وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَهُمُ ٱلطُّورَ بِمِيثَـٰقِهِمْ وَقُلْنَا لَهُمُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ لَا تَعْدُوا۟ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ وَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُم مِّيثَـٰقًا غَلِيظًا 154
Translations
And We raised over them the mount for [refusal of] their covenant; and We said to them, "Enter the gate bowing humbly"; and We said to them, "Do not transgress on the sabbath"; and We took from them a solemn covenant.
Transliteration
Wa-rafaʿnā fawqahumu aṭ-ṭūra bi-mīthāqihim wa-qulnā lahumu dkhulū al-bāba sujjadan wa-qulnā lahum lā taʿdū fī as-sabt wa-akhdhānā minhum mīthāqan ghalīẓan
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah recounts how Allah lifted Mount Tur (Sinai) above the Children of Israel as a sign of the gravity of the covenant (mīthāq) He was making with them, commanding them to enter the gate in prostration and forbidding them from transgressing on the Sabbath. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that this refers to the taking of the Torah and the laws given at Mount Sinai, emphasizing the solemn nature of this covenant through the literal raising of the mountain—interpreted by many as a demonstration of divine power and the binding nature of their obligations.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Medinan surah An-Nisa and is part of a broader passage (4:153-162) discussing the Children of Israel's covenant with Allah and their subsequent transgressions. The context addresses how the Israelites were given clear signs and commands, yet many violated them, particularly regarding the Sabbath laws, providing historical context for the Muslims to reflect upon accountability before Allah.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (3:39:531) mentions the prohibition of work on the Sabbath and references the trials that befell those who violated it. Additionally, traditions regarding the covenant with Bani Isrāʾīl are found in Tafsir sources discussing Allah's direct covenant-taking as recorded in Surah Al-Aʿraf (7:171).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that covenants with Allah are binding and solemn, and that breaking them carries serious consequences; it reminds believers to honor their religious commitments and obey Allah's commands with reverence, as the raising of the mountain symbolizes the weightiness of divine law and human responsibility before the Creator.
Related Ayahs
إِن يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ إِنَـٰثًا وَإِن يَدْعُونَ إِلَّا شَيْطَـٰنًا مَّرِيدًا
They call upon instead of Him none but female [deities], and they [actually] call upon none but a rebellious Satan,
فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍۭ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَىٰ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ شَهِيدًا
So how [will it be] when We bring from every nation a witness and We bring you, [O Muḥammad], against these [people] as a witness?
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًا كَثِيرًا
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān? If it had been from [any] other than Allāh, they would have found within it much contradiction.
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍۭ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُم مِّيثَـٰقٌ أَوْ جَآءُوكُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَن يُقَـٰتِلُوكُمْ أَوْ يُقَـٰتِلُوا۟ قَوْمَهُمْ ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَسَلَّطَهُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ فَلَقَـٰتَلُوكُمْ ۚ فَإِنِ ٱعْتَزَلُوكُمْ فَلَمْ يُقَـٰتِلُوكُمْ وَأَلْقَوْا۟ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَمَ فَمَا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سَبِيلًا
Except for those who take refuge with a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty or those who come to you, their hearts strained at [the prospect of] fighting you or fighting their own people. And if Allāh had willed, He could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you. So if they remove themselves from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allāh has not made for you a cause [for fighting] against them.