سُوْرَةُ طٰهٰ
Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 88
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.
“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.
