What is the meaning of studying the Qur’an in His (the Almighty's) saying: "And they studied what is in it?"

Studying [the Quran] includes shared recitation of the Quran and committing to it for fear of forgetting it, as well as studying its meanings and deriving rulings from it. As for His Almighty's saying, "And they studied what was in it," there are two interpretations: either they learned and recited what was in the Torah but did not act upon it, or they obliterated it by abandoning action and understanding, as in His Almighty's saying: "And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah, confirming that which was with them, a party of those who had been given the Scripture threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know."