Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:83
And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of Israel, [enjoining upon them], "Do not worship except Allah; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give zakah." Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you were refusing.
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 مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلا اللَّهَ
(And when We made the covenant [mīthāq] with the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah)
Abū Jaʿfar said: We have already — in the preceding part of this book of ours — demonstrated that the word "al-mīthāq" is of the form "mifʿāl," derived from "al-tawaththuq bi-l-yamīn" (binding oneself by means of an oath) and similar matters that confirm a statement. The meaning of the words is then: And remember also, O community of the Children of Israel, when We made your covenant that you would worship none but Allah, as in:
1447 – Ibn Ḥumayd related it to me, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to me, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel) — that is: your covenant — (you shall worship none but Allah).
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The reciters differ over the recitation of His words (lā taʿbudūna). Some of them recite it with the tāʾ, and some recite it with the yāʾ, and the meaning thereof is in both cases one and the same. Recitation with the yāʾ and with the tāʾ is permissible, and that one says "lā taʿbudūna" (you shall not worship) and "lā yaʿbudūna" (they shall not worship), they being absent ones (ghuyab), because the making of the covenant has the meaning of administering an oath. As you say: "I made your brother swear that he would surely rise" — whereby you report about him as one reports about an absent person, on account of his absence from you. And you say: "I made him swear that you would surely rise" — whereby you report about him as one reports about an addressed person, because you addressed him thereby — and that is correct and permissible. So it is also with His words: (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah) and (they shall worship none but Allah). Whoever recites this with the tāʾ does so in the meaning of address, since the address had taken place thereby. And whoever recites it with the yāʾ does so because at the time of the report concerning them they were not the ones addressed thereby.
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As for the nominative (rafʿ) of "lā taʿbudūna": it is caused by the tāʾ that is in "taʿbudūna," and it is not placed in the accusative (naṣb) by means of the particle "an," which would be suitable to be inserted with (lā taʿbudūna illā Allāh). For when that particle is suitable to be inserted with a verb, but is omitted and not inserted, then the correct form of the words is the nominative, as the Exalted said: قُلْ أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَأْمُرُونِّي أَعْبُدُ أَيُّهَا الْجَاهِلُونَ [Al-Zumar: 64] (Say: "Do you then command me to worship other than Allah, O you ignorant ones?"), where He placed "aʿbudu" in the nominative when "an" was not inserted there — with the alif that conveys the meaning of the future tense. And as the poet said:
"Ah, you who reproach me for attending the battle and for tasting the pleasures — can you then make me immortal?"
He placed "aḥḍuru" in the nominative, even though it was suitable to insert "an" there — when it was omitted, with the alif that conveys the meaning of the future tense.
The omission of "an" from His words (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: you shall not worship) was permissible on account of the indication that is evident from the rest of the wording, so that one — through the indication of what is manifest — could dispense with that particle.
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Some of the grammarians of Basra said: the meaning of His words (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah) is a quotation (ḥikāya), as if you said: "We made them swear: you shall not worship," that is: We said to them: "By Allah, you shall not worship" — and they said: "By Allah, we shall not worship." What they have said about it is, in meaning, close to the meaning of the statement that we have made about it.
In accordance with what we have said about His words (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah), the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have interpreted it.
* Mention of who said that:
1448 – 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: He took their covenants that they would be sincerely devoted to Him and that they would worship none other than Him.
1449 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar informed us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His words (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah), he said: We took their covenant that they would be sincerely devoted to Allah and would worship none other than Him.
1450 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: (And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: you shall worship none but Allah), he said: The covenant that was imposed upon them in [the sūra of] al-Māʾida.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا
(and good treatment toward the parents)
Abū Jaʿfar said: His words, exalted is His praise: (and good treatment toward the parents) are conjoined (ʿaṭf) to the place of the omitted "an" in لا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلا اللَّهَ. The meaning of the words is thus: And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel that you would worship none but Allah and that you would do good toward the parents. He placed لا تَعْبُدُونَ in the nominative because "an" was omitted, and then conjoined "bi-l-wālidayn" to the place thereof, as the poet said:
"O Muʿāwiya, we are men — so be gentle; for we are neither mountains nor iron."
He placed "al-ḥadīd" (the iron) in the accusative on account of its conjunction to the place of "al-jibāl" (the mountains), for had there been no preposition "bāʾ" with genitive effect attached to it, it would have stood in the accusative; he thus conjoined "al-ḥadīd" to the meaning of "al-jibāl," not to its literal form. So it is also with what I have described concerning His words (and good treatment toward the parents).
