Transliteration:( Wa rafa'naa fawqahumut Toora bimeesaaqihim wa qulnaa lahumud khulul baaba sujjadanw wa qulnaa lahum laa ta'doo fis Sabti wa akhaznaa minhum meesaaqan ghaleezaa )
"And then We raised Mount Tur over them for taking a covenant [444] with them, and said to them: 'Enter the gate [445] prostrating.' And We said to them: 'Do not transgress in the matter of Sabbath [446].' And We took from them a firm covenant."
The "covenant" here refers to the pledge made by the Israelites to act upon the commandments of the Torah.
When all the rigorous laws of the Torah were presented to them at once, they were overwhelmed and reluctant, saying:
“We have heard, but we won’t be able to carry this out.”
As a result, Allah raised Mount Tur above them and gave them a stern choice:
Accept the covenant, or the mountain will fall upon you.
This highlights the severity and urgency of their divine obligation, and from it we understand the mercy in the Qur’an being revealed to Muslims gradually, allowing them time to absorb and practice its teachings.
The gate mentioned refers to the entrance to the city of Ariha (Jericho), a city that contained the blessed shrines of Prophets.
From this, several spiritual lessons are drawn:
It is recommended to enter sacred places with humility and reverence, symbolized by prostration.
Many pious people, like Imam Malik, showed great adab (respect) for holy sites—for instance, he would not ride a horse in Madinah, the city of the Prophet ﷺ.
Some refrain from turning their back to the Qur’an or graves of saints, drawing support for their practice from this verse.
This reflects a broader ethic of veneration toward what is connected to the divine.
This refers to the prohibition on fishing during Saturday (Sabbath), a day the Israelites were commanded to dedicate to worship.
Just as Muslims are forbidden from engaging in worldly work during Jumu’ah Salah, the Israelites were restricted from certain activities, such as fishing, throughout the Sabbath.
Their violation of this command became a major reason for divine punishment in other verses.
This ruling underlines the seriousness of obeying divine boundaries, especially when tied to acts of worship and holy times.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 154 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 153 which provides the complete commentary from verse 153 through 154.
(4:154) and We raised the Mount high above them and took from them a covenant[184] (to obey the commandment), and ordered them: ‘Enter the gate in the state of prostration.’[185] And We said to them: ‘Do not violate the law of the Sabbath’, and took from them a firm covenant.[186]
184. This ‘manifest commandment’ refers to the commandments hichhad been handed over to Moses on tablets. For a more detailed account of this incident see (Surah Al-Aaraf, ayat 143).The covenant referred to here is that which had been entered into by the representatives of Israel in the valley of Mount Sinai. For this see (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 63) and (Surah Al-Aaraf, ayat 171)
185. See (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 58-59) note 75.
186. See ibid., (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 65) note 82-83.
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