First: When Moses heard from the Lord of Glory, may His Glory be glorified, that his people had been tempted, and that they did not follow him to Mount At-Tur, he was outrageous to the point that he threw the tablets he was carrying, and a verbal altercation took place between him and his brother Harun.
Second: Moses said, “O my people! Had your Lord not made you a good promise?” Meaning, Allah the Almighty promised them victory over Pharaoh and empowerment in the land, and He had saved them from Pharaoh and honored them with kingship and sovereignty, so how could they fall behind on the promise that He made to them?
Third: He told them that the period he spent (the thirty days and the other complementary ten days) was not such a long time to make them forget those blessings and that great promise to meet Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. He said to them: Do you want Allah’s Wrath to be sent upon you because of this heinous act that you did as you worshipped other than Allah the Almighty and stopped following his Prophet?!
Fourth: Moses was angry with his brother Harun, and he pulled his beard and the hair of his head, reprimanding him for neglecting the mission of being his successor in his absence since he did not bring the Children of Israel to the appointment to meet Allah, and Moses had recommended Harun, saying: “… do what is right, and do not follow the way of the corruptors.”
Moses thought that his brother had fallen short in performing the mission, but Harun apologized to him presenting three excuses:
The first: The people despised his opinion, as he said: “The people overpowered me“, and that was when he said to them: “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.” Their response was: “We will not cease to worship it until Moses returns to us.” Meaning: We will remain worshipping it until Moses returns from his appointment to meet his Lord.
The second: “and were about to kill me”: They were about to kill him because he forbade them from worshiping the calf.
The third: He feared that if he had left the Children of Israel and followed Moses, the people would have dispersed, and so it would have been difficult to bring them back together. This is what Allah the Almighty narrates: “I really feared that you would say, ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel”
Harun addressed his brother Moses in an emotional manner, reminding him of their patient and faithful mother: “O son of my mother!” He said to him: “So do not ˹humiliate me and˺ make my enemies rejoice, nor count me among the wrongdoing people.” by punishing me, reprimanding me, and blaming me.
Moses, peace be upon him, accepted his brother’s apology and made Du’a to Allah for his brother and himself: “My Lord! Forgive me and my brother! And admit us into Your mercy. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.”
وكان هارون قد خاطب أخاه موسى خطابا عاطفيًا، مذكرًا إياه بتلك الأم الصابرة المؤمنة: “يا ابن أم“، وقال له: “لا تشمت بي الأعداء ولا تجعلني مع القوم الظالمين” وذلك بمعاقبتي وتوبيخي ولومي.
أولاً: لما سمع موسى من رب العزة جل جلاله أن قومه قد فتنوا وأنهم لم يتبعوه إلى جبل الطور غضب غضبًا شديدًا حتى أنه ألقى ما في يده من الألواح، وحصلت بين وبين أخيه هارون مشادة كلامية.
ثانيًا: قال موسى لقومه:” ألم يعدكم ربكم وعداً حسناً” أي وعدهم الله تعالى بالنصر على فرعون والتمكين في الأرض، وكان قد أنجاهم من فرعون وأكرمهم بالملك والسيادة، فكيف تتخلفون عن الموعد الذي وعدكم؟
ثالثًا: قال لهم إن المدة التي قضاها الثلاثين يوما والعشرة أيام التي أكمل فيها ليس وقتًا طويلا تنسيهم تلك النعم وذلك الوعد العظيم للقاء الله-عز وجل-، أو أنتم تريدون أن يحل بكم غضب الله بسبب هذا الفعل الشنيع الذي فعلتموه، من عبادة غير الله وترك اتباع نبيه؟!
رابعًا: غضب موسى على أخيه هارون، وشد شعر لحيته وشعر رأسه يؤنبه على تفريطه في مهام الخلافة، بأنه لم يأت ببني إسرائيل إلى الميقات المعلوم، وكان موسى قد أوصى هارون: “فأصلح ولا تتبع سبيل المفسدين
فظن موسى أن أخاه قد قصر في أداء المهمة، لكن هارون اعتذر منه بثلاثة أعذار
الأول: أن القوم احتقروا رأيه كما قال: “إن القوم استضعفوني“: وذلك حين قال لهم: “يا قوم إنما فتنتم به وإن ربكم الرحمن فاتبعوني وأطيعوا أمري”، فكان جوابهم: “لن نبرح عليه عاكفين حتى يرجع إلينا موسى“: أي سنبقى ملتزمين بعبادته حتى يعود موسى من موعده بلقاء ربه.
الثاني: “وكادوا يقتلونني“: أي أوشكوا أن يقتلوه لأنهم نهاهم عن عبادة العجل.
الثالث: أنه خشي إن ترك بني إسرائيل وتابع موسى أن يتفرق القوم، وحينئذ يصعب ردهم وجمعهم، وهو قول الله: “إني خشيت أن تقول فرقت بين بني إسرائيل
وكان هارون قد خاطب أخاه موسى خطابا عاطفيًا، مذكرًا إياه بتلك الأم الصابرة المؤمنة: “يا ابن أم“، وقال له: “لا تشمت بي الأعداء ولا تجعلني مع القوم الظالمين” وذلك بمعاقبتي وتوبيخي ولومي.
وقد قبل موسى عليه السلام اعتذار أخيه ودعا لنفسه وله: “رب اغفر لي ولأخي وأدخلنا في رحمتك وأنت أرحم الراحم