Surah Ta Ha (Ta Ha) 20 : 97

Overview (Verses 95 - 98)

Temptation of the Golden Calf
 
Now Moses addresses all his anger to the Sāmiriy, the perpetrator of the whole trouble. He did not speak to him first because the people themselves should have known better than to follow someone who came up with an outrageous idea. Aaron, as their trusted leader, was also responsible for making sure that they did not slip, should they be faced with temptation. The Sāmiriy takes less importance, since he did not use brute force to compel them to follow his lead, nor did he cast a screen over their faculties of thinking. He simply presented a temptation and they fell for it. They could very easily have remained true to the guidance of their first prophet, Moses, and benefited by the counsel of their second prophet, Aaron. Hence, responsibility lay with them in the first place, then with their leader, and finally with the perpetrator of the trouble.
 
“Said [Moses]: What is then your case, Sāmiriy?” (Verse 95) How come all this has happened because of you? The way the question is phrased is indicative of the seriousness of the whole affair. He answered: I have gained insight into something which they were unable to see; and so I took a handful of dust from the trail of the messenger and flung it away; for thus has my mind prompted me to act. (Verse 96) There are countless reports that try to explain the Sāmiriy’s answer: What did he see? Who was the messenger of whose trail he took a handful? What did this have to do with the calf he made and how did throwing this handful affect the calf he made? It is frequently mentioned in these reports that he saw Gabriel the angel in the form he takes when he descends to earth. So he took a handful of dust from underneath his foot or his horse’s hoof and threw the dust at the golden calf to produce the lowing sound, or that this was the cause behind making the jewellery into a lowing calf.
 
The Qur’ān does not tell us here what really happened; it simply quotes what the Sāmiriy said. We are inclined to consider this an excuse the Sāmiriy concocted in order to evade responsibility for what actually happened. We feel that it was he who made the calf out of the jewellery the Israelites threw away, having taken it deceptively and unlawfully from the Egyptian women. As he made it, he deliberately ensured that as the wind went through its hollow inside it produced such a noise. When questioned about it, he sought an excuse, hence his suggestion that he had seen Gabriel and took a handful of his trail.
 
Be that as it may, Moses punished him by expelling him for life from the Israelite community, leaving his destiny in the hereafter to God Almighty. He further took a strong and effective measure concerning the deity he had made with his own hands, aiming to show his people that it was an inanimate object, unable to protect its maker or to save itself: “Said [Moses]: Begone, then! It shall be your lot to say throughout your life, Do not touch me.’ But you shall be faced with a destiny from which you shall have no escape. Now look at this deity of yours to whose worship you have become so devoted: we shall most certainly burn it, and then scatter it far and wide over the sea.” (Verse 97)
 
Thus the Sāmiriy was ostracized: no one could go near him either to harm or benefit him. Nor was he allowed to touch anyone either. This was one of the penalties prescribed in Moses’ faith: expelling the offender and ostracizing him to the extent that no one went near him. The other aspect is that of God’s punishment at His own time.
 
Still angry and furious, Moses ordered the calf to be burnt, cast away and its ashes thrown in the sea. Such a strong action seems to be a characteristic of Moses. In this instance, however, his anger is in defence of God’s faith. In such a situation, strong action is commendable.
 
With the false deity being burnt and blown away, Moses declared the basic principle of true faith: “Your only deity is God, other than whom there is no deity. His knowledge encompasses all things.” (Verse 98) With this declaration we come to the end of the story of Moses as related in this sūrah. The overriding tone here is that of the grace God bestows on His servants, His care and forgiveness, even when they err. The sūrah does not add any other episode of Moses’ history, because subsequent events tell of the punishment God metes out to them for their sinful and corrupt ways. The overall atmosphere of this sūrah is one of mercy, compassion and grace, and later episodes do not fit with such an atmosphere.