Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:40

(O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you) This is an address to a specific group of disbelievers contemporary with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, following the general address, the presentation of the proofs of monotheism, prophethood, and the Resurrection, and the reminder of the various kinds of blessings. He—Exalted be He—placed this after the story of Adam because these people, after having been presented with clear evidence and manifest proofs, and having been commanded and forbidden, and urged to follow the unlettered Prophet whom they find written [in their scriptures] with them, manifested opposition to that. Thus, they exited the lofty paradise of faith and descended to the land of nature. The words [of the Quran] were presented to them, but they did not receive them with acceptance, so they missed what they missed. He addressed them with this call to stir them to hear the commands and prohibitions that follow.

(Children/Banu) is the broken plural of ibn (son). It is a broken plural because its singular form changes; hence, the feminine ta is attached to its verb, as in "Banu 'Amir said." It is specific to male children. When annexed in common usage, it includes both males and females, so it carries the meaning of "offspring," which is intended here. Al-Saliquti stated that it is literally for biological sons, as explained in the principles [of jurisprudence], and its use for the general [offspring] is metaphorical. Its final letter is deleted, and there is disagreement regarding whether it is a ya or a waw. Ibn Darastawayh favored the former, considering it derived from al-bina’ (construction), because the son is a branch of the father and built upon him. For this reason, the creation is attributed to its creator; for example, it is said of a poem: "a daughter of thought." In the laws of those before us, this was applied to some creatures as "sons of Allah" in this sense. However, when ignorant, foolish people conceived of it as the meaning of physical birth, it was forbidden until uttering it became disbelief. Al-Akhfash favored the second [that it is a waw], supporting it with the fact that they said al-bunnuwwa (sonship), and that the deletion of a waw is more frequent, as it has been deleted in abu (father) and akh (brother). Al-Jawhari said: Perhaps the first is more correct, as there is no proof in al-bunnuwwa, for they also said al-futuwwa (youth/chivalry), and there is no disagreement that it is from the ya category. The issue of the majority is easy, and in both cases, there is disagreement as to the weight of ibn—is it fi'l or fu'l?

(Israel) is a non-Arabic name. It has been mentioned that it is a compound of ‘I, a name from His names—Exalted be He—and Isra, which means the servant, the elite, the human, or the immigrant. It is a title for our master Jacob, peace be upon him. The Arabs have various ways of pronouncing it. They said: Isra’il with a hamza after the alif and a ya after it, which is the reading of the majority. Isra’iil with two yas after the alif, which is the reading of Abu Ja’far and others. Isra’al with a lam, reported from Warsh. Isra’al with an opened and broken hamza after the ra and a lam. Isra’al with an imala (inclination) of the alif followed by a light lam, and with it there is no imala; this is a narration from Nafi' and the reading of Al-Hasan and others. Isra’iin with a nun instead of the lam, as in his [the poet's] saying: "The people of evil say when we come, this—by the Lord of the House—is Isra’iin."

He—Exalted be He—attributed these addressees to this title to emphasize stirring them to obey Him, for there is in "Israel" what is not in His noble name "Jacob." When you say: "O son of the righteous one, obey Allah," it is more inciting to the addressee than saying: "O son of Zayd, obey," for natures lean toward following the path of the fathers, even if it is not praiseworthy; how much more so when it is? Such [a phrase] is used in the context of encouragement and intimidation, based on the fact that a good deed in itself is good, but [a good deed] from the house of prophethood is better; and a bad deed in itself is bad, but [a bad deed] from the house of prophethood is worse.

(Remember) is an imperative from dhikr, [which can be pronounced] with a kasra or damma on the dhal, both having the same meaning. They occur with the tongue and the heart. Al-Kisa'i said: The kasra is for the tongue and the damma is for the heart; the first is silence and the second is the opposite of forgetfulness. In general, it is either common to both or coined for a general meaning encompassing both, and the former is apparent. The intent behind the command is gratitude for the favor and fulfilling its rights, not merely bringing it to mind or uttering it with the tongue. Attributing the favor to His pronoun—Exalted be He—is to honor it and necessitate that gratitude for it be directed to Him alone. Some investigators said: It implies comprehensiveness, as there is no specific covenant [implied], and because it suits the context of the call to faith; thus, it includes general favors and those specific to the addressees. The benefit of qualifying it as being "upon you" is that from this perspective, it is more inviting to gratitude, for man is envious and jealous. Qatada said: It refers to what He bestowed upon their forefathers of the various kinds of favors mentioned by Him in His Book, and upon them [the addressees], the greatest of which is reaching the time of the noblest of prophets and making them among the nation invited to him. To validate the address in that case, one needs to consider the inclusion of the whole [through the fathers] or to consider the fathers' favors as their own, so as not to combine the literal and the metaphorical as some have imagined.

In the ya of (ni'mati) both sukun and fath are permissible, and the seven reciters are agreed upon the fath. (Bestowed upon you) is connected to (which), and the referent is deleted; the estimation is "bestowed it upon you." The muhmala (s letter without dots) in the intensive form is on the measure of ifta'alu. (Fulfill My covenant, I will fulfill your covenant) It is said: awfa and wafa, both light and intensive, with the same meaning. Ibn Qutayba said: It is said: "I fulfilled the covenant" (awfaytu) and "I fulfilled it" (wafaytu), and "I measured the grain" (awfaytu), but no other. Awfa also comes in the sense of rising, as in his saying: "Perhaps I awfaytu (rose) on a mountain...".