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As for "al-iḥsān": it stands in the accusative on account of an implicit verb whose meaning is conveyed by His words (and toward the parents), since its meaning is understood. The meaning of the words would — were the omitted made manifest — read: And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel that you would worship none but Allah, and that you would do good toward the parents with good treatment. One thus sufficed with His words (and toward the parents) instead of saying: "and that you would do good toward the parents with good treatment," since it was understood that this is its meaning from what is manifest of the words.
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Some of the linguists have claimed concerning it that its meaning is: "and toward the parents, so do good with good treatment," whereby they made the "bāʾ" that is in "al-wālidayn" belong to "al-iḥsān," as preceding it.
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Others said: Its meaning is rather: "that you worship none but Allah, and do good toward the parents with good treatment." They claimed that the "bāʾ" that is in "al-wālidayn" belongs to the omitted [verb] — I mean "do good" — whereby they made it into two separate statements. But the words are only transferred to what they claim concerning it when there is no possibility of regarding the words as one coherent whole. Yet so long as there exists for the words an intelligible possibility of taking them as one coherent whole, there is no reason to transfer them into two separate statements. And a second [objection]: if it were as they say, it would have been said "wa-ilā al-wālidayn iḥsānan" (and toward the parents good treatment), for one only says: "so-and-so did good toward (ilā) his parents," and one does not say "he did good with (bi) his parents," except in a strained manner of speech.
But the correct statement concerning it is what we have said, namely: And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel concerning this-and-that, and good treatment toward the parents — in accordance with what we have set forth earlier. Then "al-iḥsān" is a verbal noun (maṣdar) that flows from the import of the words, not from their literal wording, as we have set forth previously in comparable cases.
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If someone were to say: And what is that "good treatment" concerning which the covenant was made with them, toward the parents? Then it is answered: It is comparable to what Allah has prescribed for our community toward them, namely: the performance of what is proper toward them, the kindly words, the lowering of the wing of humility out of mercy toward them, the tenderness toward them, the compassion with them, the supplication for good for them, and similar deeds that Allah has commended to His servants to perform toward them.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ
(and the near kinsman, and the orphans, and the needy)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He means by His words (and the near kinsman): and concerning the near kinsman — that they maintain ties with their blood relations and kinsfolk.
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"Al-qurbā" is a verbal noun according to the pattern "fuʿlā," derived from your saying "qarubat minnī raḥimu fulān qarābatan wa-qurbā wa-qurban," all in one and the same meaning [the kinship of so-and-so came near to me].
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As for "al-yatāmā" (the orphans): it is the plural of "yatīm" (orphan), like "asīr" (captive) and "asārā" (captives). Under "al-yatāmā" fall both the male and the female orphans.
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The meaning thereof is: And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel that you would worship none but Allah alone, to the exclusion of all other rivals beside Him; and good treatment toward the parents; and toward the near kinsman: that you maintain the ties of kinship with him and acknowledge his right; and toward the orphans: that you show affection over them through mercy and compassion; and toward the needy: that you give them the rights that Allah has attached to your possessions.
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"Al-miskīn" (the needy one) is the one who shows himself submissive and abased on account of poverty and want; it is the form "mifʿīl" derived from "al-maskana." And "al-maskana" is the abasement of want and poverty.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا
(and speak to people in a good manner)
Abū Jaʿfar said: If someone were to say: How is it that it is said (and speak to people in a good manner), whereby the words are expressed as a command while no command preceded, but the words rather run from the beginning of the verse in the form of a report (khabar)? Then it is answered: The words, even though they run at the beginning of the verse in the form of a report, nonetheless belong to that in which address with command and prohibition is fitting in that place. For if, in place of لا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلا اللَّهَ, there had stood "lā taʿbudū illā Allāh" (worship none but Allah) — in the form of a prohibition from Allah to them against worshipping other than Him — that would have been right and correct. And it is mentioned that it is indeed so in the recitation of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb. That would have been fitting and permissible — had it been recited so — because the making of the covenant is a statement.
The meaning of the words would — had it been recited so — read: And when We said to the Children of Israel: "Worship none but Allah," as the Exalted said in another place: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ [Al-Baqara: 63] (And when We made your covenant and raised the mount [al-Ṭūr] above you: "Take what We have given you with strength"). And since it was fitting to place command and prohibition in the place of لا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلا اللَّهَ, He conjoined His words (and speak to people in a good manner) to the place of لا تَعْبُدُونَ, even though the meaning of each of the two differs from that of the other, on account of what we have described concerning the permissibility of placing address with command and prohibition in the place of لا تَعْبُدُونَ. It is thus as if it were said: And when We made the covenant with the Children of Israel: "Worship none but Allah, and speak to people in a good manner." And this is comparable to what we have set forth earlier: that the Arabs sometimes begin the words in the form of a report about an absent one, in the place of a quotation of that about which they report, and then return to the report in the form of an address; and sometimes they begin in the form of an address, and then return to reporting in the form of a report about an absent one, on account of the two meanings that are contained in the quotation, as the poet said:
"Do us harm or do us good — there is with us no reproach, and you are not scorned, even though you turn away in aversion."
