Surah Taha 20:90-104 - Quran Translation Commentary

90. And Haroon had told them beforehand : “O my people! You have been put to test by this mischief, your Lord is the Merciful, so follow me and obey my command.”¹⁰⁹

91. They had replied: “We shall continue to be its worshippers till Moosa returns.”¹¹⁰

92. He (Moosa) said: “O Haroon ! What held you back when you saw them going astray,

93. “That you did not follow me ? Have you then disobeyed my command ?”¹¹¹

94. He replied: “O my mother’s son! Do not seize my beard nor the hair of my head. I was afraid that you might say: ‘You have caused a division among the Bani Israil and did not wait for my word.”¹¹²

95. He (Moosa) said: “What is your case, O Samiri ?”¹¹³

96. He said: “I saw what they did not see, so I took a handful (of dust) from the footsteps of the messenger and then threw it away. Thus did my soul prompt me.”¹¹⁴

97. Moosa said: “Be gone! Now your lot in this life is to say: ‘Touch me not.’¹¹⁵ Nor will you escape the time that is fixed for you.¹¹⁶ Look at your god of which you have been a devoted worshipper, we will burn it and will scatter its ashes over the sea.”¹¹⁷

98. Your God is only Allah, besides whom there is no other god. He embraces all things in His knowledge.¹¹⁸

99. Thus We recount to you the history of past events, and We have given a Reminder (Qur’an) from Our Own ¹¹⁹ presence.

100. Those they turn away from it will bear a heavy burden on the Day of Resurrection.¹²⁰

101. They will bear it for ever ,¹²¹ an evil burden for them on the Day of Resurrection,

102. The Day when the Trumpet will be sounded.¹²² On that Day We will assemble all the guilty, their eyes becoming white (with terror).¹²³

103. They will be murmuring among themselves: “You have stayed away but ten (days).”

104. We know full well what they will say. At that time the best estimator among them will say: “You have stayed away but one day.”¹²⁴

Commentary

108. That is: These mentally blind people did not see that this calf was producing only one kind of lowing sound, beyond that it was unable to answer any call given to it, nor had it the power to benefit anybody nor inflict any harm. Then how could it have acquired the attribute of godhood. The reality is that the god of the calf-worshippers could merely make a lowing sound, while the God of the believers in monotheism hears everything, sees everything, answers prayers and fulfills the needs of the people, and also provides right guidance.

109. Haroon was a prophet. How could he remain silent after witnessing this mischief! He warned his people that the existence of the calf was an out and out mischief, and that they have been subjected to a test whether they would remain faithful or would turn to polytheism and denial. Where was the question of their worshipping the calf, when their Lord was that Great Being who is called by the name, ‘Rahman’? Therefore, he asked them to accept him as His messenger and to follow him and act according to his command.

110. This was the audacity of Bani Israil that inspite of the timely warning of a prophet, they did not listen to him and replied to him in such a way that expressed their abject transgression.

111. Prophet Moosa questioned Prophet Haroon rather severely as to why did he not follow his advice when the people were going astray, that is, why he did not take any steps against such people. When Prophet Moosa was going to Mount Tur, he had directed Prophet Haroon:- “......and work for reform...” (A’raf- 142). In this direction, removal or Stoppage of evil practices is also included.

112. Prophet Haroon acted with forbearance, and explained the real state of affairs to Prophet Moosa. He saw that a large number of people had been influenced by the Samiri, and the love of the calf had seized them so badly that it was not possible to stop them from worshipping it without applying force, and those of the people of Bani Israil who would use force would be resisted by the worshippers of the calf and thus the community would fall a prey to internecine war. They would not even hesitate to kill a prophet (Haroon). And if this happened it would be a disastrous accident for the Bani Israil. When Prophet Moosa was to return only in a few days, waiting for him was the proper course. It was the farsightedness of Prophet Haroon that he postponed taking any final decision in the matter. There was no question of any hypocrisy or lack of courage on the part of Prophet Haroon. Nor such wrong ideas can be entertained concerning a prophet. Inspite of all this the rough handling of Prophet Haroon by Prophet Moosa was understandable, for the exceeding wrath was on account of his immense devotedness to his faith. On such occasions any lapse in the usual etiquette is excusable. Accordingly Allah did not take any exception to Prophet Moosa’s seizing Prophet Haroon’s beard nor for casting on the ground the tablets on which the Torah was inscribed. The fact is that the impassioned demonstration of Prophet Moosa’s wrath impressed the whole community immensely. When the mischief makers saw that they were pitted against a roused prophet, they did not have the courage to stand up against him, to support Samiri. In this way the wrath of Prophet Moosa won over his community, which cracked down on the worshippers of the calf like a lightning. Accordingly, as stated in the Bible, three thousand persons were killed on that day. They were the people who had worshipped the calf, and it was their punishment for turning apostateturning away from the religion of monotheism. On this occasion Note No.73 of Surah Baqarah and Notes Nos. 220 to 226 of Surah A’raf should be kept in view.

