God Made a Covenant of Old with the Children of Israel

Lesson # 603 From Holy Qur’aan

God Made a Covenant of Old with the Children of Israel

Surah Maaa-‘idah (the Table Spread) – Chapter – 5)

Verses–12&13 of 120, Section – 3 of 16 (Part–6)–Stage-2

 BisMIllaahir-Rahmaanir-Rahiim

In the name of Allaah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

12.  Allaah made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel and We raised among them twelve chieftains. And Allaah said: Lo! I am with you. If ye establish worship and pay the poor-due, and believe in My messengers and support them, and lend unto Allaah a kindly loan, surely I shall remit your sins, and surely I shall bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow. Then whoso among you disbelieveth after this will go astray from a right way. 13.  And because of their breaking their covenant, We have cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change words from their context and forget a part of that whereof they were admonished. And thou will not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them, but pardon them and bear with them. Lo! Allaah loveh the kindly.

12.  Wa  laqad  ‘akha-zAllaahu  Miisaaqa  Baniii- ‘Israaa-‘iil.  Wa  ba-‘asNaa  min-humus-nay-  ‘ashara  Naqiibaa.  Wa  qaa-lAllaahu  ‘iNNii  ma-‘akum.  La-‘in  ‘aqamtumus-Salaata  wa  ‘aatay-tumuz-Zakaata  wa  ‘aamantum-  bi-rusulii  wa-‘az-zar-tumuuhum  wa ‘aqraz-tumUllaaha  Qar-zan  Hasanal-  la-‘ukaffiranNa  ‘ankum  sayyi-‘aatikum  wa  la-‘udkhi-lannakum  Jannaatin-  tajrii  min-  tahtihal- ‘anhaar.  Faman-  kafara  ba’-da  zaalika  minkum  faqad  zalla  sawaaa-‘assabiil.  13.  Fabimaa  naqzihim-Miisaa-qahum  la-‘anNaahum  wa  ja-‘alNaa  quluubahum  qaasi-yah.  Yuharri-fuunal-kalima  ‘am-mawaazi-‘ihii  wa  nasuu  hazzam-mimmaa  zukkiruu  bih.  Wa  laa  tazaalu  tattali-‘u  ‘alaa  khaaa-‘ina-tim-minhum  ‘illaa  qaliilam-min-hum  fa’-fu  ‘anhum  wasfah.  ‘InnAllaaha  yuhibbul-Muhsiniin.

Lesson

ba-‘asNaa  - (We raised), it is made from ba-‘asa, which means “to raise, to elevate, to plant, to determine”. -‘az-zar-tumuuhum – (you support them), ‘azara – means help, strength, corroboration. From the same word ‘azara, a word ta’-ziir has been made, which means “to strengthen, to support”. ‘aqraz-tum – it is from ‘aqraaz, which means “to lend”. Qarz means “to lend money to someone for the purpose that one may accomplish one’s desire”. Qarz Hasanah is the loan, with which a person wishes to do good for another and one does not think about one’s own benefit. Correct word is Qarz hasan, that is to say; a good loan.

La-‘anNaa – (We have cursed), it is from la’-nat, which means “to expel, to force out, to eject, to curse, to do outcast”. It aims, “We have cursed from Our mercy”. Yuharri-fuuna – (they change), it is from tah-riif, which has been derived from harf. Harf means “edge, boundary, and side”. Tah-riif means “to curse, to displace anything”. Zukkiruu – (for admonishing), it is from taz-kiir, which has been derived from zikr. Zikr means “to remember”. Taz-kiir means “to remind, to tell the word of advantage”. ’Asfah – (bear with them), it is from safah, which means “to shrink from, to retire, to turn the face, not to care, to let go, to excuse, to pardon”.    

After telling the condition of ancient nations, now it is being advised, “You should not do as they did”. It is commanded that Allaah Almighty made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel and raised among them twelve chieftains, so that they lay stress on them to fulfill their undertaking and He said, “I am with you if you:

1.  Established worship

2. Paid the poor-due

3. Believed in My messengers (peace be upon Them) and supported them.

4. Lent for spreading the religion of Allaah Almighty, which would be considered a kindly loan, you did not wish to acquire worldly advantage”.

Then it has been described that whoso among you will not fulfill these orders, he will go astray from a right way.  

Allaah Almighty says that the Jews broke the covenant after promising and did not fulfill the responsibility, which they accepted. Resultantly they have been deprived from Our kindness. It is a very big sin to break the covenant with Allaah Almighty. The person, whoso will commit this crime, his/her heart will become hard due to its burden and no good advice will have any affect on him/her, and he/she will be deprived from the Mercy of Allaah Almighty.  

The Children of Israel changed the words and meanings of Torah (the Heavenly Scripture), and forgot those commands, which were for their benefit, and did not care a little, the matters which were very useful for them. One of those advice was that “Last Messenger (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) will come towards you, “Obey Him”. They deleted this advice and by changing the words, they produced some other meanings.

Now they are in this form that some one or other deceiving, imposture or mischief of theirs use to come before you, and except a few of them, who have believed as AbdUllaah bin Salaam and his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) etc., remaining entire people are dishonest and deceitful. Do good even then with them in retaliation of their evil doing with you, and do not quarrel with them openly, because the enemy insists more due to rebuking and reproving him/her every time. Treat them good because Allaah Almighty likes them, who are kind.  

Transliterated Holy Qur’an in Roman Script & Translated from Arabic to English by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore, Lesson collected from Dars e Qur’an published By Idara Islaah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated Urdu to English by Muhammad Sharif)