7-148 And Moses’ people made of their ornaments a calf after him — a (lifeless) body, having a lowing sound. Could they not see that it spoke not to them, nor guided them in the way? They took it (for worship) and they were unjust.a
وَاتَّخَذَ قَومُ موسىٰ مِن بَعدِهِ مِن حُلِيِّهِم عِجلًا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوارٌ ۚ أَلَم يَرَوا أَنَّهُ لا يُكَلِّمُهُم وَلا يَهديهِم سَبيلًا ۘ اتَّخَذوهُ وَكانوا ظالِمينَ (۱۴۸)
7-148a: حُلِيّ – It is the plural of حَلۡ which means ornaments. Elsewhere this word is used in: يُحَلَّونَ فيها مِن أَساوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ (they are adorned therein with bracelets of gold) (18:31) and وَحُلّوا أَساوِرَ مِن فِضَّةٍ (and they are adorned with bracelets of silver) (76:21). The meaning of حلیة is also jewelry, as in: أَوَمَن يُنَشَّأُ فِي الحِليَةِ (Is one decked in ornaments…) (43:18). In the wilderness, the Israelites probably did not have much wealth and riches, so they gathered their ornaments or they took donations of ornaments from what they possessed, and used it to make the image of a calf.
جَسَدًا – It is either a substitute for عِجلًا or it is its attribute, that is that it was merely a body without life.
خُوارٌ – It is the mooing of a cow.
Allah’s discourse can never be terminated: The argument given against taking the calf as a deity is that it could not speak to them nor give them any guidance. It follows that a deity can only be one who will speak and guide. Those who consider that God has terminated speaking in this period stand guilty of denying His godhood by virtue of this argument.
7-149 And when they repented and saw that they had gone astray, they said: If our Lord have not mercy on us and forgive us, we shall certainly be of the losers.a
وَلَمّا سُقِطَ في أَيديهِم وَرَأَوا أَنَّهُم قَد ضَلّوا قالوا لَئِن لَم يَرحَمنا رَبُّنا وَيَغفِر لَنا لَنَكونَنَّ مِنَ الخاسِرينَ (۱۴۹)
7-149a: سُقِطَ في أَيديهِم – سُقُوط is falling from a high place to a low place, and سُقِطَ في أَيديهِم is used as a proverb to denote being regretful, ashamed and penitent.
7-150 And when Moses returned to his people, wrathful, grieved, he said: Evil is that which you have done after me!a Did you hasten on the judgment of your Lord?b And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, dragging him towards him. He said: Son of my mother, the people reckoned me weak and had well-nigh slain me. So make not the enemies to rejoice over me and count me not among the unjust people.c
وَلَمّا رَجَعَ موسىٰ إِلىٰ قَومِهِ غَضبانَ أَسِفًا قالَ بِئسَما خَلَفتُموني مِن بَعدي ۖ أَعَجِلتُم أَمرَ رَبِّكُم ۖ وَأَلقَى الأَلواحَ وَأَخَذَ بِرَأسِ أَخيهِ يَجُرُّهُ إِلَيهِ ۚ قالَ ابنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ القَومَ استَضعَفوني وَكادوا يَقتُلونَني فَلا تُشمِت بِيَ الأَعداءَ وَلا تَجعَلني مَعَ القَومِ الظّالِمينَ (۱۵۰)
150a: أَسِفًا – اَسَف is grief accompanied with anger, but it is also used separately for only grief or only anger (R). Moses had learnt about this lapse through revelation, as stated in: قالَ فَإِنّا قَد فَتَنّا قَومَكَ مِن بَعدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السّامِرِيُّ (He said: Surely We have tried thy people in thy absence, and the Samiri has led them astray) (20:85). Moses was therefore in a rage at this polytheistic act of his people. Being angry at this kind of an affair is not prohibited. Instead, it is to be commended.
150b: عَجِلتُم أَمرَ رَبِّكُم – Its meaning has been understood in several ways. One interpretation is: عجلتم عما امر کم به ربکم (You made haste with the promise that your Lord had given you). In Kashshaf, the meaning of عجل عن الامر in عَجِلتُم أَمرَ رَبِّكُم is taken as ترکه غیر تام that is left it incomplete. However, its explanation is given in Surah Ta Ha where in verse 20:86 after a similar recounting, it is stated: أَفَطالَ عَلَيكُمُ العَهدُ أَم أَرَدتُم أَن يَحِلَّ عَلَيكُم غَضَبٌ مِن رَبِّكُم (Did the promised time, then seem long to you or did you wish that displeasure from your Lord should come upon you) (20:86). The purport is: Did the compact of forty days seem too long to you or did you want Allah’s wrath to descend on you. So, the meaning of أَمرَ رَبِّكُم is the punishment of your Lord or His wrath. أَمر in the sense of punishment occurs in the Quran. Moses is thus telling the Israelites that punishment befalls a nation much later after its prophet has passed away, but you the Israelites have sought to bring it in my lifetime and before me, and so quickly.
150c: تُشمِت – It is derived from شمت and شَمَاتَة is the happiness occasioned when the enemy is afflicted by a calamity. تَشۡمِیۡت is the blessing called out to a person who sneezes as if to redress the شَمَاتَة (the happiness caused to an enemy by the affliction of sneezing) (R).
The Quran categorically rejects that Aaron had any part in the making of the golden calf and thus contradicts the assertion of the Bible that Aaron was instrumental in making the calf. As it appears here, the only reason Aaron remained quiet was that he if he had commanded the Israelites to desist, they would have killed him. Moses was rightly angered and caught Aaron by the head and pulled him. Probably, he also had in mind that Aaron should have commanded them to desist. However, when Moses heard his brother’s excuse, he included him in his prayer that he rendered to God. Aaron’s referring to Moses as the son of my mother is to attract Moses’ attention to being merciful.
7-151 He said: My Lord, forgive me and my brother, and admit us to Thy mercy, and Thou art the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.
قالَ رَبِّ اغفِر لي وَلِأَخي وَأَدخِلنا في رَحمَتِكَ ۖ وَأَنتَ أَرحَمُ الرّاحِمينَ (۱۵۱)
Bayan-ul-Quran 