Shafaqna English- Commentary on the 2nd Chapter of the Holy Quran by Mohammad Sobhanie.
وَإِذْ وَاعَدْنَا مُوسَىٰ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَنتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ ﴿٥١﴾ ثُمَّ عَفَوْنَا عَنكُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٥٢﴾ وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ ﴿٥٣﴾ وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٤﴾
2:51 And (recall) when We made an appointment with Musa for forty nights. Then you took (for worship) the calf in his absence, while you were wrongdoers.
2:52 Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.
2:53 And (recall) when We gave Musa the Scripture and the Criterion that perhaps you would be guided.
2:54 And (recall) when Musa said to his people, “O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf (for worship). So, repent to your Creator and kill yourselves. That is best for (all of) you in the sight of your Creator.” Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
2:51 Prophet Musa (AS) on Mount Sinai
Commentary: The Children of Israel and Prophet Musa (AS) crossed the Nile River (or the Red Sea) miraculously and arrived at the Sinai Peninsula. They saw a community that worshipped idols and the Children of Israel became fascinated. They asked Prophet Musa (AS) to make them idols for worship[1]. He was dismayed at their request and told them, “Shall I find you a god other than Allah, while He has graced you over all the nations?[2]”
Afterward, Prophet Musa (AS) was summoned to stay 30 nights on Mount Sinai[3] to receive the law of the Taurat (Torah). Staying on the mountain allowed him to worship Allah (SWT) in seclusion without distractions. This opportunity provided a transcendent spiritual readiness to receive divine revelation.
After the 30 nights, his stay was extended by ten more nights. It was 40 nights altogether: 30 nights in the month of Dhū al-Qaʿdah [Arabic; (ذوالقعدة)] and ten nights in the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah [Arabic: (ذوالحجة)].
The Children of Israel were a skeptical nation and they would not easily believe the revelation of the Taurat to Prophet Musa (AS) without witnessing this firsthand. Prophet Musa (AS) appointed his brother, Prophet Haroun, as his deputy amongst them[4] and left with 70 Israelite men[5] so they could serve as witnesses[6] for receiving divine revelation.
After witnessing the unique and historical moment of the revelation of the Taurat, the 70 Israelite men insisted Prophet Musa show them God in person[7]. It seemed that the Children of Israel relied more on their physical senses to realize God than their intelligence. An unseen God was inconceivable to them. Hence, they searched for a perceptible god they could see[8]. This tendency was manifested earlier when they asked Prophet Musa (AS) at the Sinai Peninsula to make them idols for worship.
Prophet Musa (AS) on the Mount: In Prophet Musa’s (AS) absence, Allah (SWT) tested the Children of Israel through Samiri’s calf[9]:
قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِن بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿٨٥﴾
20:85 He said, ‘Indeed We tried your people in your absence, and Samiri has led them astray.’
Samiri [Arabic: (سَامِرِيُّ)] took the gold, jewelry, and ornaments of the Children of Israel and cast them into a hollow statue in the shape of a calf[10]. It made the sound of a calf when air was blown into it. For this reason, the Children of Israel took Samiri’s calf as their god for worship[11]. The following verse[12] admonishes the judgment of those who worship an entity that cannot even speak or guide:
وَاتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَىٰ مِن بَعْدِهِ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُ خُوَارٌ أَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلَا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلًا ۘ اتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ ﴿١٤٨﴾
7:148 The people of Musa took up in his absence a calf (cast) from their ornaments—a body that gave out a lowing sound. Did they not regard that it did not speak to them, nor did it guide them to any way? They took it up (for worship) and they were wrongdoers.
Prophet Musa (AS) Back to His Nation: Allah (SWT) informed Prophet Musa (AS) on the mountain that Samiri had misled his nation. The news of his nation’s idolatry infuriated him.
He summoned his people after his return. With a reprimanding tone of voice, he told them that worshipping a calf’s statue was deplorable and sinful. He ordered the guilty ones to slay one another for the atonement of their sin. He asserted that suffering harsh punishment was better than carrying the burden of idolatry’s sin:
قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ
2:54 And (recall) when Musa said to his people, “O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf (for worship). So, repent to your Creator and kill yourselves. That is best for (all of) you in the sight of your Creator.”
The Children of Israel realized their error and pleaded for divine forgiveness[13]:
قَالُوا لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ﴿١٤٩﴾
7:149 They said, ‘Should our Lord have no mercy on us, and forgive us, we will be surely among the losers.’
Consequently, Allah (SWT), in His mercy, forgave them.
ثُمَّ عَفَوْنَا عَنكُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٥٢﴾
2:52 Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.
