The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 159
CH. 2 PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH 65. Then you turned thereafter; and had it not been ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ مِّنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ back اللهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَكُنتُم مِّن for Allah's grace towards you الْخَسِرِينَ and His mercy, you would surely have been of the losers. 71 Mount (Exod. 19:17). So the consumed; (2) it was in excess, or it covenant spoken of in the verse refers to the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses on this occasion. The clause We raised high above you the Mount, does not mean that Mount Sinai was physically lifted up to hang over the heads of the Israelites. It only means that the covenant was taken at a time when the Israelites were standing at the foot of the mountain a meaning quite consistent with the Arabic idiom as explained under Important Words. The raising of the Mount above the Israelites has been ascribed to God, because it was He Who had commanded them to come and stand at the foot of the Mount. The verse may also refer to the scene when the Mount Sinai was terribly shaken with an earthquake, while the Israelites were camping near it (Exod. 19:18). On such an occasion the shaking of a high mountain peak appears as if it were hanging over the heads of those standing near it. 71. Important Words: (grace) is derived from the verb meaning: (1) it remained, the expression being used when a portion remains out of a larger number or quantity, the rest being given away or 159 was over and above a certain measure. Thus the noun means: (1) something that is in excess or additional; (2) abundance; (3) a free gift, the giving of which is not obligatory on the giver; (4) a favour or grace or bounty (Aqrab & Lane). The word is generally, though not always, spoken of such favours as pertain to temporal or worldly things (e. g. 62:11). See also the word av below. رحم a (mercy) is derived from meaning (1) he showed mercy or compassion; (2) he was kind or tender; (3) he was beneficent; (4) he forgave. Thus a compassion or kindness or tenderness or beneficence or forgiveness or inclination to show one of these. As means, mercy or (riḥm) means the womb of a woman, the word a☞ would further give the significance of tenderness or compassion as shown by a mother (Lane). a in contrast to (for which see above) is generally spoken of such acts of God's kindness or mercy as relate to religious or spiritual matters. This is why the Holy Prophet has instructed his followers to ask for God's as when entering a mosque for Prayers, and for His when coming out of it after Prayers (Tirmidhi).