[20].Surah Taha [Tâ-Hâ]: Ayat 89-91

Ayat 89. Did they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good?

Ayat 90. And Harun (Aaron) indeed had said to them beforehand: "O my people! You are being tried in this, and verily, your Lord is (Allah) the Most Beneficent, so follow me and obey my order."

Ayat 91. They said: "We will not stop worshipping it (i.e. the calf), until Mûsa (Moses) returns to us." 

[Tafseer] This is a parenthetical comment. How blind the people were! They had seen Signs of the True Living God, and yet they were willing to worship a dead image! The True Living God had spoken in definite words of command, while this calf could only emit some sounds of lowing, which were themselves contrived by the fraud of the priests. This image could do neither good nor harm, while Allah was the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Universe, Whose Mercy was unbounded and Whose Wrath was terrible. "Resist this temptation: you are being tested in this. Do not follow after the semi-Egyptian Samiri, but obey me." The Bible story makes Aaron the culprit, which is inconsistent with his office as the high priest of Allah and the right hand of Moses. Our version is more consistent, and explains, through the example of the Samiri, the lingering influences of the Egyptian cult of Osiris the bull-god.  They had said: "We will not abandon this cult, but we will devote ourselves to it until Moses returns to us." Obviously Aaron's speech in the last verse, and the rebels' defiance in this verse, were spoken before the return of Moses from the Mount. The rebels had so little faith that they had given Moses up for lost, and never expected to see him again.

Hazrat Maaqil bin Yasar (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) said, "The reward of worship performed at a time of trials is equal in reward to an emigration to me.''

[Muslim Book 41, Chapter 24, Hadith # 7042] 

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Taha Ayat 90.""O my people! You are being tried in this, and verily, your Lord is (Allah) the Most Beneficent, so follow me and obey my order." When turmoil is rampant and society is plagued with evils, the worship and obedience of Allah becomes very difficult. The reason being that in such a situation evils are widespread and therefore everyone easily inclines to them. In such circumstances, worship of Allah and compliance of His Orders are merits of great eminence and their reward have been likened to the reward of going for Hijrah (Emigration) to Al-Madinah at that time when this migration was Wajib (obligatory). Emigration was at that time obligatory and to bid farewell to home, property, business and homeland was sacrifice of the highest order. But this sacrifice was worth its reward. A similar reward is promised to those who will be obedient to Allah and worship Him in an age of mischief. A believer should avoid taking part in turmoil and occupy himself worshipping Allah instead.

[20].Surah Taha [Tâ-Hâ]: Ayat 87-88

Ayat 87. They said: "We broke not the promise to you, of our own will, but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the [Firaun's (Pharaoh)] people, then we cast them (into the fire), and that was what As-Samiri suggested."

Ayat 88. Then he took out (of the fire) for them a statue of a calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your illah (god), and the illah (god) of Mûsa (Moses), but [Mûsa (Moses)] has forgotten (his god).'"

[Tafseer] the Israelites, before they left Egypt , borrowed from the Egyptians 'jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and raiment"; and "they spoiled the Egyptians" i.e., stripped them of all their valuable jewelry. Note that the answer of the backsliders is disingenuous in various ways. (1) The Samiri was no doubt responsible for suggesting the making of the golden calf, but they could not on that account disclaim responsibility for themselves ; the burden of the sin is on him who commits it, and he cannot pretend that he was powerless to avoid it. (2) At most the weight of the gold they carried could not have been heavy even if one or two men carried it, but would have been neglible if distributed. (3) Gold is valuable, and it is not likely that if they wanted to disburden themselves of it, they had any need to light a furnace, melt it, and cast it into the shape of a calf. About the Samiri if the Egyptian origin of the root is not accepted, we have a Hebrew origin in "Shomer" a guard, watchman, sentinel; allied to the Arabic Samara, yasmuru, to keep awake by night, to converse by night: samir, one who keeps awake by night. The Samiri may have been a watchman, in fact or by nickname. Moses has forgotten: i.e., 'forgotten both us and his god. He has been gone for so many days. He is searching for a god on the Mount when his god is really here!' This is spoken by the Samiri and his partisans, but the people as a whole accepted it, and it therefore becomes their speech.

Hazrat Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) said, "O Allah! To You I have submitted, and in You do I believe, and in You I put my trust, to You do I turn, and for You I argued. O Allah, I seek refuge with You through Your Power; there is none worthy of worship except You Alone; that You safeguard me against going astray. You are the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists; the One Who never dies, whereas human beings and jinn will all die". 

[Muslim Book 35,Chapter 17, Hadith # 6561] 

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Taha Ayat 88."They said: "This is your illah (god), and the illah (god) of Mûsa (Moses), but [Mûsa (Moses)] has forgotten (his god)" Even in the worst circumstances one should always have faith and trust in Allah, Allah (SWT) says "I am just as My slave thinks of Me when he remembers Me". Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave then any thing else.This Hadith highlights the merits of expecting good treatment of Allah. But this has to be backed by good actions, in the same way as one can hope for good results after ploughing and sowing seeds. It is obvious that one who accomplishes good deeds will expect good consequences, and one who does evil deeds will expect evil consequences. Allah will treat people according to their expectation that are founded on their actions, and the reward will match their deeds.

