Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 150

(Ayah 150) ➊ {وَ لَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوْسٰۤى اِلٰى قَوْمِهٖ غَضْبَانَ اَسِفًا: ’’ غَضْبَانَ ‘‘ ’’فَعْلَانَ‘‘ } on the pattern indicates being filled with something, i.e., filled with anger. {’’ اَسِفًا ‘‘ } is an adjective form, and in language it means one who is angry, even more than wrathful, as Allah Almighty said: «{ فَلَمَّاۤ اٰسَفُوْنَا انْتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ }» [ الزخرف : ۵۵ ] "Then when they provoked Our anger, We took retribution from them." And it also means regret and sorrow. Some scholars have said that intense anger and regret are two states of the same thing: one gets angry at a weak person, and feels regret before a powerful one. Living among the Children of Israel, Musa (peace be upon him) had dominance over them and was also helpless over their ignorance. That is, Musa (peace be upon him) returned filled with anger and regret, because Allah Almighty had already informed him on the Mount that Samiri had led his people astray after him. See Surah Ta-Ha (85).
➋ {بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُوْنِيْ۠ مِنْۢ بَعْدِيْ:} That is, when I was leaving, I told you that until I return, Harun will be my successor; obey him and do not follow the corrupters, but when I did not return for the appointed period (30) days, you thought I had died, so you started worshipping the calf, thus you proved to be very bad successors after me, or you did a very bad deed. (Al-Manar)
➌ {وَ اَلْقَى الْاَلْوَاحَ وَ اَخَذَ بِرَاْسِ اَخِيْهِ … : } The intense anger of Musa (peace be upon him) manifested in two actions: one, throwing down the tablets, and two, grabbing Harun (peace be upon him) by the head and pulling him towards himself. From this, it is understood that there is a big difference between seeing and hearing. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is heard is not like what is seen with the eyes. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, informed Musa (peace be upon him) of what his people had done regarding the calf, but he did not throw the tablets. When he saw with his own eyes what they had done, he threw the tablets and they broke." [ أحمد : 271/1، ح : ۲۴۵۱۔ مستدرک حاکم : 321/2، ح : ۳۲۵۰، عن ابن عباس رضی اللہ عنھما وصححہ الألبانی ]
➍ {قَالَ ابْنَ اُمَّ:} Musa (peace be upon him) was indeed the real brother of Harun (peace be upon him), but to gain his compassion, he said, "O son of my mother." {’’ ابْنَ اُمَّ ‘‘} was originally {’’يَا ابْنَ أُمِّيْ‘‘}, the vocative particle ya was omitted and the ya of {’’أُمِّيْ‘‘} was changed to alif, so it became {’’ابْنَ اُمَّا‘‘}, then for further lightening, the alif was also omitted, so it became {’’ ابْنَ اُمَّ ‘‘}.
➎ {اِنَّ الْقَوْمَ اسْتَضْعَفُوْنِيْ …:} That is, I tried my utmost to stop them from worshipping the calf. (See Ta-Ha: 90) But these people attacked me and it was near that they would have killed me.
➏ {فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بِيَ الْاَعْدَآءَ …: ’’شَمَاتَةٌ ‘‘} means the enemy being happy over some harm. Obviously, at this display of anger by Musa (peace be upon him), the enemies must have been pleased; by enemies are meant those who made the calf and supported its worship. Therefore, Harun (peace be upon him) said, "Do not make the enemies happy by seizing me in this way." «{ وَ لَا تَجْعَلْنِيْ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ }» And do not decide that I too am a partner with them in making or worshipping the calf. This is a clear refutation of the accusation in the Torah mentioned earlier (Ayah 148) that this calf was made by Harun (peace be upon him). Harun (peace be upon him) was also greatly distressed that the enemies would be pleased by the disagreement between brothers. That is why the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) always sought refuge with Allah from {’’شَمَاتَةُ الْاَعْدَاءِ‘‘}, that is, always sought refuge from the happiness of enemies at any calamity. The complete supplication is as follows: [ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ جَهْدِ الْبَلَاءِ وَ دَرَكِ الشَّقَاءِ وَسُوْءِ الْقَضَاءِ وَشَمَاتَةِ الْأَعْدَاءِ ] [ بخاری، الدعوات، باب التعوذ من جہد البلاء : ۶۳۴۷ ]