The Cow — Verse 122
2:122 · al-Baqarah
Verse display
یَـٰبَنِیۤ إِسۡرَ ٰۤءِیلَ ٱذۡكُرُوا۟ نِعۡمَتِیَ ٱلَّتِیۤ أَنۡعَمۡتُ عَلَیۡكُمۡ وَأَنِّی فَضَّلۡتُكُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِینَ ١٢٢
yābanī is'rāīla udh'kurū niʿ'matiya allatī anʿamtu ʿalaykum wa-annī faḍḍaltukum ʿalā l-ʿālamīn
The Cow / al-Baqarah (2:122)
Connections 4 single-source 1 commentator
Multi-source connections
No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mentions (4) cited by only one commentator
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Q 2:23 (al-Baqarah)
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Q 2:24 (al-Baqarah)
cited by
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Q 2:25 (al-Baqarah)
cited by
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Q 2:26 (al-Baqarah)
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By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah
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Tafsir al-Tabari 4 verses
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
Children of Israel, remember how I blessed you and favoured you over other people
yābanī is'rāīla udh'kurū niʿ'matiya allatī anʿamtu ʿalaykum wa-annī faḍḍaltukum ʿalā l-ʿālamīn
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Tafsir Commentary
We mentioned a similar Ayah at the beginning of this Surah, and it is mentioned here to emphisize the importance of following the Ummi Prophet and Messenger, who is described for the People of the Scriptures in their Books by his characteristics, name, the good news about him and the description of his Ummah. Allah warned them against concealing this information, which is among the favors that Allah granted them. Allah also commanded them to remember their daily life and their religious affairs and how He blessed them. They should not envy their cousins, the Arabs, for what Allah has given them, the Final Messenger of Allah ﷺ being an Arab. Envy should not incite them to oppose or deny the Prophet or refrain from following him, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him until the Day of Judgment.
O Children of Israel remember My favour wherewith I favoured you and that I have preferred you over all the worlds a similar verse has already been mentioned.
O Children of Israel, remember My favour wherewith I favoured you, and that I have preferred you over all the worlds.
O Children of Israel, remember My favour wherewith I favoured you, and that I have preferred you over all the worlds.
O children of Israel remember My favor wherewith I favored you and that I have preferred you over all the worlds. His ������ way sunna in His address to the people of Moses ���� ������ is to call them by their proper name saying �O children of Israel remember... � that is �O children of Jacob.� But He addresses this community [of Muḥammad] honorifically saying �O you who believe...�
O children of Israel remember My favor wherewith I favored you and that I have preferred you over all the worlds. His ������ way sunna in His address to the people of Moses ���� ������ is to call them by their proper name saying �O children of Israel remember... � that is �O children of Jacob.� But He addresses this community [of Muḥammad] honorifically saying �O you who believe...�
يا ذرية يعقوب اذكروا نعمي الكثيرة عليكم، وأني فَضَّلتكم على عالَمي زمانكم بكثرة أنبيائكم، وما أُنزل عليهم من الكتب.
وقد تقدم نظير هذه الآية في صدر السورة وكررت ههنا للتأكيد والحث على اتباع الرسول النبي الأمي الذي يجدون صفته في كتبهم ونعته واسمه وأمره وأمته فحذرهم من كتمان هذا وكتمان ما أنعم به عليهم وأمرهم أن يذكروا نعمة اللّه عليهم من النعم الدنيوية والدينية ولا يحسدوا بني عمهم من العرب على ما رزقهم اللّه من إرسال الرسول الخاتم منهم ولا يحملهم ذلك الحسد على مخالفته وتكذيبه والحيد عن موافقته صلوات اللّه وسلامه عليه دائما إلى يوم الدين.
