In the Absence of Moses (PBUH), an Important Event Occurred Among His People. What Was It?
في ظل غياب موسى عن قومه للقاء ربه حصل حدث مهم، ما هو ذلك الحدث؟
First, there was a man among the Children of Israel called Musa bin Zafar, from the tribe of Samirah, who tempted the Children of Israel away from following Moses and from going to Mount At-Tur behind their prophet Moses (peace be upon him). (The tribe of Samirah traces its lineage to the Children of Israel, and it is also said that it is not one of the tribes of the Children of Israel; Allah knows best.)
Second, Al-Samiri fascinated them with gold and ornaments, because when leaving Egypt, their women had borrowed jewelry from Coptic women on the pretext of a feast, but left with those pieces and could not return them.
Third, he told the women of the Children of Israel that this jewelry was not permissible for them to keep, since it was a deposit, so he dug a pit and told them to throw it in, then set it alight so no one could benefit from it afterward.
Fourth, Al-Samiri had taken dust from beneath the hoof of the Angel Gabriel's horse, from the shore on the day Allah saved Moses and drowned Pharaoh.
Fifth, as the Children of Israel threw their jewelry into the pit, Al-Samiri threw in the dust he had, which he had taken from beneath the hoof of Gabriel's horse. Al-Samiri then made the calf from this gold and these ornaments. The maker of the calf had made a hollow inside it with a narrow passage and fitted it with a hidden blowing device; when the device was worked, the air was pressed inside it and came out through the narrow passage, and it made a sound like the lowing of a cow.
Sixth, some of them said to each other, "This is your god and the god of Moses, whom he went to meet, but Moses forgot and lost the way to his God, so worship it until Moses returns." There is no doubt this came from the weakness of their minds: how could they worship a god that gave no reply when they spoke to it, could not benefit them and had no power to harm them? Could it be the god who had given them victory over the greatest tyrant on earth?
Harun called out to them, saying: "O my people, the calf is neither your god nor the god of Moses; it is only a trial with which you have been tempted. Your Lord is the Most Compassionate, whose mercy you have seen at work throughout your lives, so remember it and know it." Yet they persisted in their disbelief in Allah the Almighty.
(˹Allah asked,˺ "Why have you come with such haste ahead of your people, O Moses?" He replied, "They are close on my tracks. And I have hastened to You, my Lord, so You will be pleased." Allah responded, "We have indeed tested your people in your absence, and the Samiri has led them astray." So Moses returned to his people, furious and sorrowful. He said, "O my people! Had your Lord not made you a good promise? Has my absence been too long for you? Or have you wished for wrath from your Lord to befall you, so you broke your promise to me?" They argued, "We did not break our promise to you of our own free will, but we were made to carry the burden of the people's ˹golden˺ jewellery, then we threw it ˹into the fire˺, and so did the Samiri." Then he moulded for them an idol of a calf that made a lowing sound. They said, "This is your god and the god of Moses, but Moses forgot ˹where it was˺!") Ta-Ha 20:83-88
(Aaron had already warned them beforehand, "O my people! You are only being tested by this, for indeed your ˹one true˺ Lord is the Most Compassionate. So follow me and obey my orders.") Ta-Ha 20:90
أولاً، كان في بني إسرائيل رجل يقال له موسى بن ظفر من قبيلة سامرة، فتن بني إسرائيل عن متابعة موسى والسير إلى جبل الطور خلف نبيهم موسى عليه السلام. (قبيلة سامرة تنتسب إلى بني إسرائيل، وقيل: هي ليست من قبائل بني إسرائيل، والله أعلم به).
ثانيًا، فتنهم السامري بالذهب والحلي، وذلك أنهم لما كانوا خارجين من مصر استعار نساؤهم حليًا من نساء القبط بدعوى عيد لهم، فخرجوا ومعهم تلك المجوهرات التي لم يتمكنوا من إعادتها إلى أصحابها.
ثالثًا، قال لنساء بني إسرائيل: هذا الحلي الذي عندكن لا يحل لكن أخذه إذ هي ودائع، فحفر لهم حفرة وقال ألقوها فيها، وأوقد فيها النار لتحترق فلا ينتفع بها أحد بعد ذلك.
رابعًا، كان السامري قد أخذ ترابًا من تحت حافر فرس جبريل حيث كان على شاطئ البحر يوم أن نجى الله موسى وأغرق فرعون.
خامسًا، كما ألقى بنو إسرائيل الحلي في الحفرة ألقى السامري ما معه من التراب الذي أخذه من تحت حافر فرس جبريل، فصنع السامري العجل من هذا الذهب وتلك الحلي، وقد جعل صانع العجل في باطنه تجويفًا فيه نوع من الضيق، واتخذ له آلة نافخة خفية، فإذا حركت آلة النفخ انضغط الهواء في باطنه، وخرج من المضيق، فكان له صوت كصوت البقر.
