7:148 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

وَاتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى مِنْ بَعْدِهِ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا صاغه السامري وألقى عليه قبضة من أثر الرسول فصار لَهُ خُوَارٌ وصوت، فعبدوه واتخذوه إلها. وقال هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فنسي موسى، وذهب يطلبه، وهذا من سفههم، وقلة بصيرتهم، كيف اشتبه عليهم رب الأرض والسماوات، بعجل من أنقص المخلوقات؟\" ولهذا قال مبينا أنه ليس فيه من الصفات الذاتية ولا الفعلية، ما يوجب أن يكون إلها أَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّهُ لا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ أي: وعدم الكلام نقص عظيم، فهم أكمل حالة من هذا الحيوان أو الجماد، الذي لا يتكلم وَلا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلا أي: لا يدلهم طريقا دينيا، ولا يحصل لهم مصلحة دنيوية، لأن من المتقرر في العقول والفطر، أن اتخاذ إله لا يتكلم ولا ينفع ولا يضر من أبطل الباطل، وأسمج السفه، ولهذا قال: اتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ حيث وضعوا العبادة في غير موضعها، وأشركوا باللّه ما لم ينـزل به سلطانا، وفيها دليل على أن من أنكر كلام اللّه، فقد أنكر خصائص إلهية اللّه تعالى، لأن اللّه ذكر أن عدم الكلام دليل على عدم صلاحية الذي لا يتكلم للإلهية.

يخبر تعالى عن ضلال من ضل من بني إسرائيل في عبادتهم العجل الذي اتخذه لهم السامري من حلي القبط الذي كانوا استعاروه منهم فشكل لهم منه عجلا ثم ألقى فيه القبضة من التراب التي أخذها من أثر فرس جبريل عليه السلام فصام فصار عجلا جسدا له خوار والخوار صوت البقر وكان هذا منهم بعد ذهاب موسى لميقات الله تعالى فأعلمه الله تعالى بذلك وهو على الطور حيث يقول تعالى إخبارا عن نفسه الكريمة قال "فإنا قد فتنا قومك من بعدك وأضلهم السامري" وقد اختلف المفسرون في هذا العجل هل صار لحما ودما له خوار أو استمر على كونه من ذهب إلا أنه يدخل فيه الهواء فيصوت كالبقر على قولين والله أعلم ويقال إنهم لما صوت لهم العجل رقصوا حوله وافتنوا به وقالوا هذا إلهكم وإله موسى فنسي قال الله تعالى "أفلا يرون ألا يرجع إليهم قولا ولا يملك لهم ضرا ولا نفعا "وقال في هذه الآية الكريمة "ألم يروا أنه لا يكلمهم ولا يهديهم سبيلا" ينكر تعالى عليهم في ضلالهم بالعجل وذهولهم عن خالق السموات والأرض ورب كل شيء ومليكه أن عبدوا معه عجلا جسدا له خوار لا يكلمهم ولا يرشدهم إلى خير ولكن غطى على أعين بصائرهم عمى الجهل والضلال كما تقدم من رواية الإمام أحمد وأبو داود عن أبي الدرداء قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "حبك الشيء يعمي ويصم".

Story of worshipping the Calf

Allah describes the misguidance of those who worshipped the calf that As-Samiri made for them from the ornaments they borrowed from the Copts. He made the shape of a calf with these ornaments and threw in it a handful of dust from the trace of the horse that the Angel Jibril was riding, and the calf seemed to moo. This occurred after Musa went for the appointed term with his Lord, where Allah told him about what happened when he was on Mount Tur. Allah said about His Honorable Self,

قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِن بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السَّامِرِىُّ

((Allah) said: "Verily, We have tried your people in your absence, and As-Samiri has led them astray") 20:85. The scholars of Tafsir have different views over the calf, whether it actually became alive and mooing, or if it remained made of gold, but the air entering it made it appear to be mooing. These are two opinions. Allah knows best. It was reported that when the statue mooed, the Jews started dancing around it and fell into misguidance because they adored it. They said that this, the calf, is your god and the god of Musa, but Musa forgot it! Allah answered them,

أَفَلاَ يَرَوْنَ أَلاَّ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَوْلاً وَلاَ يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ ضَرّاً وَلاَ نَفْعاً

