Topic: Cleared Of Biblical Condemnation
View Aspects
وَلَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ غَضْبَٰنَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونِى مِنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ أَعَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ ۖ وَأَلْقَى ٱلْأَلْوَاحَ وَأَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يَجُرُّهُۥٓ إِلَيْهِ ۚ قَالَ ٱبْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱسْتَضْعَفُونِى وَكَادُوا۟ يَقْتُلُونَنِى فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بِىَ ٱلْأَعْدَآءَ وَلَا تَجْعَلْنِى مَعَ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
حضرت موسیٰ علیہ السلام قوم کے شرک کی وجہ سے غصہ میں بھرے ہوئے تھے اور زیادہ غصہ بھائی پر تھا کہ قوم میں شرک کے ظاہر ہونے پران سے لڑ کیوں نہ پڑے اور انہی پر زیادہ غصہ ظاہر کیا تاکہ باقی قوم ڈر جائے اور اصلاح کر لے۔
20:87.
20:95.
Moses seized Aaron by the head, not because the latter had countenanced or supported calf-worship, as he is represented to have done in the Bible (Exod. 32: 2-4), but because he did not successfully prevent the people from worshipping the calf. Display of anger on the part of Moses was due, not to any religious or legal offence committed by Aaron, but to his failure to manage affairs properly in his absence. The anger was justified because a great sacrilege had been committed and the whole work of Moses’s life was put in jeopardy.
Aaron appealed to Moses’s feelings of tenderness and brotherly affection.
20:87.
20:95.
Important Words:
فلاتشمت (make not rejoice). تشمت is formed from اشمت which is derived from شمت. They say شمت or شمت به i.e. he (an enemy) rejoiced; or he (someone) rejoiced at his enemy’s affliction. اشمته الله به means, God made him (the enemy) rejoice at his affliction. شمت علی العاطس means, he prayed for the sneezer that he might not be in a state in which his enemy might rejoice at his affliction (Lane).
Commentary:
When the return of Moses was delayed owing to the ten additional nights, his followers became impatient and thought that he was lost. They expressed their impatience in the words "we wot not what is become of him" (Exod. 32:1).
According to the Bible, Moses cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them beneath the Mount, so that they had to be renewed (Exod. 32:19; 34:1). But this is not borne out by the Quran which simply states, And he put down the tablets and this is more in harmony with the dignity of a Prophet.
Moses caught hold of Aaron’s head, not because the latter had abetted calf-worship, as he is represented to have done in the Bible (Exod. 32:2-4), but because he did not successfully prevent the people from worshipping the calf. As Moses’ representative, he should have effectively prevented the people from idol-worship, but he failed to do so. So the display of anger on the part of Moses was due not to any religious or legal offence committed by Aaron, but to his failure to manage affairs properly in the absence of Moses. Aaron had hoped that Moses would set things right on his return. That was only an error of judgement or lack of proper control, not a legal or religious offence.
The way in which Moses treated Aaron also shows that the latter was subordinate to the former. The treatment, however, should not be taken as a display of rough manners on the part of Moses. The anger of Moses was justified because a great sacrilege had been committed and the very work of his life was jeopardized; and Aaron being subordinate to Moses, the latter was entitled to take disciplinary action.
The words, Son of my mother, were used by Aaron not because Moses was a half-brother to him but because he wished to make an effective appeal to his feelings of tenderness and affection, and in this he succeeded.
The meaning of the particle مع (with) in the clause, and place me not with the unjust people, helps to explain its real sense in 4:70. Here, as well as there the particle gives the meaning of "among".
a
20:87.
b
20:95.
1
حضرت موسیٰ علیہ السلام قوم کے شرک کی وجہ سے غصہ میں بھرے ہوئے تھے اور زیادہ غصہ بھائی پر تھا کہ قوم میں شرک کے ظاہر ہونے پران سے لڑ کیوں نہ پڑے اور انہی پر زیادہ غصہ ظاہر کیا تاکہ باقی قوم ڈر جائے اور اصلاح کر لے۔
a
20:87.
b
20:95.
