[1769] God told him what befell his people while he was away: “˹Allah said:˺ “Moses, what has made you come ahead of your people in such haste?” *He said: “They are following in my footsteps. I rushed to You, Lord, to please You” *He ˹Allah˺ said, “But We have tested your people after you ˹departed˺, and the Samaritan has led them astray”. *So Moses returned to his people, enraged and exasperated. He said: “My people! Had your Lord not made you a good promise? Has my absence been too long for you? Or have you wished for Wrath from your Lord to befall you, so you broke your promise to me?”” (20: 83-86).
[1770] He reminded them of what he had told them when they saw some idol worshippers deeply involved in their devotions and asked him to make them a god like the idolaters had (cf. Ayas 138-140 above).
[1771] In other words, “Could you not have waited until I came back to you with your Lord’s good Guidance?” (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[1772] That the tablets were ‘thrown down’ is symbolic of the context in which God’s Guidance was received; instead of one of cheeriness and thankfulness it was one of deviation and Association, much to the consternation of the Messenger. Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Hearing is not like seeing. Allah told Moses of what his people did with the calf and he did not throw down the tablets. Yet, when he actually saw what they did he threw them down!” (Imām Aḥmad: 2447; Ibn Ḥibbān: 6213)
[1773] “He said: “Hārūn, what prevented you, when you saw they had strayed *from following me? Why did you disobey my command?” (20: 92-93).
[1774] “Hārūn had already, before this said to them: “My people! You are being tested in this: for verily your Lord is ˹Allah˺ the Most Gracious; so follow me and obey my command”. *They said: “We will never cease being devoted to it ˹the calf˺ until Moses returns to us”” (20: 90-91).
[1775] Thus he practically apologized to his brother, demonstrated that he accepted his explanation and did not make his enemies rejoice at his misfortune (cf. Abū Ḥayyān).
[1776] This shows that no matter how grave the sin is, God will forgive it if the person truly repents and sincerely Believes. This represents a great ray of hope indeed (cf. al-Shirbīnī): “Verily, I am indeed Most Forgiving towards the one who repents, Believes, does righteous deeds, and then remains guided” (20: 82). Anas Ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه) said that he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: “Allah, glory be His, said: “Son of Adam! Verily, you shall not pray to Me and beseech Me without Me easily absolving you of your sins no matter how grave they are. Son of Adam! Verily, if your sins were to mount up to the sky, then you asked Me for forgiveness, I shall easily forgive you. Son of Adam! If you were to come to Me with nearly Earth’s fill of misdeeds and you meet Me without Associating anything with Me, I shall come to you with its measure of forgiveness” (al-Tirmidhī: 3540, al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ: 4305).
[1777] Yarhabūn is fear mixed with apprehension (cf. Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt). Those who are always on their guard will benefit most from Divine guidance: “…so remind by means of the Qur’ān those who fear My Threat” (50: 45).
[1778] They were hit with an earthquake and were either struck unconscious or actually died (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī, Abū Ḥayyān). Exegetes have differed as to what the reason behind this punishment was. Ibn al-Jawzī (Zād al-Masīr, 2/158-159) sums up three widely postulated reasons (though they are not by any means conclusive, since they are not supported by evidence); they are: 1) that they transgressed in their supplications; 2) that they did not stand up to those who worshipped the calf; 3) that they demanded that they speak to God and see Him directly.
However, given the immediate context, al-Ṭabarī and Ibn ʿĀshur conclude that it related to the worship of the calf, as Moses hinted to in his prayer: “Do you destroy us for what the feeble-minded among us committed!” They took the ‘feeble-minded’ here to mean the calf worshippers.
[1779] That is, the worship of the calf was a test for the people of Moses to see who remained firm and who wavered and slipped into misguidedness (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr): “He ˹Allah˺ said: “But We have tested your people after you ˹departed˺, and the Samaritan has led them astray” (20: 85).