(Covenant) is attributed to everyone who undertakes one of its sides. The apparent meaning here is that the first is attributed to the agent and the second to the object, for He—Exalted be He—commanded them to have faith and do good deeds, and He covenanted with them by establishing the rational and transmitted proofs commanding that, and promised them good rewards for their good deeds. The meaning is: "Fulfill My covenant" through faith and obedience, "I will fulfill your covenant" through good reward. Because of the command being in the middle, the request for fulfillment from them is correct, and what the scholar Al-Taftazani said—that there is no meaning for the non-agent fulfilling the covenant—is refuted. It is said—and this is what is understood from the words of Qatada and Mujahid—that both are attributed to the object, and the meaning is: "Fulfill what you covenanted with Me regarding faith and commitment to obedience, and I will fulfill what I covenanted with you regarding good reward." The detailing of the two covenants is His saying: "And We took a covenant from the Children of Israel..." until His saying: "And I will surely admit you..." This necessitates considering the covenant of the fathers to be the covenant of the sons because of their similarity in religion; otherwise, those addressed by "Fulfill" were not those who covenanted the covenant mentioned in the verse. It is said: If fulfillment is interpreted as completing the covenant, the attribution is to the object in both places; if it is interpreted as observing it, the first is to the agent and the second to the object. There is reflection in this. It is not hidden that fulfillment has a wide breadth. The first of the apparent ranks from us is uttering the two testimonies, and from Him, it is the protection of life and wealth. The last of them from us is passing away even from the state of passing away, and from Him, it is adorning with the lights of attributes and names. Thus, the reports narrated—with differences in their chains of transmission, in terms of authenticity and weakness—in explaining the fulfillment of the two covenants, when viewed through the intermediate ranks—which are, by my life, numerous—one may say: The first rank from us is the unification of actions, the middle is the unification of attributes, and the last is the unification of the Essence. From Him is what He pours upon the wayfarer in every rank, from the knowledge and morals that such a rank requires. Al-Zuhri recited (awfu) with shadda. If it agrees with the simple form, that is it; but if intensity and the inclination of the heart toward Him are intended, it is a sign of His great generosity and kindness, as He informed—and He is the Truthful One—that He gives much in return for little, and He explicitly stated this in His saying: "Whoever comes with a good deed, he shall have ten like it."

The jussive mood of the verb is due to its occurrence as a response to the imperative, and the jussive is either by it [the imperative] itself or by an implied condition—this is the choice of Al-Farisi and the text of Sibawayh. (And Me, then fear Me) Rahba is fear in an absolute sense. It is said: [it is fear] with precaution; by this, it differs from ittiqā’ (piety/guarding), because ittiqā’ involves caution. Therefore, the first is for the commoners and the second for the leaders. The most likely in terms of usage is that ittiqā’ is to guard against what is feared and to place oneself under protection from it, while rahba is the fear itself. In commanding it, there is a severe warning, and this is not for the purpose of threatening or intimidation, as in "Do what you wish," as some have imagined, for this is desired [by Allah] and that is not, as is not hidden. (And Me) is a separate pronoun whose place is in the accusative because of an implied verb explained by the stated one. The fa is for some, a conditional-response particle, shifted from the omitted condition to its explainer so it may be a sign of the estimated condition. It is possible that it is an explanatory particle for the omitted conditional fa along with the result. Whoever calls it a conditional-response particle has been expansive. It is not permissible for it to be a conjunction, lest two conjunctions meet. The author of Al-Miftah chose that it is for conjunction with the omitted verb. If temporal sequence is intended, it yields a request for the continuity of fear at all times without interval. If rank is intended, its meaning is a request for ascending from one fear to a higher fear. This is not contradicted by its meeting with the waw of conjunction, for instance, because the waw is for joining the omitted verb to what precedes it, and this fa is for joining the stated verb to the omitted one. The fact that "then fear Me" is an explainer of the omitted one does not require it to be identical to it in all respects, nor does it prevent it from having a meaning other than explanation, such that it would not be valid to make it a conjunction. Some of the later scholars deemed this excellent, for it contains a subtle meaning missing from the conditional-response interpretation. Some said, like the intermediate view on the issue: It is a conjunction by origin, and after the deletion, it was shifted and made a conditional-response particle. In any case, the noble verse is more emphatic in indicating exclusivity than "You alone we worship." Among the aspects of emphasis are: the prefixing of the separate pronoun, the suffixing of the attached one, the fa which necessitates it being joined to it, one of them being apparent and the other hidden—its estimation is "Me alone fear"—and what is in that of repeating the fear, and the meaning of the condition by the indication of the fa. The meaning is: If you are characterized by fear, then reserve that fear for Me. The object of the fear was deleted for generality, meaning: "Fear Me in all that you do and leave." It is said: "Fear Me regarding breaking the covenant," and perhaps this exclusivity is derived from the mention of the command to fear along with it. Furthermore, fear is of two types: fear of punishment, which is the lot of the people of the exterior, and fear of awe, which is the lot of the people of the heart. What is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—that the meaning is "Fear Me, lest I send down upon you what I sent down upon those before you from among your forefathers, of the punishments you have known, such as transformation and others," is apparent in the category of the people of the exterior, and it is appropriate for the condition of those addressed who know an exterior of the life of this world while they are heedless of the Hereafter. The ya of the pronoun in arhabun was deleted because it is a separator. Ibn Abi Ishaq recited it with the ya based on the original.