He means "taqallayti" (you turned away in aversion).
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As for "al-ḥusn": the reciters differ over its recitation. Most of the reciters of Kūfa, with the exception of ʿĀṣim, recite it (wa-qūlū li-l-nāsi ḥasanan) with fatḥa on the ḥāʾ and the sīn. And most of the reciters of Medina recite it (ḥusnan) with ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and a sukūn on the sīn. And it is transmitted from some of the reciters that he recited: "wa-qūlū li-l-nāsi ḥusnā" according to the pattern "fuʿlā."
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The linguists differ over the distinction between the meaning of His words "ḥusnan" and "ḥasanan." Some of the Basrans said: it is in one of two ways: either by "al-ḥasan" is meant "al-ḥusn," and both are linguistic forms, as one says "al-bukhl" and "al-bakhal" (stinginess), or "al-ḥusn" is made into "al-ḥasan" by way of comparison. That is because "al-ḥusn" is a verbal noun, and "al-ḥasan" the beautiful thing itself. It is then like your saying "you are nothing but eating and drinking," and as the poet said:
"And many a cavalry troop approached them with riders; the greeting between them was a painful blow."
He made the "greeting" into a blow.
Another said: Rather "al-ḥusn" is the general designation that encompasses all the meanings of the good, while "al-ḥasan" is a portion of the meanings of "al-ḥusn." He said: For this reason the Exalted said, when He commended concerning the parents: وَوَصَّيْنَا الإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا [Al-ʿAnkabūt: 8] (And We have commended to man concerning his parents the good [ḥusnan]), by which He means that He commended to him concerning the two of them all the meanings of the good, and concerning the rest of the people He commanded a portion of that which He commanded him concerning his parents, and for this reason He said (and speak to people in a good manner), by which He means a portion of the meanings of "al-ḥusn."
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Abū Jaʿfar said: What this speaker said about the meaning of "al-ḥusn" with ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and sukūn on the sīn is not far removed from the correct, and that it is a designation for the kind after which it is so named. As for "al-ḥasan": that is a quality that belongs to that which is described by it, and that applies to something specific. If the matter is so, then the correct recitation is in His words (and speak to people in a good manner [ḥasanan]), because the people in this covenant, in which it was said to them "and speak to people," were only commanded to employ the good of speech, to the exclusion of the remaining meanings of the good that do not come about through speech. And that is a feature of a specific meaning of "al-ḥusn," namely speech. For this reason I have preferred its recitation with fatḥa on the ḥāʾ and the sīn over its recitation with ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and sukūn on the sīn.
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As for the one who recited it as (wa-qūlū li-l-nāsi ḥusnā): he has thereby, with his recitation, contradicted the recitation of the people of Islam. And as proof of the incorrectness of the recitation in this way, its deviation from the recitation of the people of Islam already suffices, even were there no other proof of its incorrectness. How then, while it also deviates therein from what is known of the speech of the Arabs? That is because the Arabs hardly use the patterns "fuʿlā" and "afʿal" except with the alif-lām [definite article] or in a genitive construction. One does not say "there came to me a most beautiful (aḥsan)" until one says "al-aḥsan"; and one does not say "more beautiful (ajmal)" until one says "al-ajmal." That is because "al-afʿal" and "al-fuʿlā" hardly occur as a quality except for something known and pointed out, as you say: "rather your brother is the most beautiful (al-aḥsan)" and "rather your sister is the most beautiful (al-ḥusnā)." And it is not permissible to say "a woman who is most beautiful (ḥusnā)" and "a man who is most beautiful (aḥsan)."
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As for the explanation of the good speech that Allah commanded to those of the Children of Israel whose case is described in this verse, namely that they speak it to the people — that is what:
1451 – Abū Kurayb related it to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Bishr ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words (and speak to people in a good manner): He commanded them also, after this conduct, that they should speak to the people in a good manner: that they should command him who did not utter "lā ilāha illā Allāh" (there is no god but Allah) and turned away from it [to utter it], until he would utter it as they uttered it, for that is a drawing-near to Allah, exalted is His praise. And al-Ḥasan likewise said: the gentleness of the word belongs to the good, fair manners and the noble character, and it is something with which Allah is pleased and which He loves.
