63.
" and (remember) when we made a covenant with you, and raised the
tur
(mountain) above you; (saying): ` hold you fast that which
we
have given you with the strength, and remember all
that
is therein (to do accordingly);
haply
you shall guard yourselves (against evil)'."
64.
" thereafter, you turned back, and had it not been for the grace and
mercy
of allah on you, you had certainly been among the losers."
commentary :
hold the signs of allah firmly
!
in these verses, the subject
of taking a covenant from the
children of israel for the practicing
of the contents of the turah and,
then, breaching that covenant,
is pointed out. at first it says:
" and (remember) when we made
a covenant with you, and raised the
tur (mountain) above you; ..."
"... (saying): ` hold you fast
that which we have given you
with the strength, ..."
"...and remember all that is
therein (to do accordingly); haply you
shall guard yourselves (against
evil)'."
*
* * *
but you people neglected your
covenant.
0" thereafter, you turned back,
..."
"...and had it not been for
the grace and mercy of allah on you, you
had certainly been among the
losers. "
the objective of the covenant,
here, is the same that has been
mentioned in verse 40 of the
current sura and what is in verse 83 and
84, which will be discussed
later. the items of that covenant are:
worshipping only allah; treating
parents, relations, orphans, and those
in need with kindness; speaking
to and treating people fairly; attending
and being steadfast in ritual
prayers, paying alms, avoiding shedding
blood, the like of which had
been mentioned in the turah, too.
sura al-ma'idah, no. 5, verse
12, also denotes that allah
had taken a covenant from the
children of israel to believe in all of the
divine prophets and help them,
and practice regular charity in the way
of allah. then, at the end of
the same verse, allah promises that if
they keep this covenant and
actually do it, they will be allowed to abide
in paradise.
*
* * *
how was the mountain raised over
the israelites' heads ?
the leading famous commentator,
the late tabarsi, has narrated
from ` abuzeyd ' that when moses
(a.s.) returned from mount sinai
and brought the turah with him,
he told his people that he had brought
a divine book consisting of
some religious instructions and rules about
lawful and unlawful things.
he told them to take the instructions that
allah had ordained and practically
observe them in their lives. 1
but the jews, with the excuse
that he (a.s.) had brought them
difficult duties to perform,
disobeyed and exceeded the limits. the lord
commanded the angels to raise
a great big rock from tur mountain
above them.
at that moment moses (a.s.)
announced that if they promised to
perform the orders of allah
and repented for their disobedience, that
punishment would be removed
from over them, else they would be
destroyed.
the jews, who expected that
the mountain would fall on them at
any moment, submitted and accepted
the turah and prostrated for
allah. then, finally, that chastisement
was warded off because of
their repentance.
this very occurrence, with a
little difference, is mentioned in verse
93 of the current sura; and
in sura an-nisa', no. 4, verse 104; and
in sura al-a`raf, no. 7, verse
171.
it is necessary to note, here,
that as for the suspending mountain
and as to how it could stand
high above as a covering overhead for the
israelites, some commentators
believe that it was by the command of
allah that tur mount was shaken
and taken up from its place and,
then,suspended above them as
a canopy. 2 a
more detailed explanation
will be referred to when commenting
on sura al-'a`raf, no. 7, verse
171.
the above mentioned event as
described in the qur'an was quite
known by the jews, who had these
original statements in the turah
about it with them. besides
that, this event is also recorded in talmud
aboda sara. 1: 2 which says:
` i will cover you with the mountain like a
roof '. talmud.
1 majma`-ul-bayan,
vol. 1, p. 128
2 majma'-ul-bayan,
vol. 1, p. 128 |
