they broke after its ratification is what Allah took upon them in the Torah — acting upon what is in it, following Muḥammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, when he is sent, and believing in him and in what he brought from their Lord. And their breaking it is their denial of him after their knowledge of his truth, their rejection of that, and their concealing that knowledge from the people (1), after giving Allah from themselves the solemn pledge that they would make it clear to the people and not conceal it. So Allah, Whose praise is Majestic, informed that they threw it behind their backs and purchased with it a small price.

And others said: Allah intended by this verse all the people of polytheism, disbelief, and hypocrisy. And His covenant with all of them regarding His Monotheism (Tawhid) is what He established for them of proofs indicating His Lordship. And His covenant with them regarding His command and prohibition is what He established as proof for His messengers through miracles that no one among people other than them is capable of bringing the like thereof, testifying for them to their truthfulness. They said: And their breaking it is their abandoning affirmation of what has become clear to them as true through proofs, and their belieing the messengers and the Books despite their knowledge that what they brought is the truth.

Others said: The covenant that Allah, Whose remembrance is Majestic, mentioned is the covenant He took upon them when He brought them forth from the loins of Adam, which He described in His statement: {And [remember] when your Lord took from the children of Adam — from their loins — their descendants and made them testify over themselves, "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware." Or lest you say, "It was only that our fathers associated partners [with Allah] before, and we were descendants after them. Would You then destroy us for what the falsifiers have done?"} [Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 172-173]. And their breaking it is their abandoning fulfillment of it.

And the most worthy of opinions of being correct in my view regarding that is the statement of the one who said: These verses were revealed concerning the disbelieving rabbis of the Jews who were in the midst of the migration destination of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of God be upon him,