Surah Al-Araf, Verse 149-150

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*Surah Al-Araf, Verse 149:*

وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّوا قَالُوا لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

And when they regretted and saw that they had gone astray, they (repented and) said: "If our Lord have not mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall certainly be of the losers."

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*Surah Al-Araf, Verse 150:*

وَلَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونِي مِن بَعْدِي أَعَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَلْقَى الْأَلْوَاحَ وَأَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يَجُرُّهُ إِلَيْهِ قَالَ ابْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ اسْتَضْعَفُونِي وَكَادُوا يَقْتُلُونَنِي فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بِيَ الْأَعْدَاءَ وَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

And when Musa (Moses) returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said: "What an evil thing is that which you have done (i.e. worshipping the calf) during my absence. Did you hasten and go ahead as regards the matter of your Lord (you left His worship)?" And he threw down the Tablets and seized his brother by (the hair of) his head and dragged him towards him. Harun (Aaron) said: "O son of my mother! Indeed the people judged me weak and were about to kill me, so make not the enemies rejoice over me, nor put me amongst the people who are Zalimun (wrong-doers)."

#COMMENTARY

Did ye make haste...? 'In your impatience, could you not wait for me? Your lapse into idolatry has only hastened ALLĀH's wrath. If you had only waited, I was bringing to you in the Tablets the most excellent teaching in the commands of Almighty ALLĀH.' There is subtle irony in the speech of Moses. There is also a play upon words: 'ijl = calf: and 'ajila = to make haste: no translation can bring out these niceties.

Put down the Tablets: we are told that the Tablets were broken: in fact chapter vii, verse 154 (below) shows that they were whole. They contained ALLĀH's Message. There is a touch of disrespect (if not blasphemy) in supposing that ALLĀH's Messenger broke the Tablets in his incontinent rage, as is stated in the Old Testament: "Moses's anger waxed hot, and he cast the Tablets out of his hands, and brake them beneath the Mount." (Exodus, chapter xxxii, verse 10). On this point and also on the point that Aaron (in the Old Testament story) ordered the gold to be brought, made a molten calf, fashioned it with a graving tool, and built an altar before the calf (Exodus, chapter xxxii, verse 2-5), our version differs from that of the Old Testament. We cannot believe that Aaron, who was appointed by Almighty ALLĀH to assist Moses as ALLĀH's Messenger, could descend so low as to seduce the people into idolatry, whatever his human weaknesses might be.

Moses was but human. Remembering the charge he had given to Aaron (chapter vii, verse 142) he had a just grievance at the turn events had taken. But he did not wreak his vengeance on the Tablets of Almighty ALLĀH'S law by breaking them. He laid hands on his brother, and his brother at once explained.

Aaron's speech is full of tenderness and regret. He addresses Moses as "son of my mother." - an affectionate term. He explains how the turbulent people nearly killed him for resisting them. And he states in the clearest terms that the idolatry neither originated with him nor had his consent. In chapter xx, verse 85, we are told that a fellow described as the Sāmirī had led them astray. We shall discuss this when we come to that passage.