1452 – 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 speak to people in a good manner), he said: speak to the people in a proper manner (maʿrūfan).
1453 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: (and speak to people in a good manner), he said: sincerity concerning the matter of Muḥammad ﷺ.
1454 – And it was related to me on the authority of Yazīd ibn Hārūn, saying: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say concerning His words (and speak to people in a good manner), he said: Command them the proper and forbid them the reprehensible.
1455 – Hārūn ibn Idrīs al-Aṣamm related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān related to us, saying: I asked ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ about the saying of Allah, exalted is His praise: (and speak to people in a good manner), he said: Whoever of the people you meet, speak to him in a good manner of the word. He said: And I asked Abū Jaʿfar, and he said something similar.
1456 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik informed us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, concerning His words (and speak to people in a good manner), he said: to all people.
1457 – Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, something similar.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ
(and establish the prayer)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He means by His words (and establish the prayer [ṣalāh]): perform it with the rights that you are obligated in it, as in:
1458 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Bishr ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, he said: (and establish the prayer), this, and the "establishing of the prayer" is the complete execution of the bowing (rukūʿ), the prostration (sujūd), the recitation and the humble submission (khushūʿ), and the directing of oneself to it therein.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ
(and give the obligatory alms)
Abū Jaʿfar said: We have already set forth previously the meaning of "al-zakāh" and its origin.
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As for the zakāh that Allah had commanded to the Children of Israel, whose case is mentioned in this verse, that is what:
1459 – Abū Kurayb related it to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Bishr ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (and give the obligatory alms), he said: the giving of the zakāh is what Allah had imposed upon them as zakāh in their possessions, and it was for them a usage (sunna) other than the usage of Muḥammad ﷺ. The zakāh of their possessions was an offering upon which a fire descended that carried it away, and that signified its acceptance. And the one with whom the fire did not do that was not accepted, and that was the one who brought an offering from an acquisition that was not permitted: from injustice or violence, or which he obtained in a manner other than what Allah had commanded him and set forth.
1460 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (and give the obligatory alms), he means by "the zakāh": obedience to Allah and sincere devotion (ikhlāṣ).
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلا قَلِيلا مِنْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ (83)
(Then you turned away, except for a few of you, and you were averse) (83)
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, exalted is His praise, about the Jews of the Children of Israel, that they broke His covenant and violated His pact, after Allah had taken their covenant concerning fulfilling toward Him: that they would worship none other than Him, that they would do good toward the fathers and the mothers, that they would maintain the ties of kinship, that they would show affection over the orphans, that they would render the rights of the people in need to them, that they would command Allah's servants what Allah had commanded them and urge them to His obedience, that they would establish the prayer with its limits and obligations, and that they would give the zakāh of their possessions — but they transgressed His command in all of this, and turned away from it in aversion, except those whom Allah preserved among them, so that they fulfilled their covenant and pact toward Allah, as in:
1461 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Bishr ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: When Allah, Mighty and Exalted, had prescribed for them — that is: for those whose case Allah has described in His book among the Children of Israel — this, concerning which He mentioned that He had taken their covenant, they turned away from it out of loathing and aversion to it, and sought what was lighter for them, except for a few of them, and those are the ones whom Allah excepted, when He said: (Then you turned away), He says: you turned away from My obedience, (except for a few of you), he said: the few whom I have chosen for My obedience, and My punishment shall come down upon whoever turned away and turned away from it; He says: it abandoned it out of disdain for it.
1462 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to me, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, or on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (Then you turned away, except for a few of you, and you were averse), that is: you abandoned all of this.
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Some said: Allah, exalted is His praise, meant by His words (and you were averse) the Jews who lived in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and by the rest of the verse He meant their forefathers. It is as if he held that the meaning of the words is: (Then you turned away, except for a few of you): then your forefathers turned away, except for a few of them, but He made it into an address directed to the remnants of their progeny — in accordance with what we have mentioned earlier — and then said: and you, O community of their remnants, are likewise averse to the covenant that was made with you concerning it, and you abandon it as your predecessors abandoned it.
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Others said: Rather His saying (Then you turned away, except for a few of you, and you were averse) is an address directed to those of the Jews of the Children of Israel who were in the midst of the place to which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had emigrated, and a rebuke of them on account of their violation of the covenant that was imposed upon them in the Torah, their alteration of Allah's command, and their committing of His acts of disobedience.
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