سادسًا، قال بعضهم لبعض: هذا إلهكم وإله موسى الذي ذهب موسى إلى موعده، وقد نسي موسى وضل الطريق إلى إلهه، فاعبدوه حتى يأتي موسى. ولا شك أن هذا من ضعف عقولهم، إذ كيف يعبدون إلهًا لا يرد لهم قولاً إذا كلموه، ولا يمكنه أن ينفعهم ولا يقوى على مضرتهم، أيُعقل أنه هو الإله الذي نصرهم على أطغى طغاة الأرض؟
ناداهم هارون قائلاً: يا قوم إن العجل ليس إلهكم ولا إله موسى، وإنما هو فتنة فتنتم بها، وإنما ربكم الرحمن الذي شاهدتم آثار رحمته في حياتكم كلها فاذكروها واعلموها، ولكنهم أصروا على ما هم عليه من الكفر بالله العظيم.
(وَمَا أَعْجَلَكَ عَن قَوْمِكَ يَا مُوسَىٰ ﴿٨٣﴾ قَالَ هُمْ أُولَاءِ عَلَىٰ أَثَرِي وَعَجِلْتُ إِلَيْكَ رَبِّ لِتَرْضَىٰ ﴿٨٤﴾ قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِن بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿٨٥﴾ فَرَجَعَ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ أَسِفًا قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَلَمْ يَعِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ وَعْدًا حَسَنًا أَفَطَالَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْعَهْدُ أَمْ أَرَدتُّمْ أَن يَحِلَّ عَلَيْكُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُم مَّوْعِدِي ﴿٨٦﴾ قَالُوا مَا أَخْلَفْنَا مَوْعِدَكَ بِمَلْكِنَا وَلَـٰكِنَّا حُمِّلْنَا أَوْزَارًا مِّن زِينَةِ الْقَوْمِ فَقَذَفْنَاهَا فَكَذَٰلِكَ أَلْقَى السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿٨٧﴾ فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوا هَـٰذَا إِلَـٰهُكُمْ وَإِلَـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ فَنَسِيَ) طه 20: 83-88
(وَلَقَدْ قَالَ لَهُمْ هَارُونُ مِن قَبْلُ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا فُتِنتُم بِهِ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ الرَّحْمَـٰنُ فَاتَّبِعُونِي وَأَطِيعُوا أَمْرِي) طه 20: 90
1. Al-Samiri and the Origin of the Gold | السامري ومصدر الذهب
According to the reports the commentators transmit (Ibn Kathir on 20:87), the gold that became the calf traces back to jewelry Israelite women had borrowed from Egyptian women under the pretense of a feast, then carried out of Egypt during the exodus with no way to return it. Al-Samiri, the man who tempted the people away from following Musa, turned this unreturned wealth into a trial for them. What became of him is told in how Musa punished the Samiri.
وبحسب الروايات التي ينقلها المفسرون (ابن كثير في تفسير طه 20: 87)، يرجع الذهب الذي صار عجلا إلى حلي استعارته نساء بني إسرائيل من نساء المصريين بحجة عيد، ثم حملنه معهن عند الخروج من مصر ولا سبيل إلى رده. فجعل السامري، وهو الرجل الذي فتن القوم عن اتباع موسى، هذا المال الذي لم يُرَدّ إلى أصحابه فتنة لهم. وأما ما صار إليه أمره فيأتي في بيان عقوبة موسى للسامري.
2. The Borrowed Jewelry Thrown Into the Pit | إلقاء الحلي المستعار في الحفرة
The answer relates that the women were told the jewelry was not lawful for them to keep, since it was a deposit, so a pit was dug, the jewelry was thrown into it and a fire was lit so that no one could benefit from it. Ibn Kathir reports from the long hadith known as Hadith al-Futun that it was Harun who ordered the jewelry thrown into the pit, and from al-Suddi, from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that he wanted it gathered in one place until Musa returned and decided what to do with it. Al-Samiri then threw his handful of dust onto it.
يذكر الجواب أن النساء قيل لهن إن الحلي لا يحل لهن الاحتفاظ به لأنه وديعة، فحُفرت حفرة وأُلقي فيها الحلي وأُوقدت عليه نار حتى لا ينتفع به أحد. وينقل ابن كثير من الحديث الطويل المعروف بحديث الفتون أن هارون هو الذي أمر بإلقاء الحلي في الحفرة، ومن طريق السدي عن ابن عباس أنه أراد أن يجتمع في موضع واحد حتى يرجع موسى فيرى فيه رأيه. ثم ألقى السامري عليه قبضته من التراب.
