Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:154

This is in accordance with what is narrated from Qatada: a mountain at the base of which they were positioned. Allah the Exalted raised it and placed it above them as if it were a canopy, and it was about the size of their encampment, a farsakh by a farsakh (league by league). It is not the well-known mountain at Mount Sinai mentioned in al-Bahr. The prepositional phrase is connected to "We raised," and it is permissible for it to be a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for "the mountain," meaning: "We raised the mountain while it was above them."

"By their covenant" Meaning: due to their covenant, so that they would adhere to it. It is narrated that they refused to accept the law of the Torah, so it was raised over them, and they accepted it. Alternatively, it was so that they would fear and not break the covenant; it is narrated that they contemplated breaking it, so the mountain was raised over them, and they became fearful and desisted from the violation. It is said: this is more appropriate regarding His words later: "And We took from them a solemn covenant." Al-Jubba'i claimed that the intention behind the breaking of their covenant was the one taken from them to act upon what was in the Torah, which they then broke by worshipping the Calf. The response to this is that the Torah was only revealed after their worship of the Calf, as mentioned earlier, so this does not hold. Abu Muslim said: Allah the Exalted only raised the mountain over them to provide shade from the sun, as a reward for their obedience and an honor for them. It is not hidden that this contradicts the consensus of the exegetical scholars and has no basis whatsoever.

"And We said to them" This was on the tongue of Joshua, peace be upon him, after the time of the Tih (the Wandering) had passed: "Enter the gate". Qatada said, according to what Ibn al-Mundhir and others narrated from him: "We used to say that it was one of the gates of Jerusalem." It is also said: it was Aelia, or Jericho. It is also said: it is the name of a village. Or, We said to them on the tongue of Moses, peace be upon him, while the mountain was casting shade over them: "Enter the mentioned gate" when you exit the Tih, or the gate of the Tabernacle towards which they used to pray, for they did not exit the Tih during his lifetime, peace be upon him. The apparent meaning is that there is no such restriction.

"Prostrating" Meaning: humble and submissive. From Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—it is narrated: "Bowing." It is also said: "Prostrating on your foreheads in gratitude to Allah the Exalted."

"And We said to them" On the tongue of David, peace be upon him: "Do not transgress"—that is, do not exceed what has been permitted for you, or do not commit injustice by fishing on the Sabbath. It is possible, as the Judge (may Allah illuminate the brightness of his affairs) said, that the intention refers to the tongue of Moses, peace be upon him, when the mountain shaded them, for the Sabbath was legislated then; however, the transgression and the transformation occurred during the time of David, peace be upon him.

Warsh recited from Nafi' la ta‘addū with a fatha on the ‘ayn and a shadda on the dal. It is narrated from Qalun: sometimes a pure sukun on the ‘ayn, and sometimes the masking (ikhfa’) of the fatha of the ‘ayn. As for the first, its origin is ta‘tadu (you transgress), according to His words: "Those of you who transgressed on the Sabbath"; for it indicates that it is from al-i‘tida’ (transgression), which is the ifti‘al form of al-‘udwan. Thus, it was intended to assimilate its ta’ into the dal, so its vowel was moved to the ‘ayn, the ta’ was changed to a dal, and it was assimilated. As for the pure sukun, it is something that grammarians do not uphold, because it combines two quiescent letters in a manner that is not allowed. As for the ikhfa’ (masking) and ikhtilas (quick vowel), it is lighter than that, as it is close to bringing the vowel. Al-A‘mash recited ta‘tadu according to the original form. The origin of ta‘du in the famous reading is ta‘duwa, with two waws: the first is the radical letter of the word, and the second is the pronoun of the subject. The damma was considered heavy on the final radical of the word, so it was deleted, resulting in two quiescent letters meeting. The first—the first waw—was deleted, and the subject pronoun remained.

"And We took from them a solemn covenant" Meaning: a firm and confirmed pledge that they would obey the commands of Allah the Exalted and refrain from His prohibitions. It is said: this is their saying, "We hear and we obey." Its status as a covenant is evident, and its status as "solemn" (ghaliz) is taken from the use of the past tense, or from the linking of obedience to hearing, based on that interpretation. There is a hidden aspect in taking that which was mentioned, which is not difficult to discern. It is narrated that after they accepted what they were charged with from the religion, they gave the covenant that if they intended to turn back from it, Allah the Exalted would punish them with whatever types of torment He willed. If this is authentic, then the gravity of the covenant is clearly manifest. Some claimed that this covenant is the one which Allah the Exalted took from the Prophets—peace and blessings be upon them—to believe in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and to have faith in him, which is mentioned in His words: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], 'Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom...'" Its "solemnity" is in consideration of it being taken from every single prophet—peace be upon them—and each one of them taking it from his nation, so it is a confirmed and repeated covenant. It is not hidden that this is contrary to the apparent meaning dictated by the context.