Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 40

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O Children of Isrā’īl (the Israelites), remember My blessing that I conferred upon you, and fulfill the covenant with Me, and I shall fulfill your covenant, and have awe of Me alone.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

O children of Israel![[ Israel is another name for Prophet Jacob. ]] Remember My favours upon you. Fulfil your covenant and I will fulfil Mine, and stand in awe of Me ˹alone˺.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O children of Israel, remember My favor that I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My covenant and I will fulfill your covenant, and fear none but Me.

A. J. Arberry

Children of Israel, remember My blessing wherewith I blessed you, and fulfil My covenant and I shall fulfil your covenant; and have awe of Me.

Abdul Haleem

Children of Israel, remember how I blessed you. Honour your pledge to Me and I will honour My pledge to you: I am the One you should fear.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Children of Israel! remember My favour wherewith favoured you, and fulfil My covenant, and shall fulfil your covenant, and Me alone shall ye dread.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant with Me as I fulfil My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me.

Abul Ala Maududi

O children of Israel! Just recall to mind My favour wherewith I blessed you fulfil your covenant with Me and I shall fulfil My covenant with you, and fear Me alone.

Ahmed Ali

O children of Israel, remember the favours I bestowed on you. So keep your pledge to Me, and I will mine to you, and be fearful of Me,

Ahmed Raza Khan

O Descendants of Israel (Jacob)! Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant towards Me, I shall fulfil My covenant towards you; and fear Me alone.

Ali Quli Qarai

O Children of Israel, remember My blessing which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My covenant that I may fulfill your covenant, and be in awe of Me [alone].

Ali Ünal

O Children of Israel! Remember My favor that I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My covenant (which I made with you through your Prophets), so that I fulfill your covenant, and of Me alone be in awe and fear (in awareness of My Power and of your being My servants).

Amatul Rahman Omar

O Children of Israel! remember My blessings which I bestowed upon you and fulfill the covenant (you made) with Me, I shall fulfill the covenant (I made) with you, and Me alone you should hold in awe.

English Literal

You Israel`s sons and daughters , remember My blessing , which I blessed on you, and fulfill/complete with My promise/contract , I fulfill/complete with your promise/contract , and (only) Me so be terrified/monkish of Me .

Faridul Haque

O Descendants of Israel (Jacob)! Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant towards Me, I shall fulfil My covenant towards you; and fear Me alone.

Hamid S. Aziz

O you children of Israel! Remember My favours which I have favoured you with; fulfil My Covenant and I will fulfil your covenant; therefore, fear Me.

Hilali & Khan

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

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O Children of Israel, call to mind My favour which I bestowed on you and be faithful to (your) covenant with Me, I shall fulfil (My) covenant with you; and Me, Me alone, should you fear.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

O children of Israel! call to mind My favor which I bestowed on you and be faithful to (your) covenant with Me, I will fulfill (My) covenant with you; and of Me, Me alone, should you be afraid.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

O Children of Israel! Remember My favour wherewith I favoured you, and fulfil your (part of the) covenant, I shall fulfil My (part of the) covenant, and fear Me.

Muhammad Sarwar

Children of Israel, recall My favors which you enjoyed. Fulfill your covenant with Me and I shall fulfill Mine. Revere only Me.

Qaribullah & Darwish

'Children of Israel, remember My favor I have bestowed upon you. Fulfill My covenant, and I will fulfill your covenant with you. Me, you must fear.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

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

Wahiduddin Khan

Children of Israel, remember the favours I have bestowed upon you, and fulfil the covenant that you made with Me. I shall fulfil the covenant I made with you. Fear Me alone.

Talal Itani

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.

Tafsir jalalayn

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 Muhammad (s), 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].

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Encouraging the Children of Israel to embrace Islam

Allah says;

يَا بَنِي إِسْرَايِيلَ

O Children of Israel!

Allah commanded the Children of Israel to embrace Islam and to follow Muhammad. 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,

ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا

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

هَلْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ إِسْرَايِيلَ يَعْقُوبُ



Do you know that Israel is Jacob?

They said, "Yes, by Allah."

He said,

اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَد

O Allah! Be witness."

At-Tabari recorded that Abdullah Ibn Abbas said that;

`Israel' means, `the servant of Allah.'
Allah's Blessings for the Children of Israel

Allah said,

اذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ

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,

يَـقَوْمِ اذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ أَنْبِيَأءَ وَجَعَلَكُمْ مُّلُوكاً وَءَاتَـكُمْ مَّا لَمْ يُوْتِ أَحَداً مِّن الْعَـلَمِينَ

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,
اذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ
(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.
Reminding the Children of Israel of Allah's Covenant with Them

Allah's statement,

وَأَوْفُواْ بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ

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,

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَـقَ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنهُمُ اثْنَىْ عَشَرَ نَقِيباً وَقَالَ اللَّهُ إِنِّى مَعَكُمْ لَيِنْ أَقَمْتُمُ الصَّلوةَ وَءَاتَيْتُمْ الزَّكَوةَ وَءَامَنتُمْ بِرُسُلِى وَعَزَّرْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَقْرَضْتُمُ اللَّهَ قَرْضاً حَسَناً لاُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّيَـتِكُمْ وَلادْخِلَنَّكُمْ جَنَّـتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الاٌّنْهَـرُ

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.

Further, Abu Al-Aliyah said that,
وَأَوْفُواْ بِعَهْدِي
(And fulfill (your obligations to) My covenant (with you)) means,

"His covenant with His servants is to embrace Islam and to adhere to it."

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said,

"`I fulfill My obligations to you' means, `I (Allah) will be pleased with you and admit you into Paradise."'

As-Suddi, Ad-Dahhak, Abu Al-Aliyah and Ar-Rabi bin Anas said similarly.

Allah's statement,

وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ



And fear Me and Me alone.

Ibn Abbas said that it 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.

Allah said next