[20].Surah Taha [Tâ-Hâ]: Ayat 85-86

Ayat 85. (Allah) said: "Verily! We have tried your people in your absence, and As-Samiri has led them astray."

Ayat 86. Then Mûsa (Moses) returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said: "O my people! Did not your Lord promise you a fair promise? Did then the promise seem to you long in coming? Or did you desire that wrath should descend from your Lord on you, so you broke your promise to me (i.e disbelieving in Allah and worshipping the calf)?"  

[Tafseer] He replied: "Behold, they are close on my footsteps: I hastened to thee, O my Lord, to please thee." (Allah) said: "We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray."  Who was this Samin ? If it was his personal name, What was the root for "Samiri"? If we look to old Egyptian, we have Shemer = A stranger, foreigner. As the Israelites had just left Egypt , they might quite well have among them an Egyptianised Hebrew bearing that nickname. That the name Shemer was subsequently not unknown among the Hebrews is clear from the Old Testament. In I Kings, we read that Omri, king of Israel, the northern portion of the divided kingdom, who reigned about 903-896 B.C., built a new city, Samaria, on a hill which he bought from Shemer, the owner of the hill, for two talents of silver, the promise of Allah and the promise of the people of Israel . They form one Covenant, which was entered into through their leader Moses. Allah's promise was to protect them and lead them to the Promised Land, and their promise was to obey Allah's Law and His commandments. (Then Moses went back) when Moses went back (unto his folk) with the 70 men and heard the sound of the sedition, he became (angry and sad. He said: O my people! Hath not your Lord promised you a fair promise) a true promise? (Did the time appointed then appear too long for you) did I exceed the appointed time, (or did ye wish that wrath from your Lord should come upon you) should become prescribed upon you, (that ye broke tryst with me) that you went against my promise?   

Hazrat Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-Aas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) said, "Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the religious scholars till none of the scholars stays alive. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, the result being that they will go astray and will lead others astray.''

[Al-Bukhari Book 01, Chapter 03, Hadith # 100] 

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Taha Ayat 85."We have tried your people in your absence" It is a sign of the nearness of the Day of Judgment that the world will be deprived of genuine religious scholars, and illiterate people will become leaders who will have neither the knowledge of the Qur'an nor that of the Hadith. Despite their ignorance of the Qur'an and the Hadith, they will be called Mujtahid (jurist entitled to independent reasoning) and Imam (leader) and will mislead people with their legal opinions and self-created problems. Besides urging us to acquire religious knowledge with a view to producing more scholars in the society, this Hadith also warns us against the ignorant self-styled `Ulama'. It also warns us against entrusting religious leadership to them.

[20].Surah Taha [Tâ-Hâ]: Ayat 83-84

Ayat 83. "And what made you hasten from your people, O Mûsa (Moses)?"

Ayat 84. He said: "They are close on my footsteps, and I hastened to You, O my Lord, that You might be pleased."

[Tafseer] This was when Moses was up on the Mount for forty days and forty nights. Moses (PBUH) had left the elders of Israel with his brother Aaron [Haroon](PBUH) behind him: While he was in a state of ecstatic honour on the Mount, his people were enacting strange scenes down below. They were tested and tried, and they failed in the trial. They made a golden image of a calf for worship, as described in next ayats.

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) said, "There will be afflictions (in the near future) during which a sitting person will be better than a standing one, and the standing one will be better than the walking one, and the walking one will be better than the running one, and whoever will expose himself to these afflictions, they will destroy him. So whoever can find a place of protection or refuge from them, should take shelter in it.".

[Al-Bukhari Book 9, Chapter 88, Hadith # 202] 

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Taha Ayat 83."what made you hasten from your people" There would be such disasters and agony in the world that people will prefer hide in peace to save there life under such conditions. This situation will arise before the Day of Resurrection, and the Day of Judgment will dawn on such wicked people.  

[20].Surah Taha [Tâ-Hâ]: Ayat 82

Ayat 82. And verily, I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death). 

[Tafseer] (And lo! verily I am Forgiving towards him who repentant) from idolatry (and believeth) in Allah (and doeth good) with sincerity, (and afterward walked aright) then truly sees the reward of his works; it is also said that this means: he is guided to the community of the orthodox faithful (ahl al-sunnah wa'l-jama'ah) and dies in that state.

Hazrat Abdullah bin `Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) said, "Allah accepts a slave's repentance as long as the latter is not on his death bed (that is, before the soul of the dying person reaches the throat)".

[At-Tirmidhi, Hadith # 3537] 

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Taha Ayat 82."I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents," The word Ghargharah means the stage when soul is about to leave the body and reaches the throat. In other words, the time when one suffers the agony of death.