Taha 20:97
Ta-Ha · Juz 16 · Page 318
قَالَ فَٱذۡهَبۡ فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَۖ وَإِنَّ لَكَ مَوۡعِدٗا لَّن تُخۡلَفَهُۥۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَٰهِكَ ٱلَّذِي ظَلۡتَ عَلَيۡهِ عَاكِفٗاۖ لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُۥ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُۥ فِي ٱلۡيَمِّ نَسۡفًا ٩٧
[Moses] said, "Then go. And indeed, it is [decreed] for you in [this] life to say, 'No contact.'1 And indeed, you have an appointment [in the Hereafter] you will not fail to keep. And look at your 'god' to which you remained devoted. We will surely burn it and blow it [i.e., its ashes] into the sea with a blast.
1 translator’s note
- i.e., Do not touch me. As chastisement, he was to be completely shunned by all people. ↩
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Ma'arif al-Qur'an
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Commentary on 20:97–98
لَكَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَ
For your fate in this life is to say: 'Do not touch me'.- 20:97
The punishment proposed by Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) for Samiri in this world was that everyone should sever all contacts with him and not to come near him, and he too was commanded not to touch anyone. Thus he was condemned to spend the rest of his life away from all social contacts - like a wild animal. Whether this punishment was awarded to him by Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) by means of a law which was binding on Samiri as well as on the Bani Isra'il, or whether Samiri was smitten by some peculiar affliction which deterred people from making any physical contact with him, is not known. Some traditions have it that Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) had laid a curse on Samiri so that if anyone touched him then both the parties came down with fever (Ma` alim). Thus he spent all his life hiding from people and whenever he saw someone approaching him, he would call out لَامِسَاسَ (Don't touch me). It is mentioned in Ruh ul-Ma` ani on the authority of Al-Bahr ul-Muhit that initially Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) had intended to execute Samiri but Allah stopped him because Samiri was a very generous person and helped people who were in distress.
The word لَنُحَرِّقَنَّہ، means "we will certainly burn it". Here the question arises: how could the calf which was carved from gold and silver be burnt, because these metals when subjected to extreme heat are melted but are not reduced to ashes. Several possibilities have been advanced. The first is that after signs of life appeared in it, the calf ceased to be a figure of gold and silver and became an animal of flesh and blood in which case it could be slaughtered and burnt. The second explanation is that it could be filed with a rasp into very minute particles of dust (Ad-Dur al-Manthur). A third explanation is that it could be burnt by means of some chemical device (Rub u1-Ma` ani). There is yet a fourth explanation, namely that the calf could be burnt by some miracle (Bayanul-Qur’ an).
Page 318
20:88
فَأَخۡرَجَ لَهُمۡ عِجۡلٗا جَسَدٗا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٞ فَقَالُواْ هَٰذَآ إِلَٰهُكُمۡ وَإِلَٰهُ مُوسَىٰ فَنَسِيَ ٨٨
And he extracted for them [the statue of] a calf which had a lowing sound, and they said, "This is your god and the god of Moses, but he forgot."
20:89
أَفَلَا يَرَوۡنَ أَلَّا يَرۡجِعُ إِلَيۡهِمۡ قَوۡلٗا وَلَا يَمۡلِكُ لَهُمۡ ضَرّٗا وَلَا نَفۡعٗا ٨٩
Did they not see that it could not return to them any speech [i.e., response] and that it did not possess for them any harm or benefit?
20:90
وَلَقَدۡ قَالَ لَهُمۡ هَٰرُونُ مِن قَبۡلُ يَٰقَوۡمِ إِنَّمَا فُتِنتُم بِهِۦۖ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ فَٱتَّبِعُونِي وَأَطِيعُوٓاْ أَمۡرِي ٩٠
And Aaron had already told them before [the return of Moses], "O my people, you are only being tested by it, and indeed, your Lord is the Most Merciful, so follow me and obey my order."
20:91
قَالُواْ لَن نَّبۡرَحَ عَلَيۡهِ عَٰكِفِينَ حَتَّىٰ يَرۡجِعَ إِلَيۡنَا مُوسَىٰ ٩١
They said, "We will never cease being devoted to it [i.e., the calf] until Moses returns to us."
20:92
قَالَ يَٰهَٰرُونُ مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذۡ رَأَيۡتَهُمۡ ضَلُّوٓاْ ٩٢
[Moses] said, "O Aaron, what prevented you, when you saw them going astray,
20:93
أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِۖ أَفَعَصَيۡتَ أَمۡرِي ٩٣
From following me? Then have you disobeyed my order?"
20:94
قَالَ يَبۡنَؤُمَّ لَا تَأۡخُذۡ بِلِحۡيَتِي وَلَا بِرَأۡسِيٓۖ إِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقۡتَ بَيۡنَ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ وَلَمۡ تَرۡقُبۡ قَوۡلِي ٩٤
[Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, do not seize [me] by my beard or by my head. Indeed, I feared that you would say, 'You caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not observe [or await] my word.'"
20:95
قَالَ فَمَا خَطۡبُكَ يَٰسَٰمِرِيُّ ٩٥
[Moses] said, "And what is your case, O Sāmirī?"
20:96
قَالَ بَصُرۡتُ بِمَا لَمۡ يَبۡصُرُواْ بِهِۦ فَقَبَضۡتُ قَبۡضَةٗ مِّنۡ أَثَرِ ٱلرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذۡتُهَا وَكَذَٰلِكَ سَوَّلَتۡ لِي نَفۡسِي ٩٦
He said, "I saw what they did not see, so I took a handful [of dust] from the track of the messenger1 and threw it,2 and thus did my soul entice me."
20:97
قَالَ فَٱذۡهَبۡ فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَۖ وَإِنَّ لَكَ مَوۡعِدٗا لَّن تُخۡلَفَهُۥۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَٰهِكَ ٱلَّذِي ظَلۡتَ عَلَيۡهِ عَاكِفٗاۖ لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُۥ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُۥ فِي ٱلۡيَمِّ نَسۡفًا ٩٧
[Moses] said, "Then go. And indeed, it is [decreed] for you in [this] life to say, 'No contact.'1 And indeed, you have an appointment [in the Hereafter] you will not fail to keep. And look at your 'god' to which you remained devoted. We will surely burn it and blow it [i.e., its ashes] into the sea with a blast.
1 translator’s note
- i.e., Do not touch me. As chastisement, he was to be completely shunned by all people. ↩
20:98
إِنَّمَآ إِلَٰهُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَۚ وَسِعَ كُلَّ شَيۡءٍ عِلۡمٗا ٩٨
Your god is only Allāh, except for whom there is no deity. He has encompassed all things in knowledge."