وبعد أن ذكر القرآن في الآيات السابقة أحوال الكافرين من أهل الكتاب أخذ في بيان حال المؤمنين ، فقال :( الذين آتَيْنَاهُمُ الكتاب يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ ) .أي : يقرءونه قراءة حقه ، مصحوبة بضبط لفظه ، وتدبر معانيه ، ولا شك أن ضبط لفظه يقتضي عدم تحريف ما لا يوافق أهواء أهل الكتاب ، كالجمل الواردة في نعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأن تدبره يستدعي اتباعه والعمل به .وجملة ( يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ ) حال من الضمير ( هم ) أو من الكتاب وهذه احلال من قبيل الأحول التي تلابس صاحبها بعد وقوع عاملها ، فإنهم إنما يتلون الكتاب بعد أن يؤتوه . وهي التي تسمى بالحال المقدرة أي : مقدراً وقوعها بعد وقوع عاملها .والمراد بالذين أوتوا الكتاب ، مؤمنوا أهل الكتاب . والمراد بالكتاب التوارة والإِنجيل . أو هم أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم والكتاب : القرآن .وأجاز بعضهم أن تكون الآية سيقت مدحاً لمن آمن من أهل الكتاب بالقرآن ، فيكون الضمير في يتلونه القرآن .وقوله : ( أولئك يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ ) خبر عن قوله : ( الذين آتَيْنَاهُمُ الكتاب ) .وفي ذكر الإشارة ووضعه في صدر الجملة المخبر بها ، زيادة تأكيد لإثبات إيمانهم .وفي هذه الجملة تعريض بأولئك المعاندين الذين كانوا يسمعون كلام الله ثم يحرفونهن من بعد ما عقلوه ، فكاأن الآية التي معنا تقول : ( الذين آتَيْنَاهُمُ الكتاب ) وكان من حالهم أن قرءوه حق قراءته ، يؤمنون به إيماناً لا ريبه فيه ، بخلاف المعاندين المحرفين للكلم عن مواضعه .ثم بين - سبحانه - عاقبة الكافرين يكتبه فقال : ( وَمن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ فأولئك هُمُ الخاسرون ) .والكفر بالكتاب يتحقق بتحريفه وإنكار بع ما جاء فيه ، أي ومن يكفر به فأولئك هم الخاسرون في الدنيا حيث لا يعيشون فيها عيش المؤمنين وهم الخاسرون في الآخرة ، إذ سيفونهم ما أعده الله لعباده من نعيم دائم ، ومقام كريم .
القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (122)قال أبو جعفر: وهذه الآية عظة من الله تعالى ذكره لليهود الذين كانوا بين ظهراني مهاجر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وتذكير منه لهم ما سلف من أياديه إليهم في صنعه بأوائلهم ، استعطافا منه لهم على دينه وتصديق رسوله محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: يا بني إسرائيل اذكروا أيادي لديكم ، وصنائعي عندكم ، واستنقاذي إياكم من أيدي عدوكم فرعون وقومه ، وإنـزالي عليكم المن والسلوى في تيهكم ، وتمكيني لكم في البلاد ، بعد أن كنتم مذللين مقهورين ، واختصاصي الرسل منكم ، وتفضيلي إياكم على عالم من كنتم بين ظهرانيه ، أيام أنتم في طاعتي- (14) باتباع رسولي إليكم ، وتصديقه وتصديق ما جاءكم به من عندي ، ودعوا التمادي في الضلال والغي.وقد ذكرنا فيما مضى النعم التي أنعم الله بها على بني إسرائيل ، والمعاني التي ذكرهم جل ثناؤه من آلائه عندهم ، والعالم الذي فضلوا عليه - فيما مضى قبل ، بالروايات والشواهد ، فكرهنا تطويل الكتاب بإعادته ، إذْ كان المعنى في ذلك في هذا الموضع وهنالك واحدا. (15)-------------------الهوامش :(14) إن لم يكن قد سقط هنا قوله : "وأعظكم باتباع رسولي . . " ، فإن قوله" باتباع رسولي" متعلق بقوله في صدر الخطاب : "اذكروا أيادي لديكم . . " .(15) انظر ما سلف في هذا الجزء 2 : 23 - 26 .
{يا بني إسرائيل اذكروا نعمتي التي أنعمت عليكم وأني فضلتكم على العالمين}
أعيد نداء بني إسرائيل نداء التنبيه والإنذار والتذكير على طريقة التكرير في الغرض الذي سيق الكلام الماضي لأجله ، فإنه ابتدأ نداءهم أولاً بمثل هاته الموعظة في ابتداء التذكير بأحوالهم الكثيرة خيرها وشرها عقب قوله : { وأنهم إليه راجعون } [ البقرة : 46 ] فذكر مثل هاته الجملة هناك كذكر المطلوب في صناعة المنطق قبل إقامة البرهان وذكرها هنا كذكر النتيجة في المنطق عقب البرهان تأييداً لما تقدم وفذلكة له وهو من ضروب رد العجز على الصدر .
