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83
وَإِذ أَخَذنا ميثاقَ بَني إِسرائيلَ لا تَعبُدونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَبِالوالِدَينِ إِحسانًا وَذِي القُربىٰ وَاليَتامىٰ وَالمَساكينِ وَقولوا لِلنّاسِ حُسنًا وَأَقيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكاةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيتُم إِلّا قَليلًا مِنكُم وَأَنتُم مُعرِضونَ

Muhammad Asad

AND LO! We accepted this solemn pledge from [you,] - the children of Israel:1 "You shall worship none but God; and you shall do good unto your parents and kinsfolk, and the orphans, and the poor; and you shall speak unto all people in a kindly way; and you shall be constant in prayer; and you shall spend in charity."2 And yet, save for a few of you, you turned away: for you are obstinate folk!3
  • In the preceding passages, the children of Israel have been reminded of the favours that were bestowed on them. Now, however, the Qur'an - reminds them of the fact that the way of righteousness has indeed been shown to them by means of explicit social and moral injunctions: and this reminder flows directly from the statement that the human condition in the life to come depends exclusively on the manner of one's life in this world, and not on one's descent.
  • see note 34 above.
  • The Old Testament contains many allusions to the waywardness and stubborn rebelliousness of the children of Israel - e.g., Exodus xxxii, 9, xxxii, 3, xxxiv, 9; Deuteronomy by, 6-8, 23-24, 27.