Israel, Children of Israel

O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [upon you] that I will fulfill your covenant [from Me], and be afraid of [only] Me.

And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me.

And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].

And establish prayer and give zakāh¹ and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].

Do you order righteousness of the people and forget¹ yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?

And seek help through patience and prayer; and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allāh]

Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him.

O Children of Israel, remember My favor that I have bestowed upon you and that I preferred you over the worlds [i.e., peoples].

And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul¹ at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided.

And [recall] when We saved you [i.e., your forefathers] from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment, slaughtering your [newborn] sons and keeping your females alive. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.

And [recall] when We parted the sea for you and saved you and drowned the people of Pharaoh while you were looking on.

And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took [for worship] the calf after him [i.e., his departure], while you were wrongdoers.

Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.

And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and criterion¹ that perhaps you would be guided.

And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf [for worship]. So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves [i.e., the guilty among you]. That is best for [all of] you in the sight of your Creator." Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful.

And [recall] when you said, "O Moses, we will never believe you until we see Allāh outright"; so the thunderbolt took you while you were looking on.

Then We revived you after your death that perhaps you would be grateful.

And We shaded you with clouds and sent down to you manna and quails, [saying], "Eat from the good things with which We have provided you." And they wronged Us not - but they were [only] wronging themselves.

And [recall] when We said, "Enter this city [i.e., Jerusalem] and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance, and enter the gate bowing humbly¹ and say, 'Relieve us of our burdens [i.e., sins].' We will [then] forgive your sins for you, and We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."

But those who wronged changed [those words] to a statement other than that which had been said to them, so We sent down upon those who wronged a punishment [i.e., plague] from the sky because they were defiantly disobeying.

And [recall] when Moses prayed for water for his people, so We said, "Strike with your staff the stone." And there gushed forth from it twelve springs, and every people [i.e., tribe] knew its watering place. "Eat and drink from the provision of Allāh, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."

And [recall] when you said, "O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions." [Moses] said, "Would you exchange what is better for what is less? Go into [any] settlement and indeed, you will have what you have asked." And they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with anger from Allāh [upon them]. That was because they [repeatedly] disbelieved in the signs of Allāh and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and were [habitually] transgressing.

Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] - those [among them] who believed in Allāh and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve¹.

And [recall] when We took your covenant, [O Children of Israel, to abide by the Torah] and We raised over you the mount, [saying], "Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that perhaps you may become righteous."

Then you turned away after that. And if not for the favor of Allāh upon you and His mercy, you would have been among the losers.

And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the sabbath, and We said to them, "Be apes, despised."

And We made it a deterrent punishment for those who were present and those who succeeded [them] and a lesson for those who fear Allāh.

And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "Indeed, Allāh commands you to slaughter a cow." They said, "Do you take us in ridicule?" He said, "I seek refuge in Allāh from being among the ignorant."

They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is." [Moses] said, "[Allāh] says, 'It is a cow which is neither old nor virgin, but median between that,' so do what you are commanded."

They said, "Call upon your Lord to show us what is her color." He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in color - pleasing to the observers.'"

They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is. Indeed, [all] cows look alike to us. And indeed we, if Allāh wills, will be guided."

He said, "He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to plow the earth nor to irrigate the field, one free from fault with no spot upon her.'" They said, "Now you have come with the truth." So they slaughtered her, but they could hardly do it.

And [recall] when you slew a man and disputed¹ over it, but Allāh was to bring out that which you were concealing.

So We said, "Strike him [i.e., the slain man] with part of it."¹ Thus does Allāh bring the dead to life, and He shows you His signs that you might reason.

Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder. For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allāh. And Allāh is not unaware of what you do.

Do you covet [the hope, O believers], that they would believe for you while a party of them used to hear the words of Allāh and then distort it [i.e., the Torah] after they had understood it while they were knowing?

And when they meet those who believe, they say, "We have believed"; but when they are alone with one another, they say, "Do you talk to them about what Allāh has revealed to you so they can argue with you about it before your Lord?" Then will you not reason?

But do they not know that Allāh knows what they conceal and what they declare?

And among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Scripture except [indulgement in] wishful thinking, but they are only assuming.

So woe¹ to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allāh," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.

And they say, "Never will the Fire touch us, except for [a few] numbered days." Say, "Have you taken a covenant with Allāh? For Allāh will never break His covenant. Or do you say about Allāh that which you do not know?"

Yes, [on the contrary], whoever earns evil and his sin has encompassed him - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.

But they who believe and do righteous deeds - those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.

And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of Israel, [enjoining upon them], "Do not worship except Allāh; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give zakāh." Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you were refusing.

And [recall] when We took your covenant, [saying], "Do not shed your [i.e., each other's] blood or evict one another from your homes." Then you acknowledged [this] while you were witnessing.

Then, you are those [same ones who are] killing one another and evicting a party of your people from their homes, cooperating against them in sin and aggression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their eviction was forbidden to you. So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allāh is not unaware of what you do.

Those are the ones who have bought the life of this world [in exchange] for the Hereafter, so the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be aided.