Surah Al-Baqarah 2:63

Taking the Covenant from the Jews

Allah reminded the Children of Israel of the pledges, covenants and promises that He took from them to believe in Him alone, without a partner, and follow His Messengers. Allah stated that when He took their pledge from them, He raised the mountain above their heads, so that they affirm the pledge that they gave Allah and abide by it with sincerity and seriousness. Hence, Allah's statement,

(And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said): "Hold firmly to what We have given you (Tawrah), and remember that which is therein (act on its commandments), so that you may fear Allah and obey Him.") (7:171).

The mount mentioned here is At-Tur, just as it was explained in Surat Al-A`raf, according to the Tafsir of Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ata', `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and others. This is more obvious. There is another report from Ibn `Abbas saying; `The Tur is a type of mountain that vegetation grows on, if no vegetation grows on it, it is not called Tur.' And in the Hadith about the trials, Ibn `Abbas said; "When they (the Jews) refused to obey, Allah raised the mountain above their heads so that they would listen."

Al-Hasan said that Allah's statement,

(Hold fast to that which We have given you) means, the Tawrah. Mujahid said that the Ayah commanded, "Strictly adhere to it." Abu Al-`Aliyah and Ar-Rabi` said that,

(and remember that which is therein) means, "Read the Tawrah and implement it." Allah's statement,

(Then after that you turned away. Had it not been for the grace of Allah) means, "Yet, after the firm pledge that you gave, you still deviated and broke your pledge";

(Had it not been for the grace and mercy of Allah upon you), meaning, by forgiving you and by sending the Prophets and Messengers to you,

(Indeed you would have been among the losers) meaning, in this life and the Hereafter due to their breach of the covenant.

Allah mengingatkan kembali kesalahan lain dari nenek moyang orang Yahudi ketika Allah mengambil janji dari mereka, yaitu bahwa mereka akan beriman dan akan mengamalkan apa yang ada dalam Taurat. Ternyata mereka tidak mengamalkannya, bahkan mengingkarinya. Lalu Allah mengangkat bukit (Gunung Sinai) ke atas kepala mereka untuk memperlihatkan kekuasaan-Nya agar mereka beriman kepada-Nya dan berpegang teguh kepada kitab Taurat itu. Isi perjanjian tersebut berupa perintah Allah kepada mereka, "Peganglah kitab Taurat dengan sungguh-sungguh dan tetaplah mengerjakan isinya, pelajarilah Taurat itu, perhatikan isinya dan amalkan hukum-hukum yang termaktub di dalamnya."

Ayat ini memberi pengertian bahwa orang yang meninggalkan syariat dan meremehkan hukum Allah disamakan dengan orang yang mengingkari dan menentangnya. Maka sudah sepatutnya dia pada hari Kiamat nanti dikumpulkan dalam keadaan buta. Dia tidak dapat melihat jalan kemenangan dan jalan kebahagiaan.

Dia berkata, "Ya Tuhanku, mengapa Engkau kumpulkan aku dalam keadaan buta, padahal dahulu aku dapat melihat?" Dia (Allah) berfirman, "Demikianlah, dahulu telah datang kepadamu ayat-ayat Kami, dan kamu mengabaikannya, jadi begitu (pula) pada hari ini kamu diabaikan." (taha/20: 125 dan 126)

Apabila seseorang mengingkari syariat Allah dan menyia-nyiakan hukum-Nya, berarti syariat itu tidak mempunyai pengaruh apa-apa pada jiwanya. Sehubungan dengan pengertian ayat ini dapat dikatakan bahwa orang-orang yang hanya membaca Al-Qur'an tanpa mengamalkan isinya mereka tidak mendapat manfaat dari kandungan Al-Qur'an itu. Maksud mengikuti kitab-kitab suci ialah mengamalkan isinya, bukan hanya sekadar membaca dan melagukannya dengan macam-macam lagu yang merdu. Kemudian Allah memerintahkan agar Bani Israil berpegang teguh dengan Taurat, selalu mempelajarinya, dan mengamalkan isinya agar mereka menjadi orang yang bertakwa.