Context from Tafheem: These verses return to the direct address to the Children of Israel, serving as a final, powerful admonition in this extended section. They reiterate the core themes of divine favor and the impending, inescapable accountability, acting as a conclusive warning before the discourse shifts more permanently to the believers.

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سورة البقرة (Surah Al-Baqarah)

آية 122

القرآن: يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
Translation: O Children of Israel! Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you over all other peoples (of your time).

Explanation (Tafheemul Quran):
This is a verbatim repetition of verse 2:47. Maududi explains that this repetition at this juncture is highly significant and deliberate.

· A Final Summons: It acts as a concluding, emphatic recall of the central point before the final warning. The entire lengthy admonition (from verse 40 onward) is bracketed by this same call, giving it structural symmetry and highlighting its core message.
· The Essence of the Argument: All of God’s arguments against them are rooted in this fundamental fact: they were the recipients of unparalleled divine favor and a unique historical status. Their subsequent history of ingratitude, covenant-breaking, and rejection of prophets is a betrayal of this very favor. The repetition underscores that their accountability is proportionate to the blessings they received.

آية 123

القرآن: وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَّا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا تَنفَعُهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ
Translation: And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will compensation be accepted from it, nor will intercession benefit it, nor will they be helped.

Explanation (Tafheemul Quran):
This verse, while similar to verse 48, carries a heightened intensity as a concluding warning. Maududi elaborates on its absolute and terrifying finality.

· The Day of Absolute Individual Accountability: The verse describes the Day of Judgment as a reality where all systems of worldly leverage and privilege are utterly nullified.
· The Four Nullifications:

1. No Substitution: “No soul will suffice for another soul at all.” One cannot bear the burden or sin of another, not even a parent for a child or a leader for a follower.
2. No Ransom: “Nor will compensation be accepted from it.” No amount of wealth, sacrifice, or offering can buy salvation or avert punishment.
3. No Unauthorized Intercession: “Nor will intercession benefit it.” Maududi clarifies that intercession (Shafa’ah) on that Day is solely by God’s permission and only for those He approves. The false sense of security based on lineage or affiliation (like being “children of Abraham”) is destroyed. No prophet or saint can help someone against God’s judgment.
4. No External Help: “Nor will they be helped.” No tribe, nation, or earthly power can provide any aid or rescue.
   · The Ultimate Purpose: This graphic description is meant to instil “Taqwa” (fearful awareness) of that Day. It dismantles the last vestiges of the Israelites’ (and by extension, any person’s) false hopes and excuses. It tells them, and all humanity, that in the end, one stands alone before God with nothing but one’s own beliefs and deeds. This is the ultimate consequence of forgetting divine favors and breaking covenants.

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Summary from Tafheemul Quran Perspective (Verses 122-123):

Maududi views these two verses as the crescendo and conclusion of the extended address to the Israelites that began at verse 40.

1. Bookended Reminder: By repeating the call to remember God’s favor, it frames their entire history as a story of blessed opportunity squandered.
2. The Inescapable Reality: The depiction of the Day of Judgment serves as the ultimate warning and the logical end-point of all the historical examples given. Their past rebellions will face a reckoning where no excuses, wealth, status, or connections will be of any avail.
3. Transition Point: This stern, conclusive warning effectively closes the chapter of direct historical admonition. The subsequent verses will now turn more fully to providing positive legislation and guidance for the Muslim community, having thoroughly laid out the negative examples of the past. The message is clear: learn from the fate of those who were favored but disobeyed, for you too will stand alone before God.