla" in the meaning of "kay" (so that), 1:364-365, and in this volume 2:68.
(35) In the printed edition: "with obedience to Allah and sincerity" — an error.