1040
Important Words:
فلاتشمت (make not rejoice). تشمت is formed from اشمت which is derived from شمت. They say شمت or شمت به i.e. he (an enemy) rejoiced; or he (someone) rejoiced at his enemy’s affliction. اشمته الله به means, God made him (the enemy) rejoice at his affliction. شمت علی العاطس means, he prayed for the sneezer that he might not be in a state in which his enemy might rejoice at his affliction (Lane).
Commentary:
When the return of Moses was delayed owing to the ten additional nights, his followers became impatient and thought that he was lost. They expressed their impatience in the words "we wot not what is become of him" (Exod. 32:1).
According to the Bible, Moses cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them beneath the Mount, so that they had to be renewed (Exod. 32:19; 34:1). But this is not borne out by the Quran which simply states, And he put down the tablets and this is more in harmony with the dignity of a Prophet.
Moses caught hold of Aaron’s head, not because the latter had abetted calf-worship, as he is represented to have done in the Bible (Exod. 32:2-4), but because he did not successfully prevent the people from worshipping the calf. As Moses’ representative, he should have effectively prevented the people from idol-worship, but he failed to do so. So the display of anger on the part of Moses was due not to any religious or legal offence committed by Aaron, but to his failure to manage affairs properly in the absence of Moses. Aaron had hoped that Moses would set things right on his return. That was only an error of judgement or lack of proper control, not a legal or religious offence.
The way in which Moses treated Aaron also shows that the latter was subordinate to the former. The treatment, however, should not be taken as a display of rough manners on the part of Moses. The anger of Moses was justified because a great sacrilege had been committed and the very work of his life was jeopardized; and Aaron being subordinate to Moses, the latter was entitled to take disciplinary action.
The words, Son of my mother, were used by Aaron not because Moses was a half-brother to him but because he wished to make an effective appeal to his feelings of tenderness and affection, and in this he succeeded.
The meaning of the particle مع (with) in the clause, and place me not with the unjust people, helps to explain its real sense in 4:70. Here, as well as there the particle gives the meaning of "among".
a
20:87.
b
20:95.
1055
Moses seized Aaron by the head, not because the latter had countenanced or supported calf-worship, as he is represented to have done in the Bible (Exod. 32: 2-4), but because he did not successfully prevent the people from worshipping the calf. Display of anger on the part of Moses was due, not to any religious or legal offence committed by Aaron, but to his failure to manage affairs properly in his absence. The anger was justified because a great sacrilege had been committed and the whole work of Moses’s life was put in jeopardy.
1056
Aaron appealed to Moses’s feelings of tenderness and brotherly affection.
قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِأَخِى وَأَدْخِلْنَا فِى رَحْمَتِكَ ۖ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
Commentary:
Moses soon saw the innocence of Aaron, so he included him with himself in his prayer for God’s mercy.
1041
Commentary:
Moses soon saw the innocence of Aaron, so he included him with himself in his prayer for God’s mercy.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ ٱلْعِجْلَ سَيَنَالُهُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَذِلَّةٌ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُفْتَرِينَ
2:52, 93; 4:154; 7:149; 20:89.
The account of the Bible accusing Aaron of complicity in calf- worship is certainly misleading (Enc. Bib. vol. 1, col. 2).
2:52, 93; 4:154; 7:149; 20:89.
Commentary:
As it was not Aaron who took the calf for worship, so he was excluded when the offenders were punished. This absolves Aaron of all complicity in calf-worship. The account of the Bible in this connection is certainly misleading, as admitted by Encyclopaedia Biblica (vol. 1. col. 2).
As a matter of fact, only those who took the leading part in making the image of the calf and taking it for worship were punished. The rest, who were misled by the ringleaders and who afterwards repented were granted pardon, as hinted in the following verse.
c
2:52, 93; 4:154; 7:149; 20:89.
520
«圣经» 上指控哈伦在崇拜牛犊的共谋行为的这一说法, 肯定会使人误解的 (Enc. Bib. Vol.1. col.2)。
a
2:52, 93; 4:154; 7:149; 20:89.