113. After subduing the community, Prophet Moosa called for Samiri and inquired of him what he did.

114. Samiri had no argument to justify his evil action. And since he was a hypocrite, he could not admit his sin openly, though he expressed his defeatist mentality somewhat reluctantly. He mentioned three points: first that he thought of a thing which others could not think, i.e. to collect the ornaments and to cast a golden calf out of that. How could this happen, he was unable to explain. Secondly as that idea was occupying his mind, he took little part in following the prophet, and whatever little part he had taken, he abandoned it later on. And the third thing which he said was that this task was made to look fair by his soul. In short Samiri did neither straightway admit to have committed a sin, nor did he repent for it, but when he saw that he was very badly trapped, he spoke in a roundabout way and admitted that it was the invention of his imagination and he was prompted to do so by his soul.

It may be mentioned that some commentators have given different interpretation to this verse: “So I took a handful of dust from the footsteps of the messenger and then threw it away.” And they explain that Samiri had seen the horse of Archangel Jibril (Gabriel) and picked the dust from underneath its hoofs; that it had the quality of infusing life in a body; that while moulding the calf Samiri mixed this dust with the mould; and it came out alive. Such an explanation of this verse is neither compatible with the statement of Qur’an nor is it proved by the hadith. How could they know that Samiri had seen Jibril and that he was riding a horse, and that the dust underneath its hoofs was life-giving, and that it was the miracle of this dust that put life inside the calf ? It is absolutely an invented story which the commentators have erringly accepted. This explanation of the verse is wrong due to various reasons :

(1) Here the word ‘Basurtu’ used in the text means seeing by the mind and not by the eyes, which is commonly used in English also, and in the reputed and authentic Arabic Dictionary ‘sihah Jauhari :- it is also stated to mean ‘came to know’ (Vol. II, page 591).

If the meaning of actual seeing of Jibril was to be conveyed, other words like ‘Ra-aitu’, ‘nazartu’ and ‘absartu’ could be used, and not “basurtu” which is very rarely used in this meaning. This was the determination of the correct meaning of the word according to the lexicon. Now consider this aspect of the problem: how could a mischief maker and hypocrite earn the blessing of witnessing Archangel Jibril ? What is the proof of Jibril riding a horse ? And how could Samiri know that the dust underneath the hoofs of Jibril’s horse could provide life to an inanimate object ? If he readily thought that this dust was life-giving, he could have used it to revive some human being or he himself could have become immortal by eating it. Then why did he not do so! In the Qur’an nowhere such an effect of the dust beneath the Jibril’s footsteps has been mentioned, nor is there a mention of there being life in the calf. On the contrary Qur’an very clearly states that it was merely a body (lifeless).The fact is that this story is a nonsensical story. Imam Razi in his Tafseer Kabir and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in his Tarjumanul Qur’an have rebutted such a presumption, but those who are habituated to talk nonsense in pursuit of their love for innovations have found it an opportunity to exercise their imagination and argued that:-“when the lifeless dust beneath the hoofs of Jibril’s horse could put life into gold, then the dust beneath the footsteps of the saints could revive the dead hearts of their followers.” -(Tafseer Nurul Irfan-page 508).

(2) In the ayah the word’ Ar -Rasool’ is used, and according to the context it can be Prophet Moosa only, for the matter pertained to following him. The mention of Jibril in the series of these verses, has not been made anywhere. Then how can he figure in this connection ? As for Samiri’s answer that instead of saying Moosa’s following he said the messenger’s following, it is so because he was replying in a roundabout manner, he wanted to avoid giving a direct reply.