(Did they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had neither power to harm them nor to do them good) 20:89. Allah said here,

أَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّهُ لاَ يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلاَ يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلاً

(Did they not see that it could neither speak to them nor guide them to the way) Allah condemned the Jews for falling into misguidance, worshipping the calf and ignoring the Creator of the heavens and earth, the Lord and King of all things. They worshipped besides Him a statue made in the shape of a calf, that seemed to moo, but it neither spoke to them nor brought them any benefit. Rather, their very sense of reason was blinded because of ignorance and misguidance. Allah's statement,

وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فَى أَيْدِيهِمْ

(And when they regretted), and felt sorrow for their action,

وَرَأَوْاْ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّواْ قَالُواْ لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَـسِرِينَ

(and saw that they had gone astray, they said: "If our Lord have not mercy upon us and forgive us, we will certainly become among the losers.") or among the destroyed ones. This was their recognition of their sin and their way of seeking salvation from Allah the Most Mighty and Majestic.

And the people of Moses after him that is after he had departed for the communion with God made of their ornaments which they had borrowed from Pharaoh’s folk on the pretext of a wedding celebration and which remained in their possession a calf which the Samaritan had fashioned for them therefrom; a mere living body jasadan is a substitution for ‘ijlan ‘a calf’ of flesh and blood which lowed that is which made audible sounds like a cow it the calf was transformed in this way when the dust which he the Samaritan had collected from where the hoof of Gabriel’s steed had trodden was placed in its mouth for it has the effect of giving life to that in which it is placed the second direct object of the verb ittakhadha ‘they made’ has been omitted but it would be ilāhan ‘as a god’. Did they not see that it spoke not to them nor guided them to any way? so how can it be taken as a god? Yet they took it as such a god and were evildoers for taking it so.

The next verses continue to narrate the remaining part of the story. When the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) did not turn up after thirty days from the mount of Sinai where he was to be ordained by Allah after passing ten more nights on the mount, the Israelites who were a hasty and impatient people began to make fuss about it.

Among them there was a person named Samiri who was a prominent man, but at the same time, had beliefs in superstitions. He said to the people that the jewels and ornaments of the Egyptians possessed by them were not permissible for them. It may be noted that the plunder or booty taken from the enemy after their defeat was also not permissible for the Israelites. The Israelites gathered all their jewels and handed these over to him. He melted the ornaments and forged a golden calf from it. A peculiar thing reported about him is that he had collected some dust from under the hoofs of the horse of the Archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) (Gabriel) at some occasion. Allah had made this dust to have the effect of some kind of life. Samiri mixed this dust with the molten metal while preparing the calf. This made the calf to emit a sound like the mooing of a cow.

Having designed this satanic invention he invited the people to worship the calf and said that it was god. He said that the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) had gone to speak with God to the mount of Sinai while god had come to them in the form of this calf. Samiri already enjoyed a place of respect among them, this unusual demonstration increased their trust in him and they started worshipping the calf, and took it as their god. The verse 148 has given a short description of this event while another verse of the Holy Qur'an has described it in detail.

And the people of Moses, after him, took of their ornaments a calf, a body that lowed. Did they not see that it did not speak to them? Sahl ibn ʿAbdallāh said, “Whatever in this world turns the servant away from the Real and holds him back from obeying Him is his calf, and he is its worshiper.” The worshipers of the calf among the Children of Israel were delivered when they killed them- selves by command, for He said, “So kill your own souls!” [2:54]. In the same way, the servant will gain deliverance in the road of the Haqiqah when he is made pure of his own portions and the secondary causes, or rather, when he disowns everything other than the Real. Thus someone said, Disown everything in the realm of being- be that Heart-taker's “companion of the cave.” Did they not see that it did not speak to them? This denotes the rightful due of the Real. His de- scription is that of a speaker who addresses the creatures and speaks to the servant, but the kings of the earth disdain to address their servitors with their tongues because of their majestic rank. In contrast, the Real put into effect His custom with His faithful servants. To the enemies He says, “Slink into it, and do not talk to Me!” [23:108]. To the faithful the Prophet said, “There is not one of you who will not be spoken to by his Lord without any interpreter between them.” In this mean- ing they have sung, The Magnificence does not add to their ease when they speak to Us and We speak a little to them.