Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 162

مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ ءَايَـتِ اللَّهِ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ

(A party of the people of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the verses of Allah during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer) 3:113,

وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَـشِعِينَ للَّهِ لاَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً أُوْلـئِكَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

(And there are, certainly, among the People of the Scripture, those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah. They do not sell the verses of Allah for a small price, for them is a reward with their Lord. Surely, Allah is Swift in account.) 3:199

The above verses have enumerated various favours that Allah bestowed upon the Israelites, and spoke of their deviation from the commands of Allah resulting in a heavenly punishment for their transgression. The translation of the verses given above is self explanatory and the relevant details have already been given in Surah Al-Baqarah (First volume of this book, translation and commentary under verses 57-59).

Literally, ‘Enter the gate bowing down or kneeling down.’ The Jews were asked to enter their place of worship with humility and modesty and to worship their Lord; they were enjoined to remember the majesty and supremacy of God and admit their shortcomings before Him. But the Jews forgot the admonition of God. Instead of adopting the way shown by God, they followed a path devised by themselves in the name of God. They adopted the way of arrogance instead of treading the path of humility. Their utterances were not of gratitude but of insolence. When the Jews went to this extent in their wrongdoing, God withdrew His grace from them. They were surrounded by different kinds of punishments instead of God’s blessings.