____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ After explaining the consequences of disregarding the guidance of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, the story of Moosa`alayhisslaam and his people continues. While Moosa`alayhisslaam was being given the guidance on the mountain for the Israelites to follow, those wicked people could not resist the urge to follow the ways of their Egyptian masters from whom they had just been liberated. Moosa`alayhisslaam had rebuked them when they wanted a statue to worship. Now that he was gone for a few weeks, they collected their golden jewellery and cast a calf for worship, in accordance with the Egyptian tradition of ox worship, among many other things. A person named Saamiriyy was an expert sculptor who was able to make this golden calf in such a way that when air passed through it, it made a mooing sound. Haaroon`alayhisslaam tried to stop them, but they would not listen. They disregarded his objections and threatened to kill him if he interfered. 148 In Moosa’s absence, his people made a calf for worship out of their jewellery, a sculpture that gave a mooing sound. Did they not see that it could neither speak to them, nor guide them the way? They adopted him as god and became wrong-doers. 149 When they repented and realized that they had gone astray, they exclaimed, “If our Lord will not have mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall indeed be of the losers.” Initially, many people were influenced by Saamiriyy and his companions’ aggressive and emotional pressure and propaganda. But soon some of them came to their senses and realized what they had done. That is when they sought forgiveness of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. The lesson to learn is that whenever someone charismatic in the community starts or presents some new idea or practice, people should be very careful in being swept up by the public hysteria and mass appeal. There have been very many incidents in Muslim societies where people start blindly following a heretic or innovator in Islamic matters, later on to realize how misleading their ideas were. This causes a lot of damage to the Muslim community and spreads discord. Then, even after the error is revealed and explained, many people continue to follow the misguided heretic. One of the more recent, glaring examples has been Rashad Khalifah whose misguided theory about the structure of the Qur-aan was even accepted and quoted by renowned scholars, until its falsehood became evident. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala informed Moosa`alayhisslaam about the Fitnah[1] that had taken place in his absence. Hearing this, Moosa`alayhisslaam rushed back, sad and furious for this extremely misguided, abhorring and blasphemous behaviour. 150 And when Moosa returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, “How wretched is the way you have behaved in my absence. Were you impatient in the matter of your Lord?” He put down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, pulling him towards himself. Haaroon said, “O son of my mother, people overpowered me and were about to kill me; so do not make enemies laugh at me and do not count me among the wrong-doers. 151 Moosa prayed, “My Lord! Forgive me and my brother and admit us into Your mercy, and You are the most Merciful of the merciful ones.” Moosa`alayhisslaam was disappointed in the performance of his brother to whom he had delegated the leadership before leaving and had warned him that he must maintain order and control in case some trouble makers created problems. Moosa`alayhisslaam was so shocked at this heinous crime that he put the tablets aside and questioned his brother while holding his head and pulling it towards him. When Haaroon`alayhisslaam explained what had transpired and how he was overpowered and threatened, Moosa`alayhisslaam sought Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala’s forgiveness and mercy for himself and his brother. Unfortunately, the Torah and the Bible blame Haaroon`alayhisslaam for the worship of golden calf. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala has totally absolved him from having any part in that crime. In the next verse, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala warns Israelites about the consequences of their crime unless they sincerely repent in which case they will be forgiven by the Merciful Lord. 152 (Allaah declared) Indeed those who adopted the calf as god will incur anger from their Lord and humiliation in the life of the world. Thus do We recompense the inventors of falsehood. 153 However, those who do wrong but repent thereafter and truly believe, verily your Lord thereafter is most surely Forgiving, Merciful. Note that repentance is conditional on true faith. Some of the sins, such as the worship of the calf, are such that people need to renew their faith sincerely and truly for their repentance to be accepted. 154 Then, when Moosa’s anger subsided, he picked up the tablets whose text contained guidance and mercy for those who are fearful of their Lord. The Qur-aan indirectly clarifies that the tablets were not broken as is alleged by the Torah and the Bible. In normal circumstances, they would have been given the most attention on his return to his people. But because of a critical Fitnah, they were temporarily put aside. Once the Fitnah was dealt with, the tablets were picked up and the message was delivered and explained to the people. [1] The word Fitnah has been used here to indicate a serious problem arising in a Muslim community that may lead a segment of the community astray. All rights reserved Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur‘aan, not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details. Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur‘aan is in fact only an expression of the translator’s understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta‘aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur‘aan itself. Only the original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur‘aan. Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic thinker residing in Canada for the last 31 years. His recently published books are: 1. Islam - Does It Make Sense? 2. Unveiling the Commands—The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar and Jilbaab. 3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth. 4. A Book Unlike Any Other. 5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms. http://soundvisionc anada.com/ shop/pbrowse. asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004 The following soowar ‘Teachings of the Qur‘aan’ series by Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:- Al Faatihah Al Baqarah Aali ‘Imraan A Nisaa‘ Al Maaidah Al An’aam Al A'raaf: Name, Background and Topics/7:1-9/7:10-25/7:26-33/7:34-39/7:40-53/7:54-58/ 7:59-72/7:73-79/7:80-93/7:94-102/7:103-126/7:127-137/7:138-147/ K a r i m a
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