Al-Kashshaf on Al-Baqarah 2:64

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:64

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ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ

Then you turned away after that. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have been among the losers.

And when We took your covenant By acting upon what is in the Torah.

And We raised the Mount above you Until you accepted and gave the covenant. This is because when Moses (peace be upon him) brought them the tablets, they saw the heavy burdens and difficult obligations within them. They found them too great and refused to accept them. So, God commanded Gabriel to uproot the Mount from its base and raise it, shading them from above. Moses said to them, "If you accept, [it will be removed], otherwise I will let it fall upon you." Thus, they accepted.

Take Implied is the command: "Saying: Take..."

What We have given you From the Book.

With strength With diligence and determination.

And remember what is in it Preserve what is in the Book, study it, do not forget it, and do not be heedless of it.

That you might become righteous In the hope that you will become righteous, or it means: "We said 'Take and remember' with the intention that you might become righteous."

Then you turned away Then you turned away from the covenant and from fulfilling it.

If not for the favor of God upon you By granting you the success to repent, you would have been among the losers.

The Sabbath A verbal noun derived from "the Jews observed the Sabbath," meaning they venerated the day of Saturday. A group of them transgressed therein, meaning they exceeded the limits set for them regarding devotion to worship and honoring the day, and instead occupied themselves with fishing.

God tested them: no fish remained in the sea except that it would surface on the Sabbath. When the day passed, they would disperse, as He said: "Their fish would come to them on the day of their Sabbath, appearing openly, and the day they did not observe the Sabbath, they would not come to them. Thus did We test them" (Al-A'raf: 163). They dug basins by the sea and channeled streams toward them; the fish would enter, and they would catch them on Sunday. This trapping in the basins was their transgression.

Apes, despised Two predicates: meaning, "Be those who combine both apishness and khusu’," which is abasement and expulsion.

And We made it Meaning the transformation.

A deterrent An example that deters—meaning it prevents—the one who takes heed from it. From this comes the word nikl (shackle).

For what was before it For what preceded it.

And what was after it And what followed it of nations and generations, because their transformation was mentioned in the books of the ancients, so they took heed of it, as did the later ones who heard of it. It is also said that "what was before it" refers to the villages and nations present at that time. Others say it means a deterrent punishment for the sins they committed before it and those that followed.

And a lesson for the righteous For those among the righteous of their people who forbade them from the transgression, or for every righteous person who hears of it.

Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:63-66

Al-Kashshaf

**And when We took your covenant** By acting upon what is in the Torah.

**Take** Implied is the command: "Saying: Take..."

**What We have given you** From the Book.

**With strength** With diligence and determination.

**And remember what is in it** Preserve what is in the Book, study it, do not forget it, and do not be heedless of it.

**That you might become righteous** In the hope that you will become righteous, or it means: "We said 'Take and remember' with the intention that you might become righteous."

**Then you turned away** Then you turned away from the covenant and from fulfilling it.

**If not for the favor of God upon you** By granting you the success to repent, you would have been among the losers.

**Apes, despised** Two predicates: meaning, "Be those who combine both apishness and *khusu’*," which is abasement and expulsion.

**And We made it** Meaning the transformation.

**A deterrent** An example that deters—meaning it prevents—the one who takes heed from it. From this comes the word *nikl* (shackle).

**For what was before it** For what preceded it.

**And a lesson for the righteous** For those among the righteous of their people who forbade them from the transgression, or for every righteous person who hears of it.