The Sâmiri was punished as Moses, peace be upon him, told him by “crying, ‘Do not touch ˹me˺!’, because he took what he was not entitled to when he took dust from the traces of the horse of the Messenger – Gabriel, peace be upon him, so his punishment in the worldly life was that he would never be able to touch anyone and none would touch him.
He was also threatened with punishment on the Day of Resurrection, “Then you will certainly have a fate that you cannot escape” i.e., the Day of Resurrection is a date that cannot be escaped.
As for the calf: Moses burned it, and made it like sawdust, then he threw that sawdust into the sea wholly scattered, lest any trace of it be found. “Now look at your god to which you have been devoted: we will burn it up, then scatter it in the sea completely.” The calf was burnt up for many reasons:
The first: No traces of the calf had to be left, because any trace would be a calamity for them because of their bad intentions that might lead to them following the falsehood.
The second: The love of the calf was rooted in the hearts of the Children of Israel, so Moses wanted to destroy it while they were watching him so that the love in their hearts for the calf would disappear, as did its entity.
The incident was a confirmation of the greatest Message for which Moses and all other Prophets and Messengers, peace be upon them, were sent. He told his people: “Your only god is Allah, there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. He encompasses everything in ˹His˺ knowledge.”
عوقب السامري بأن يقول في هذه الدنيا لا مساس، أي لا يمسه أحد ولا يمس أحدًا؛ لأنه أخذ ما لا يحق له أخذه من أثر الرسول-جبريل عليه السلام- فعاقبه في الدينا بأن لا يَمس، ولا يُمس
وقد توعد بالعقوبة يوم القيامة، “وإن لك موعدا لن تخلفه” أي: يوم القيامة، فهو موعد لا يمكن الافتكاك منه
أما العجل: فقد حرقه ثم جعله كالنشارة، ثم رمى هذه النشارة في البحر مفرقة غير مجتمعة، لئلا يعثر له على أثر
وَانْظُرْ إِلَى إِلَهِكَ الَّذِي ظَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا لَنُحَرِّقَنَّهُ ثُمَّ لَنَنْسِفَنَّهُ فِي الْيَمِّ نَسْفًا” وكان المقصود من هذا الاتلاف عدة أمور
الأول: ألا يبقى للعجل أثر؛ لأن في إبقائه محنة لهم لوجود دواعٍ في النفوس تدعو إلى الباطل
الثاني: أن بني إسرائيل قد أشربوا حب العجل في قلوبهم، فأراد موسى إتلافه وهم ينظرون، ليزول ما في قلوبهم من حبه كما زال كيانه وشخصه
وتأكيدًا لأعظم قضية بعث فيها موسى وسائر الأنبياء والمرسلين-عليهم الصلاة والسلام- قال لهم: “إِنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ وَسِعَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا