لَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَٰقَ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلًا ۖ كُلَّمَا جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌۢ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَىٰٓ أَنفُسُهُمْ فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا۟ وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ
The tenses of the verbs should be recorded: farīqan kadhdhabū (past) / wa farīqan yaqtulūn (imperfect).
I record this as an observation about the language and transmit it as the lexicographers record it: the shift to the imperfect is explained as bringing the scene before the eyes.
وَحَسِبُوٓا۟ أَلَّا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوا۟ وَصَمُّوا۟ ثُمَّ تَابَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ عَمُوا۟ وَصَمُّوا۟ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ (71)
The same pair (ʿamū wa ṣammū — they went blind and went deaf) occurs twice, and between them stands thumma tāba'llāhu ʿalayhim.
| Order | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | ʿAmū wa ṣammū |
| 2 | Thumma tāba'llāhu ʿalayhim — an acceptance of repentance in between |
| 3 | Thumma ʿamū wa ṣammū — and this time with the qualification: kathīrun minhum |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the qualification at the third link: even in the repeating cycle the verse does not say "all of them". The sūra lays down this qualification for the fifth time.