The Qur’an does not detail the exact method of how the guilty Israelites killed themselves, nor is the number of those who were executed revealed. Some commentators quote that anywhere from 10 to 70,000 perished before a divine revelation ordered them to cease further slaughter.
The quoted numbers could be exaggerated. Perhaps Allah (SWT) forgave them when they demonstrated their willingness to submit to the divine command.
This is analogous to the dream of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), where he was commanded to sacrifice Ismail. Before Prophet Ibrahim (AS) could reach the ultimate stage of sacrificing his son, he was told, “O Ibrahim! You have indeed made the vision come true”[14].
Two important points come to mind. The first is that a nation lacking critical thinking is prone to exploitation by people like Samiri. He did not build the golden calf with his wealth. Instead, he used the jewelry, gold, and the wealth of the Children of Israel to lead them astray from the divine path. This is true even today because vulnerable societies are prone to corrupt leaders.
The second point is that the Qur’an implies that the Children of Israel were already inclined towards idol worship. They had asked Prophet Musa (AS) to make them idols shortly after their exodus from Egypt. Later, they took Samiri’s calf for worship and their hearts were imbued with love for the calf:
… وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ … ﴿٩٣﴾
2:93 And their hearts had been imbued with [the love of] the Calf, because of their disbelief.
One might ask why Allah (SWT) tested the Children of Israel with idolatry, a subject to which they were weak and vulnerable. Let us look at the alternative.
Allah (SWT) could have let the Children of Israel die with the inclination toward idolatry and resurrected them with disgrace on the Day of Judgment. Punishment and disgrace in the Hereafter would be more severe than this world. This, however, was not the case.
Instead, Allah (SWT) made the Children of Israel realize their worldly errors and faults and provided them an opportunity to repent. The latter option was a divine test, as stated in the following verse[15]:
قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِن بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿٨٥﴾
Allah (SWT) said to Prophet Musa (AS), ‘Indeed We tried your people in your absence, and Samiri has led them astray.’
Word-for-Word Translation:
2:52 [وَإِذْ] And when [وَاعَدْنَا] we appointed [مُوسَىٰ] for Musa [أَرْبَعِينَ] forty [لَيْلَةً] nights [ثُمَّ] Then [اتَّخَذْتُمُ] you took [الْعِجْلَ] the calf [مِن] from [بَعْدِهِ] after him [وَأَنتُمْ] and you [ظَالِمُونَ] were wrongdoers.
2:53 [ثُمَّ] Then [عَفَوْنَا] We forgave [عَنكُم] you [مِّن] from [بَعْدِ] after [ذَٰلِكَ] that, [لَعَلَّكُمْ] So that you may [تَشْكُرُونَ] be grateful.
2:54 [وَإِذْ] And when [آتَيْنَا] we gave [مُوسَى] Musa [الْكِتَابَ] the Book [وَالْفُرْقَانَ] and the Criterion, [لَعَلَّكُمْ] perhaps you [تَهْتَدُونَ] would be guided.
2:55 [وَإِذْ] And when [قَالَ] said [مُوسَىٰ] Musa [لِقَوْمِهِ] to his people [يَا] O [قَوْمِ] my people [إِنَّكُمْ] indeed you [ظَلَمْتُمْ] have wronged [أَنفُسَكُم] yourselves [بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ] by your talking [الْعِجْلَ] the calf [فَتُوبُوا] So turn in repentance [إِلَىٰ] to [بَارِئِكُمْ] your creator [فَاقْتُلُوا] and kill [أَنفُسَكُمْ] yourselves. [ذَٰلِكُمْ] That [خَيْرٌ] is better [لَّكُمْ] for you [عِندَ] with [بَارِئِكُمْ] your creator [فَتَابَ] Then He turned [عَلَيْكُمْ] towards you [إِنَّهُ] Indeed He [هُوَ] He [التَّوَّابُ] is the returning [الرَّحِيمُ] the Most Merciful.
Note:
[1]. Al-Araf 7:138.
[2]. Al-Araf 7:140.
[3]. Ta-Ha 20:80.
[4]. Al-Araf 7:142.
[5]. Al-Araf 7:155.
[6]. Manshoor-e-Javid, Vol.12, Page 156, L. 3.
[7]. An-Nisa 4:153.
[8]. Manshoor-e-Javid, Vol.12, P. 142.
[9]. Ta-Ha 20:85.
[10]. Al-Araf 7:148.
[11]. Ta-Ha, 20:88.
[12]. Al-Araf 7:148.
[13]. Al-Araf 7:149.
[14]. As-Saffat 37:105.
[15]. Ta-Ha 20:85.
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