The Heights (Al-A‘raf)
Verses 148-151 GROUP_285 7.148-151
148
وَاتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى مِن بَعْدِهِ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلاً جَسَدًا لَّهُ خُوَارٌ أَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّهُ لاَ يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلاَ يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلاً اتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُواْ ظَالِمِينَ
In his absence, the people of Moses made a calf from their ornaments, an image which made a lowing sound. Could they not see that it did not speak to them or guide them in any way? Yet they took to worshipping it: they were evil-doers.
149
وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فَي أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْاْ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّواْ قَالُواْ لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
When they were afflicted with remorse, and realized that they had indeed gone astray, they said, ‘If our Lord does not have mercy on us and forgive us, we shall be among the lost.’
150
وَلَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسَى إِلَى قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونِي مِن بَعْدِيَ أَعَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَلْقَى الألْوَاحَ وَأَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يَجُرُّهُ إِلَيْهِ قَالَ ابْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ اسْتَضْعَفُونِي وَكَادُواْ يَقْتُلُونَنِي فَلاَ تُشْمِتْ بِيَ الأعْدَاء وَلاَ تَجْعَلْنِي مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ
When Moses returned to his people in anger and great sorrow, he said, ‘What an awful sin you have committed in my absence. Did you want to hasten your Lord’s command?’ He threw down the Tablets and seized his brother by the head, pulling him towards himself. Aaron said, ‘Son of my mother, the people oppressed me and almost killed me. Do not give my enemies cause to gloat over me. Do not number me among the wrongdoers.’
151
قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلأَخِي وَأَدْخِلْنَا فِي رَحْمَتِكَ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and my brother and admit us to Your mercy. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) There was a clever man named Samiri among the Israelites. When Moses left for the mountain, leaving his people in the care of Aaron, Samiri started misleading them. He collected pieces of jewellery from the people and moulded them into the shape of a calf. The sculpting art of the ancient Egyptians was such that when air passed through it, a bellowing sound came out of the calf’s mouth. People are generally awed by strange things. So this ‘miracle’ of the calf led them to believe that there was something sacred about it and they began worshipping it. Thanks to Samiri’s engaging way of speaking, people started gathering around him. His influence increased to such an extent that he soon acquired a large number of followers, except for Aaron and a few of his companions. Nobody dared to openly protest against him. In the face of this mass following, even the protests of Aaron were not strong enough to sway the people and no other member of the community had the courage to speak up. This has always been the reaction of the public from ancient times to the present day. A clever person by his sheer eloquence may draw a huge crowd, even on some non-issue. The public who are attracted to trivialities which are unrelated to the facts do not have the ability to think deeply enough to analyse what is true and what is not. That is why they rally to the side of such a person, thus adding to his popularity and importance. And if anyone attempts to reveal the truth, he is simply ignored in the same way as Aaron was. (a) When Moses came down from the Mountain and saw the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, he held Aaron responsible for this, under the impression that he had neglected his duty as a reformer. Moses caught hold of him in anger but Aaron clarified his position and told him that he had done all he could to show them the right path. But they had not listened to him. So Moses checked himself, and started praying to God for Aaron. Many misunderstandings take place between believers, but after clarification they return to normalcy, just as if no misunderstanding had ever taken place.