3. Dust From Gabriel's Horse and a Calf That Lowed | ترابٌ من حافر فرس جبريل وعجلٌ له خوار
Al-Samiri added dust that, as the commentators explain 20:96, he had taken from beneath the hoof of the Angel Gabriel's horse on the shore, on the day Pharaoh was drowned, and the calf was made with a hollow body and a hidden blowing device that produced a sound like a cow's lowing. In this account, it was air passing through the hollow body, not any real life, that produced the sound; al-Qurtubi reports this view from Mujahid, while al-Hasan, Qatada and al-Suddi held that the calf became flesh and blood.
وأضاف السامري ترابا كان قد أخذه، كما يفسر المفسرون الآية (طه 20: 96)، من تحت حافر فرس الملك جبريل على الشاطئ يوم أُغرق فرعون، وصُنع العجل أجوف الجسد، فيه جهاز نفخ خفي يصدر صوتا كخوار البقر. وعلى هذه الرواية كان الهواء الذي يمر في جوفه، لا حياة حقيقية، هو مصدر الصوت؛ وقد نقل القرطبي هذا القول عن مجاهد، في حين ذهب الحسن وقتادة والسدي إلى أن العجل صار لحما ودما.
4. A Claim That Should Have Failed Its Own Logic | ادعاءٌ كان ينبغي أن يفشل بمنطقه الخاص
Some declared the calf to be the god of both themselves and Musa, claiming Musa had simply forgotten where it was. The answer points out the plain absurdity here: a lifeless object that could neither answer, help, nor harm them could not possibly be the God who had given them victory over the mightiest tyrant on earth.
وأعلن بعضهم أن العجل هو إلههم وإله موسى، زاعمين أن موسى نسي مكانه فحسب. ويبين الجواب ما في ذلك من سخف ظاهر: فجماد لا يجيبهم ولا ينفعهم ولا يضرهم لا يمكن أن يكون هو الإله الذي نصرهم على أعتى طاغية في الأرض.
5. Harun's Warning, Ignored | تحذير هارون الذي لم يُسمع
Harun directly rejects the claim, naming the calf a mere trial and affirming that their true Lord is the Most Compassionate, whose mercy they had already witnessed throughout their lives (20:90). Despite his clear correction, and although Musa had left him in his place among them (7:142), the people persisted in their disbelief. More about him is in who Harun was.
ويرد هارون هذا الادعاء صراحة، فيصف العجل بأنه مجرد فتنة، ويؤكد أن ربهم الحق هو الرحمن الذي شهدوا رحمته طوال حياتهم (طه 20: 90). ومع تصحيحه الواضح، ومع أن موسى كان قد استخلفه فيهم (الأعراف 7: 142)، أصر القوم على كفرهم. والمزيد عنه في التعريف بهارون.
6. Musa's Return: Fury, Grief, and a Shifted Excuse | عودة موسى: غضبٌ وحزنٌ وعذرٌ متهرب
Told directly by Allah that his people had been tested and led astray, Musa returns furious and sorrowful and confronts them about breaking their promise (20:86). What he did next is told in how Musa reacted when he learned what had happened to his people. Their response tries to shift responsibility onto the jewelry itself and onto Al-Samiri's actions, rather than owning their own choice to worship what he made.
بعد أن أخبره الله مباشرة بأن قومه قد فُتنوا وأضلهم السامري، يعود موسى غضبان أسفا ويواجههم بإخلافهم موعده (طه 20: 86). وما فعله بعد ذلك يأتي في بيان ردة فعل موسى حين علم بما حدث لقومه. وأما جوابهم فيحاول أن يلقي التبعة على الحلي نفسه وعلى فعل السامري، بدلا من أن يتحملوا اختيارهم عبادة ما صنعه.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What happened while Moses was away at Mount Tur?
A man named Al-Samiri led the Children of Israel to worship a golden calf he had fashioned.
Where did the gold for the calf come from?
According to the commentators' reports, jewelry the Israelite women had borrowed from Egyptian women and never returned.
Why did the calf make a sound like a cow?
According to the answer, it was hollow and the sound came when air passed through it; al-Qurtubi reports this view from Mujahid, while al-Hasan, Qatada and al-Suddi held that it became a calf of flesh and blood.
Did Harun try to stop them?
Yes, he told them plainly it was only a trial and that their true Lord is the Most Compassionate, but they did not listen.
How did Moses react when he returned?
He was furious and grieved, confronting his people directly about breaking their promise.