وَلَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ غَضْبَـٰنَ 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 ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 150
Translations
And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, "How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?" And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by [the hair of] his head, pulling him toward him. [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, indeed the people overpowered me and were about to kill me, so let not the enemies rejoice over me and do not place me among the wrongdoing people."
Transliteration
Wa-lammā raja'a Mūsā ilā qawmihi ghadabāna asafan qāla bi'sma mā khalaftumūnī min ba'dī a'ajiltum amra rabbikum wa-alqā al-alwāḥ wa-akhadha bi-ra'si akhīhi yajurruhu ilayhi qāla ibna umma inna al-qawma istada'afūnī wa-kādū yaqtulūnannī fa-lā tushmit biya al-a'dā'a wa-lā taj'alnī ma'a al-qawmi al-dhālimīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah depicts Musa's (Moses) profound distress upon returning from Mount Sinai to find his people worshipping the golden calf. In his anguish and anger, he cast down the tablets of the Torah and seized his brother Harun (Aaron) by the head. Harun's response demonstrates his innocence and explains his powerlessness against the people's transgression, while his plea to Musa reveals his fear of being blamed and his desire not to be counted among the wrongdoers. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, Musa's anger was righteous indignation at their grave disobedience, while his breaking of the tablets symbolized the breaking of their covenant with Allah.
Revelation Context
This passage is part of the narrative of the Children of Israel in Surah Al-A'raf (Meccan surah), specifically recounting the account of the golden calf incident that occurred after Musa left his people to receive the Torah on Mount Sinai for forty nights. This story illustrates the severity of idolatry and the consequences of abandoning the straight path, serving as a warning to the Meccan community about similar transgressions.
Related Hadiths
The incident of the golden calf is referenced in various hadiths. Related to emotional control despite justified anger: The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, 'The strong person is not the one who overcomes people by his strength, but the strong person is the one who controls himself when angry' (Sahih Bukhari). This relates thematically to Musa's struggle with his legitimate anger.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that sincere leaders will be deeply grieved by their community's disobedience to Allah, and that collective sin affects the righteous among them. It also reminds us to distinguish between those who fall into error and those who resist it, and to seek Allah's protection from being counted among the wrongdoers.
Related Ayahs
يَأْتُوكَ بِكُلِّ سَـٰحِرٍ عَلِيمٍ
Who will bring you every learned magician."
وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَـٰلِحًا ۗ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ هَـٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ ءَايَةً ۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِىٓ أَرْضِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوٓءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
And to the Thamūd [We sent] their brother Ṣāliḥ. He said, "O my people, worship Allāh; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allāh [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allāh's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.
قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ءَامَنتُم بِهِۦ قَبْلَ أَنْ ءَاذَنَ لَكُمْ ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَمَكْرٌ مَّكَرْتُمُوهُ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ لِتُخْرِجُوا۟ مِنْهَآ أَهْلَهَا ۖ فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ
Said Pharaoh, "You believed in him before I gave you permission. Indeed, this is a conspiracy which you conspired in the city to expel therefrom its people. But you are going to know.
وَٱتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَىٰ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٌ ۚ أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّهُۥ لَا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلَا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلًا ۘ ٱتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُوا۟ ظَـٰلِمِينَ
And the people of Moses made, after [his departure], from their ornaments a calf - an image having a lowing sound. Did they not see that it could neither speak to them nor guide them to a way? They took it [for worship], and they were wrongdoers.