RENAISSANCE MAY 2023

Qur’ ā nic Exegesis 14 | Monthly Renaissance May 2023 h~ و ﻣﺎ ن ﻧﻜﻮن ول ﻣﻦ ﻟ h~ ٰۡﺗﻠ $ $ $ۡ $ $ $ $ ' $ۡ & $ 'ۡۤ $ & ' ) $ )ۡ (either you show your trick first or we show our skill). The chiefs held S ā mir ī to be entirely responsible for this mischief. ﴿! ﻓﻨ !L جﻟﻬﻢﻋﺠﻶﻹﺟﺴﺪ ﻟﻪﺧﻮ رﻓﻘﺎﻟﻮ ﻫﺬ ﻟـﻬﻜﻢو ﻟﻪﻣﻮ ﻓﺎ $ ) $ $ $ & $ٰ &ۡۡ &ٰٰۡۡ $ۡ ) ) $ & & &ۤ $ٰ & $ٌ $ $ $ 'ً $ً ) $ $ۡ $ ٨٨﴾ 7 The word ٌﺧﻮ ر $ & signifies the bellowing of the calf. In other words, S ā mir ī made a model of the calf from which this sound came out. It seems that he was very adept in the Egyptian art of idol-making. In those times, this art was at its zenith in Egypt. Some relics of those times have been mentioned in the tafs ī r of S ū rah al-A‘r ā f. It was not difficult for anyone skilled with the craft of making idols in those times to fashion a calf from which a bellowing sound came out. S ā mir ī regarded this sound to be a consequence of his magic. To fool the masses, he led them to believe that he had thrown the dust created by the hooves of Gabriel’s horse in the statue thereby creating the sound. Even today people fool others by such mind tricks and there exist far greater magicians than S ā mir ī in our cities. So how could it have been difficult for him to deceive a simple nation as the Israelites? Thus, the miscreants who were the originators of that mischief stirred the propaganda that the calf was the real deity of the masses and of Moses (sws); however, the latter just ignored it and disappeared in the wilderness of mount Ṭū r. The result of this propaganda was that a vast majority of the Israelites were caught in the quagmire of this mischief. وﻵﻹﻳﻤﻠﻚﻟﻬ u ﻓﻶﻹﻳﺮون ﻵﻹﻳﺮﺟﻊ ﻟﻴﻬﻢﻗﻮﻵﻹ & $ $ $ & )ۡ $ $ $ $ $ $ 'ًۡۡ $ $ۡۡ ) ) & )ۡ $ ' $ $ $ ﻔﻌﺎ﴿ وﻵﻹ ۡ' ًﻢ $ $ً $ ' $ۡ ٨٩﴾ 8 The implication of this verse is that a deity is the greatest need of a person. What need will such a lame deity fulfil that has made them worship it? 7. So, he extracted a calf for them: a body from which the sound of a bull would come out. At this, they said: “Is this your god and that of Moses, but he has forgotten it.” 8. Would not these people reflect that neither can it respond to anything nor can it inflict any harm or give benefit?