Worship Of A Calf

LESSON # 64 HOLY QUR’AAN

BAQARAH - 2

Worship Of A Calf

Verse –51 of 286, Section - 6

And when We did appoint for Moses forty nights (of solitude), and then ye chose the calf, when he had gone from you, and ye were wrongdoers.

Wa ‘iz waa-‘adnaa Muusaaa ‘arba-iina lay-latan-  summat-takhaztu-mul-‘ijla mim- ba’-dihii wa ‘antum zaalimuun.

Lesson

Muusaaa – (Moses) was a great, glorious and favourite Prophet (peace be upon Him) of God Almighty. Mostly Commentators of the religion imagine that the word ‘Moses’ is derived from Hebrew language. Some scholars say that it is an Egyptian word which means child or son. Father’s name of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon Him) was Imran. His sister’s name was Mary and Brother Aaron. They both were elder to Him. The Time of Moses (peace be upon Him) is stated as 1500 B.C. or 1300 B.C. He made the children of Israel free from the slavery of Pharaoh and his folk.

In this verse the God, the Most High narrated the events of Prophet Moses (peace be upon Him) and His nation which were happened after the crossing of Red Sea. When Moses (peace be upon Him) reached near the Mountain Sinai (famous for the conversing of Moses and God Almighty) after crossing the sea, God Almighty commanded Him to worship for forty nights on the Mountain Sinai (Koh-i-Tuur). Prophet Moses (peace be upon Him) went for worship on the Mountain Sinai obeying this order and detailed His brother Aaron to look after the nation in His absence.

After the departure of Moses (peace be upon Him) obstinacy and liberty grew in the nation (children of Israel). In the presence of even Aaron (peace be upon Him) they did not incline towards the God-worshipping. It is known as they did not forget even then the Idol-worshipping of the Egyptians. They were simpleton. Out of them a conjurer named ‘Saamri’ (who was a story teller) took advantage of their weakness (simpleton-ness) and made a calf of the gold. Whenever it blew, a meaningless sound came out of the mouth of calf. That sound was wonderful for them, although the children may get different sounds from the customary toys of animals. All the children of Israel started worshipping the calf except a few persons out of them.

The Prophet Aaron (peace be upon Him) made them much to understand but they did not turn to God-worshipping. As though they could not remain on the straight path in the forty days’ absence of Prophet Moses (peace be upon Him). And leaving the God Almighty started worshipping the calf which was lifeless and false. It was their much bigger weakness and till today some nations are involved in this mistake.    

Transliteration in Roman Script, English Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore and Paraphrase collected from Dars e Qur’aan published By Idara Islah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated by Muhammad Sharif Fauji) (http://hltsharif.blogspot.com)