2:40

Yaa Baneee Israaa'eelaz kuroo ni'matiyal lateee an'amtu 'alaikum wa awfoo bi'Ahdeee
oofi bi ahdikum wa iyyaaya farhaboon

O Children of Israel! Remember My blessings which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill
your pledge to Me, and I will fulfill My pledge to you, and fear Me.

O Children of Israel! Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill
My covenant (with you) so that I fulfill your covenant , and fear none but Me.

--------------------
- Encouraging the Children of Israel to embrace Islam

- Allah commanded the Children of Israel to embrace Islam and to follow Muhammad
pbuh. He also
reminded them with the example of their father Israel, Allah's Prophet Yaqub, as if
saying, "O
children of the pious, righteous servant of Allah who obeyed Allah! Be like your
father,
following the truth. This statement is similar to one's saying, "O you son of that
generous man!
Do this or that or, "O son of the brave man, engage the strong fighters, or "O son
of the
scholar, seek the knowledge, and so forth.

- Similarly, Allah said,

"O offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nuh (Noah)! Verily, he was
a grateful
servant" (17:3).

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- Israel is Prophet Yaqub (Jacob)

- Israel is Prophet Yaqub, for Abu Dawud At -Tayalisi recorded that Abdullah Ibn
Abbas said,

"A group of Jews came to the Prophet and he said to them,

"Do you know that Israel is Jacob" They said, "Yes, by Allah." He said,

"O Allah! Be witness."

- At -Tabari recorded that Abdullah Ibn Abbas said that Israel means, the servant
of Allah.

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- Allah's Blessings for the Children of Israel

Allah said,

"Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you"

Mujahid commented, "Allah's favor that He granted the Jews is that He made water
gush from
stones, sent down manna and quails for them, and saved them from being enslaved by
Pharaoh. Abu Al-Aliyah also said, "Allah's favor mentioned here is His sending
Prophets and
Messengers among them, and revealing Books to them.

- I Ibn Kathir - say that this Ayah is similar to what Musa said to the Children of
Israel,

"O my people! Remember the favor of Allah to you: when He made Prophets among you,
made
you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the nations (of
their time)
(5:20) meaning, during their time.

- Also, Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Ibn Abbas said,

"Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you," means,

"My support for you and your
fathers," that is saving them from Pharaoh and his people.

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- Reminding the Children of Israel of Allah's Covenant with Them

Allah's statement

"And fulfill (your obligations to) My covenant (with you) so that I fulfill (My
obligations to) your
covenant (with Me)," means,

My covenant that I took from you concerning Prophet Muhammad , when he is sent to
you, so that I grant
you what I promised you if you believe in him and follow him. I will then remove
the chains and
restrictions that were placed around your necks, because of the errors that you
committed.

- Also, Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The covenant is in reference to Allah's statement

"Indeed, Allah took the covenant from the Children of Israel (Jews), and We
appointed twelve
leaders among them. And Allah said: "I am with you if you perform As-Salah and give
Zakah and
believe in My Messengers; honor and assist them, and lend a good loan to Allah,
verily, I will
expiate your sins and admit you to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise)"
(5:12)

Other scholars said, "The covenant is what Allah took from them in the Tawrah, in
that , He will
send a great Prophet - meaning Muhammad - from among the offspring of Ismail, who
will be
obeyed by all peoples. Therefore, whoever obeys him, then Allah will forgive his
sins, enter
him into Paradise and award him two rewards. We should mention here that Ar-Razi
mentioned several cases of information brought by the earlier Prophets regarding
the coming of
Muhammad

- Ibn Abbas said that Allah's statement ,

"And fear Me and Me alone." means,

"Fear the torment that I might exert on you, just as I did with your fathers, like
the mutation,
etc. This Ayah contains encouragement , followed by warning. Allah first called the
Children of
Israel, using encouragement , then He warned them, so that they might return to the
Truth, follow
the Messenger , heed the Qur'an's prohibitions and commands and believe in its
content .
Surely, Allah guides whom He wills to the straight path.

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TAFSIR AL TUSTARI

[2:40] …And be in awe of Me

Sahl was asked, ‘What is this awe (rahba) that He commanded them to feel towards
Him?’ He replied:
He meant by this, the [true] locating of the light of certainty (mawḍiʿ nūr al-
yaqīn)37 in relation to the heart’s insight (baṣar al-qalb), and gnosis (maʿrifa)
in relation to the entirety of the heart (kulliyat al-qalb). For endurance
(mukābada) and struggle (mujāhada) are a part of faith ⸢for the sake of God (īmān
li’Llāh)⸣. Then, when the heart ceases to have fear of all other than Him, the
light of certainty is unveiled, and the servant who abides in faith for the sake of
God, attains ⸢to faith in [or through] God (īmān bi’Llāh)⸣,38 with an unshakeable
realisation of His oneness (tawḥīdan ʿalā tamkīn), by which I mean, his heart is in
a state of tranquil and confident repose with his Master (sukūn qalbihi ilā
mawlāhu).39 Consequently, the light of certainty unveils the knowledge of the eye
of certainty (ʿilm ʿayn al-yaqīn),40 and this is the attainment (wuṣūl) of God,
Exalted is He. For this certainty, by virtue of the light of certainty (bi-nūr al-
yaqīn) that leads to the eye of certainty, is not ⸢something that is brought into
being (mukawwan)⸣,41 nor is it something created (makhlūq); rather it is a light
from the light of the essence of God (dhāt al-Ḥaqq), not in the sense of an
indwelling (ḥulūl), nor of conjoining (jamʿ), or conjunction (ittiṣāl). Rather, the
meaning of the servant’s attainment (ittiṣāl)42 of his Master refers to the [true]
locating (mawḍiʿ) of his realisation of the divine oneness, and his obedience to
God and His Messenger.
So, according to the strength of his perception (baṣar) of God, he will attain full
awareness (taqwā) and awe (rahba) of Him. The root of full awareness of God is in
relinquishing the lower self (mubāyanat al-nafs),43 so let [the servant] relinquish
[the lower self] for this, and not accommodate any of the pleasures [demanded by]
its desire (hawā), nor any of those pleasures to which it [the lower self] is
summoning him, and for which it has no excuse.44 Know that human beings will vary
in rank on the Day of Resurrection according to the measure of the light of
certainty that they possess. The weightier the certainty a person has the heavier
will his scales weigh, even though there might [otherwise] be less in his scales.

He [Sahl] was asked, ‘How can you tell the soundness of someone’s certainty?’ To
which he replied:
By the strength of his confidence (thiqa) in God, Exalted is He, and his good
opinion (ḥusn al-ẓann) of Him.45 Trust in God is witnessing (mushāhada) through
certainty (yaqīn), the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn), and the wholeness [of its
vision] (kulliyyatihi). Its perfection and goal is the attainment of God, Mighty
and Majestic is He
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Decoding the Quran

O Children of Israel, remember My favor that I have bestowed upon you and fulfill
My covenant upon you so that I will fulfill your covenant from Me (in regards to
the vicegerency in your creation), and be afraid of only Me.

...
[2:40] O Children of Israel, sons of Jacob, remember My favour wherewith I favoured
you, that is, your forefathers, saving them from Pharaoh, parting the sea, sending
clouds as shelter and other instances,
for which you should show gratitude by being obedient to Me; and fulfil My
covenant, that which I took from you, that you believe in Muḥammad (ṣ), and I shall
fulfil your covenant, that which I gave to you, that you shall be rewarded for this
with Paradise; and be in awe of Me, fear Me and not anyone else when you have
abandoned belief in him [the Prophet].