قد تقدم تفسير الآية
تقدم تفسير هذه الأية
The Children of Israel were selected by God to perform a very special task: they were to call other nations to turn to God, impressing on them the fact that they were answerable to their Lord for their actions. God sent innumerable prophets from amongst them to help and guide them in the performance of this task—Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Zachariah, John the Baptist and Jesus, to name just a few. Over the centuries, however, the community of the Children of Israel began to degenerate. They took their privileged position, which was in fact due solely to the lofty task that had been entrusted to them, to be an indication of ethnic superiority. They thus lost their right to be representatives of divine religion on earth. The coming of the Arab prophet signified the replacement of the Children of Israel by the Children of Ishmael as God’s chosen people: it was they who were chosen to carry on the task of communicating God’s word to other nations of the world. Those among the Children of Israel who were truly pious and God-fearing soon realized that the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad came to him from God. They recognized that the word he preached emanated from the same source that had inspired the prophets before him. Those who denied him were acting solely out of prejudice: they refused to accept that any other nation besides their own could have been selected to benefit by God’s favour. These people were warned, through the Arab prophet, that in the next world value would be attached solely to true faith borne out by earnest actions. In this world one person is able to bear the burden of another; sometimes intercession is accepted; sometimes one can free oneself by giving compensation; sometimes a helper is at hand to see one through a difficult situation. In the next world, however, none of these mitigating factors will be allowed to come into play. There, God’s justice will apply to one and all equally, for no ethnic group holds a monopoly over the next world. Take the example of Abraham, patriarch of both the Arabs and the Jews. He was granted leadership of mankind only after he had undergone very severe tests, and had shown himself to be faithful and true to God under all circumstances. What God had demanded of Abraham was the most difficult sacrifice—his son’s life—and when God finally intervened before Abraham could actually sacrifice his own son, it was because Abraham had demonstrated his perfect willingness to make any sacrifice demanded of him by God, no matter how great or how terrible it might have been. The rule that applied to Abraham applies to every generation: only those who prove themselves worthy will be granted a share in God’s covenant; those who do not will meet the same fate as any other offenders in God’s sight, regardless of the nation to which they belong. One who is willing to make soul-searing sacrifices for God’s cause shows his utmost dedication to it: it is only just and natural, then, that he should become the leader of his people.
A large section of this Sarah, ending with the previous verse, has been dealing with different aspects of the conduct of the Israelites (that is, the Jews) in the course of their history. This account had begun with the statement which has been repeated at the end in these two verses. The statement is of a general and principal kind, and the verses which come in between the beginning and the end are, so to say, a detailed demonstration of the statement. On the one hand, it encourages the Israelites to come back to the Straight Path by reminding them of the blessings which Allah has bestowed on them; on the other hand, it warns them of the consequences of their lapses by depicting the Day of Judgment. The purpose of repeating the statement at the end of the discussion is to make the two ideas sink deep into their minds. For, what is aimed at in a discussion is the affirmation of certain basic and general principles -- being succinct, they are easily kept alive in the mind, and, being comprehensive and readily applicable to particular situations, they make it easy for one to remember the details too. In the art of writing and speaking, it is considered to be one of the most effective means of carrying conviction that, before starting on a long analytical discussion of a subject, one should define the basic ideas very briefly and clearly which are always helpful in comprehending the details and the particularities, and that, in concluding the argument, one should repeat these ideas by way of a summary. The repetition of the introductory statement here is of this very nature.
Allah then mentions His favour upon the Children of Israel, saying: (O Children of Israel!) O Children of Jacob (Remember) recollect (My favour wherewith I favoured you) favoured your forefathers by delivering them from Pharaoh and his people as well as by the blessings and bounties that I favoured them with (and how I preferred you) with Islam (to the worlds) the people of your time.
O Children of Israel remember My favour wherewith I favoured you and that I have preferred you over all the worlds a similar verse has already been mentioned.