1042
Commentary:
As it was not Aaron who took the calf for worship, so he was excluded when the offenders were punished. This absolves Aaron of all complicity in calf-worship. The account of the Bible in this connection is certainly misleading, as admitted by Encyclopaedia Biblica (vol. 1. col. 2).
As a matter of fact, only those who took the leading part in making the image of the calf and taking it for worship were punished. The rest, who were misled by the ringleaders and who afterwards repented were granted pardon, as hinted in the following verse.
a
2:52, 93; 4:154; 7:149; 20:89.
1057
The account of the Bible accusing Aaron of complicity in calf- worship is certainly misleading (Enc. Bib. vol. 1, col. 2).
وَلَقَدْ قَالَ لَهُمْ هَٰرُونُ مِن قَبْلُ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنَّمَا فُتِنتُم بِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى وَأَطِيعُوٓا۟ أَمْرِى
The Qur’an here contradicts the Bible and clears Aaron of the charge of having made a molten calf for the Israelites to worship (Exod. 32: 4). It says that not only did Aaron not fashion the calf for them, on the other hand he prohibited them from worshipping the one which the Samiri had made for them. The charge has been dismissed as unfounded by Christian writers themselves (Enc. Brit. under "The Golden Calf").
Commentary:
The Quran here contradicts the Bible and clears Aaron of the charge of having made a molten calf for the Israelites to worship (Exod. 32:4). It says that not only did Aaron not fashion the calf for them but on the other hand prohibited them from worshipping the one which the Samiri had made for them. It offends against reason and common sense even to think that a Prophet of God who had heard His voice and had had communion with Him should have stooped so low as to worship a calf. The charge is patently so foolish that it has been dismissed as unfounded by Christian writers themselves (Enc. Brit. under "the Golden Calf" and under "Moses.")
As usual, in this case also the Bible has contradicted itself. Far from deserving condemnation on account of being involved in cow-worship, Aaron at God’s command was to be dressed with holy garments, be anointed and sanctified by Moses (Exod. 40:13).
The words "you have been tried by means of it" show that in the offer of calf-worship by the Samiri lay the greatest trial of the Israelites because this worship was calculated to destroy their national unity. The trials and tribulations which the Israelites had suffered at the hands of Pharaoh were nothing compared with the spiritual trial to which they had become exposed through the wicked designs of the Samiri. While the former had helped to cement their national unity, the latter had almost destroyed it. It had caused dissensions among the Israelites; and internecine discord and dissensions are more destructive of national unity than external dangers.
2304
Commentary:
The Quran here contradicts the Bible and clears Aaron of the charge of having made a molten calf for the Israelites to worship (Exod. 32:4). It says that not only did Aaron not fashion the calf for them but on the other hand prohibited them from worshipping the one which the Samiri had made for them. It offends against reason and common sense even to think that a Prophet of God who had heard His voice and had had communion with Him should have stooped so low as to worship a calf. The charge is patently so foolish that it has been dismissed as unfounded by Christian writers themselves (Enc. Brit. under "the Golden Calf" and under "Moses.")
As usual, in this case also the Bible has contradicted itself. Far from deserving condemnation on account of being involved in cow-worship, Aaron at God’s command was to be dressed with holy garments, be anointed and sanctified by Moses (Exod. 40:13).
The words "you have been tried by means of it" show that in the offer of calf-worship by the Samiri lay the greatest trial of the Israelites because this worship was calculated to destroy their national unity. The trials and tribulations which the Israelites had suffered at the hands of Pharaoh were nothing compared with the spiritual trial to which they had become exposed through the wicked designs of the Samiri. While the former had helped to cement their national unity, the latter had almost destroyed it. It had caused dissensions among the Israelites; and internecine discord and dissensions are more destructive of national unity than external dangers.
1845
The Qur’an here contradicts the Bible and clears Aaron of the charge of having made a molten calf for the Israelites to worship (Exod. 32: 4). It says that not only did Aaron not fashion the calf for them, on the other hand he prohibited them from worshipping the one which the Samiri had made for them. The charge has been dismissed as unfounded by Christian writers themselves (Enc. Brit. under "The Golden Calf").