Sunayd ibn Dāwūd narrated—through Ḥajjāj ibn Muḥammad—from Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said: “When he unrolled it, there was not a single mountain, tree, or stone on the face of the earth that did not tremble; nor is there any Jew, young or old, over whom the Torah is recited without his quaking and shaking his head at it.” (1)

Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Then you turned away thereafter.” That is, after witnessing this magnificent covenant and momentous charge, you broke your pledges and agreements. “Had it not been for Allah’s bounty toward you and His mercy”—in that He continued to favor you by sending messengers and revealing scriptures to you—“you would surely have been among the losers.”