سُوْرَةُ طٰهٰ

Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 88

Taa-Haa · Meccan · Juz 16 · Page 318

‹
›
فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَآ إِلَـٰهُكُمْ وَإِلَـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ فَنَسِىَ ﴿88﴾

Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali

Then he took out (of the fire) for them (a statue of) a calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your ilâh (god), and the ilâh (god) of Mûsâ (Moses), but he [Mûsâ (Moses)] has forgotten (his god).’"

Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning

فَأَخْرَجَ fa-akhraja Then he brought forth
لَهُمْ lahum for them
عِجْلًۭا ʿij'lan a calf's
جَسَدًۭا jasadan body
لَّهُۥ lahu it had
خُوَارٌۭ khuwārun a lowing sound
فَقَالُوا۟ faqālū and they said
هَـٰذَآ hādhā This
إِلَـٰهُكُمْ ilāhukum (is) your god
وَإِلَـٰهُ wa-ilāhu and the god
مُوسَىٰ mūsā (of) Musa
فَنَسِىَ fanasiya but he forgot

Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi

Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.

(Ayah 88) ➊ {فَاَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلًا … :} The Egyptians, like the Hindus, used to worship the cow and believed in its sanctity. Among the Children of Israel, despite being Muslims, this belief had infiltrated due to their slavery to the Coptic polytheists and their association with them, which would manifest from time to time, as it did when Moses (peace be upon him) ordered them to slaughter a cow. See Surah Al-Baqarah (67). Now, in the absence of Moses (peace be upon him), Samiri made a calf out of the Israelites’ jewelry, which was lifeless, but crafted in such a way that, due to the holes placed in it, a sound like that of a cow would come out by itself. Those people who, after crossing the sea, passed by some idol worshippers and demanded from Moses (peace be upon him) to make a deity like theirs, these same ignorant ones immediately accepted it as their deity and said, “This is your and Moses’ real deity; Moses has fallen into error, who has gone to the Mount to speak to a deity.” Some of our Sufi elders have also gone so far in the shirk of the concept of the Shaykh that the love that was to be for their Lord and the way He was to be kept before them at all times, that love and remembrance was devoted to the Shaykh, and they even said:

“O people who have gone for Hajj! Where are you, where are you? The beloved is here, where are you, where are you?”
➋ { جَسَدًا لَّهٗ خُوَارٌ …:} Some commentators have even written that it became a calf of flesh and blood, but there is no evidence for this; rather, it was merely a lifeless statue made of metal. {’’ خُوَارٌ ‘‘} The sound of a cow.

Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf

Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.

88. 1. Zīnah refers to ornaments, and al-qawm refers to the people of Pharaoh. It is said that these ornaments were borrowed by them from the people of Pharaoh, which is why they were called a burden, because they were not lawful for them. Thus, they gathered them and threw them into a pit. Samiri also (who, like some misguided sects among the Muslims, was misguided) melted all the ornaments and made a calf in such a way that, due to the air passing in and out, a kind of sound was produced. With this sound, he misled the Children of Israel by saying that Musa (AS) had gone astray because he went to Mount Tur to meet Allah, whereas your and Musa’s (AS) deity is this.

Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani

Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.

Then he (the Samiri) produced for them a calf—a lifeless body that made a lowing sound [61]. They said, "This is your god and the god of Moses, but he (Moses) has forgotten."

[61]
The Lame Excuse of the Nation for Calf Worship:

The nation gave this answer to Musaؑ for their actions, saying that we did not intentionally mean to do anything wrong, but what happened was that during this long journey, the burden of jewelry became unbearable for us. Therefore, instead of all our people carrying this burden, we thought why not gather it all together, melt it, and make bricks out of it so that it would be easier to transport and could be loaded onto donkeys and oxen along with other belongings. The amount of each person's jewelry would be recorded separately, and when we settled somewhere, the gold could be redistributed and jewelry could be made again for each person. With this thought, we all took off our jewelry, and in the same way, Samiri added his jewelry to the collection. The task of melting the gold was assigned to Samiri. He committed this mischief that instead of melting the jewelry and making gold bricks, he shaped it into a calf. Then he performed some trick so that the calf even made a sound like a real calf, and he said that in reality, this is your god, which has appeared in this form by itself when the gold was melted. Since these people had worshipped the bull for a long time in Egypt, following the Pharaoh's people, and their minds had not yet been completely cleansed, the ignorant masses immediately responded to Samiri's call and said that in fact, this was our god and Musa's god as well. Who knows what Musa has gone to get from Tur? Thus, this matter went out of our control, and seeing the majority, we too had to follow this path.
← Previous All Surahs Next →
Telegram
Facebook