(3) Taking a handful of dust from beneath the messenger’s footsteps does not mean actually taking the dust but idiomatically it means following him to a little extent, or taking a very little part in following him. Similarly “Nabaztuha” does not mean that I put the dust inside the calf, for “nabaza” in Arabic means to throw away or to cast with disrespect.

In Al- Mufarridat - Raghib - page 498, the meaning of ‘nabaza’ has been given as throwing away trash.

If Samiri had considered the dust beneath the footsteps of the messenger as blissful and life giving, how could he have used the word ‘nabaza’ (throwing away trash), which expressed the dust’s being of no value, he would have, otherwise, used the word’ Alqa’ i.e. he would have said: ‘ Alqaituha, (i. e. I threw that dust). Therefore, the word ‘nabaza , appropriately fits to mean giving up the following of the messenger and discarding his teachings considering it to be trash. In the Qur’an itself this word is used in the same meaning:

“...... A section of the people of the (earlier) Book threw away that (earlier) Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they knew nothing (about it).” -(Surah Baqarah -101).

It is obvious that here the meaning of the word ‘nabaza’ is throwing away the Book of Allah with disrespect, discarding it.

115. The words used here show that it was Allah’s punishment, which he was destined get and which Prophet Moosa had announced. He was cut off from the society and was left alone so that nobody should go near him. He was dirtied by the filth of polytheism, therefore, as a punishment he was declared to be totally filthy so that none should go near him and the nadir of his disgrace is that he himself declares about his being untouchable. The probability is that he might have been afflicted with a highly dangerous and frightening disease.

Those who had worshipped the calf were killed (Surah Baqarah ayah No.54, Note No.73), but Samiri was left alive to suffer the pangs of his obnoxious disease, to serve as a lesson to mankind.

116. Means that punishment which will be meted out in the Hereafter.

117. The calf was made out of the ornaments, which might have been of gold and silver. Prophet Moosa burnt it to ashes, which he threw into the sea. Thus Prophet Moosa revived the iconoclastic tradition of Prophet Ibrahim, and people could see that if the calf had been a god, it could not have been burnt to ashes, and its worshippers would not have been put to such a great shame and disgrace.

It has also shown that the calf was a lifeless body. If it were a living animal, it would have been slaughtered and then would have been thrown into flames.

We have also learnt it as a corollary that for destroying what is forbidden and for creating hatred for that, even gold and silver can be wasted and destroyed, for compared to the honour of faith the wastage of wealth is worthless. On that day people will follow the summoner, they will not be able to deviate from it; and all voices will be hushed before Rahman (Most Gracious), and you will not hear anything except a faint sound (of marching feet). (Al-Quran)

118. This is another argument in favour of monotheism. Only He can be god whose knowledge is perfect and all pervasive. This attribute is of Allah alone, therefore, God is only He. But those who indulge in idolatry and polytheism, for them an ox is a god as well as a simpleton !

119. Qur’an has been termed here as a Reminder, because it is a Book which helps man to remember Allah. From wherever the slave may read it, the slave is absorbed in the remembrance of his Lord. It also reminds men of those things which are known to the human nature from before. It is also a reminder, because it is out and out good counsel.

120. To ignore Qur’an, considering it as a religious book is a great mistake, which is being committed by the nations of the world. The fact is that Qur’an is the decree of the Lord, God, and it has been sent down for the entire mankind and for every period of history, without reservation for any nation, country and time. Its addressee is each and every human being. Therefore, if every person to whom the Qur’an or its message has reached, turns away from it, he commits a sin, for rejecting the divine decree is adopting the rebellious line of action. And by acting as a rebel against God, a person carries a very heavy burden of sin on his/her head. But the realisation as to how heavy burden he is carrying on his head will come to man on the Day of Resurrection.

121. That is : They will be under the burden of sin permanently, and will receive punishment for it, for the sin of denial and polytheism is such that it sticks and does never separate.

122. This will be the siren for the Day of Resurrection, whose sound will. reach every nook and cranny of the world. When the first siren will be sounded all the creatures of the world will perish and the entire system of universe will be in a state of disarray. And when the second siren will be sounded, then all human beings that had been born from Adam till the Doomsday will rise alive from the earth with their physical bodies.

123. That is: On account of terror the colours of the eyes of the guilty persons will become white (blue), that is, they will become lusterless.