20. Sura Taha
[[Ruby’s note – One people can lead or help another to go astray or one person can do the same to another, but both would remain responsible for this wrong outcome.]]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
قَالَ
فَإِنَّا قَدْ
فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ
مِن بَعْدِكَ
وَأَضَلَّهُمُ
السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿٨٥﴾
20: 85. (Allah) said:
"We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray."
If it was his personal name, it was sufficiently near the meaning of the original root-word to have the definite article attached to it:
Cf. the name of the Khalifa Mu'tasim (Al-Mu'tasim).
What was the root for "Samiri"?
If we look to old Egyptian, we have Shemer: A stranger, foreigner (Sir E.A. Wallis Budge's Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, 1920,p. 815 b).
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 3 Kings, 16:24 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.
See also Renan: History of Israel, 2:210.
For a further discussion of the word, see n. 2608 below.
فَرَجَعَ
مُوسَى إِلَى
قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ
أَسِفًا...
20: 86. So Moses returned to his people in state of indignation and sorrow.
...قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَلَمْ يَعِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ وَعْدًا حَسَنًا...
He said:
"O my people! did not your Lord make a handsome promise to you?
C2606. There are two promises referred to in this verse, the promise of Allah and the promise of the people ofIsrael.
They form one Covenant, which was entered into through their leader Moses. See 20:80, and 2:63, n. 78.
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.
...أَفَطَالَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْعَهْدُ...
Did then the promise seem to you long (in coming)?
...أَمْ أَرَدتُّمْ أَن يَحِلَّ عَلَيْكُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُم مَّوْعِدِي ﴿٨٦﴾
Or did ye desire that Wrath should descend from your Lord on you, and so ye broke your promise to me?"
قَالُوا مَا
أَخْلَفْنَا
مَوْعِدَكَ
بِمَلْكِنَا...
20: 87. They said:
"We broke not the promise to thee, as far as lay in our power:
...وَلَكِنَّا حُمِّلْنَا أَوْزَارًا مِّن زِينَةِ الْقَوْمِ فَقَذَفْنَاهَا...
but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the (whole) people, and we threw them (into the fire),
C2607. Cf. Exod. 12:35-36: 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 negligible 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.
...فَكَذَلِكَ أَلْقَى السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿٨٧﴾
and that was what the Samiri suggested.
C2608. See n. 2605 about the Samiri.
If the Egyptian origin of the root is not accepted we have a Hebrew origin in "Shomer" a guard, watchman, sentinel. The Samiri may have been a watchman, in fact or by nickname.
فَأَخْرَجَ
لَهُمْ عِجْلًا
جَسَدًا ...
20: 88. "Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf:
C2609. See. n. 1113 to 7:148, where the same words are used and explained.
... لَهُ خُوَارٌ...
it seemed to low:
C2610. See n. 1114 to 7:148.
...فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ ﴿٨٨﴾
so they said: 'This is your god, and the god of Moses, but (Moses) has forgotten!'"
C2611. 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.
Asad’s Version:
20:85
Said He: "Then [know that], verily, in thy absence We have put thy people to a test, and the Samaritan has led them astray." 70
Ali (Allah) said: "We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray." 2605
[[Asad’s note-
70 The designation as-samiri is undoubtedly an adjectival noun denoting the person's descent or origin. According to one of the explanations advanced by Tabari and Zamakhshari, it signifies "a man of the Jewish clan of the Samirah", i.e., the ethnic and religious group designated in later times as the Samaritans (a small remnant of whom is still living in Nablus, in Palestine). Since that sect as such did not yet exist at the time of Moses, it is possible that - as Ibn 'Abbas maintained (Razi) - the person in question was one of the many Egyptians who had been converted to the faith of Moses and joined the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt (cf note 92 on 7:124): in which case the designation samiri might be connected with the ancient Egyptian shemer, "a foreigner" or "stranger". This surmise is strengthened by his introduction of the worship of the golden calf, undoubtedly an echo of the Egyptian cult of Apis (see note 1 1 3 on 7:148). In any case, it is not impossible that the latter-day Samaritans descended - or were reputed to descend - from this personality, whether of Hebrew or of Egyptian origin; this might
partly explain the persistent antagonism between them and the rest of the Israelite community. ]]
[[Ali’s notes 20:82-85 2601 Right side: Cf. xix. 52, and n. 2504, towards the end. The Arabian side of Sinai (Jabal Musa) was the place where Moses first received his commission before going to Egypt, and also where he received the Torah after the Exodus from Egypt. (20.80)
2602 Cf. ii. 57 and n. 71; and vii. 160. I should like to construe this not only literally but also metaphorically. 'Allah has looked after you and saved you. He has given you ethical and spiritual guidance. Enjoy the fruits of all this, but do not become puffed up and rebellious (another meaning in the root Taga); otherwise the Wrath of Allah is sure to descend on you.' (20.81)
2603 This gives the key-note to Moses's constant tussle with his own people, and introduces immediately afterwards the incident of the golden calf. (20.81)
2604 This was when Moses was up on the Mount for forty days and forty nights: ii. 51, and n. 66. Moses had left the elders of Israel with Aaron behind him: Exod. xxiv. 14. 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 calf for worship, as described below. See also vii. 148-150 and notes. (20.83)
Who was this Samiri? If it was his personal name, it was sufficiently near the meaning of the original root-word to have the definite article attached to it: Cf. the name of the Khalifa Mu'tasim (Al-Mu'tasim). What was the root for "Samiri"? If we look to old Egyptian, we have Shemer=A stranger, foreigner (Sir E.A. Wallis Budge's Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, 1920,p. 815 b). 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, xvi. 21 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. See also Renan: History of Israel, ii. 210. For a further discussion of the word, see n. 2608 below. (20.85)]]
20:86
Thereupon Moses returned to his people full of wrath and sorrow, [and] exclaimed: "O my people! Did not your Sustainer hold out [many] a goodly promise to you? Did, then, [the fulfilment of] this promise seem to you too long in coming?" Or are you, perchance, determined to see your Sustainer's condemnation fall upon you, 72 and so you broke your
promise to me?"
20:87
They answered: "We did not break our promise to thee of our own free will, but [this is what happened:] we were loaded with the [sinful] burdens of the [Egyptian] people's ornaments, and so we threw them [into the fire], 75 and likewise did this Samaritan cast [his into it]."
20:88
But then, [so they told Moses, 74 the Samaritan] had produced for them [out of the molten gold] the effigy of a calf, which made a lowing sound ; 75 and thereupon they said [to one another],
"This is your deity, and the deity of Moses - but he has forgotten [his past] ! ""
[[ Asad’s notes:
71 Or, according to Zamakhshari: "Did, then, the time [of my absence] seem too long to you?" (It is to be noted that the term 'ahd signifies a "time" or "period" as well as a "covenant" or "promise".)
72 Lit., "Or have you decided that condemnation by your Sustainer should fall due upon you?"- ie.,"are you determined to disregard the consequences of your doings?"
73 It is mentioned in Exodus xii, 35 that, immediately before their departure from Egypt, the Israelites "borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold". This "borrowing" was obviously done under false pretences, without any intention on the part of the Israelites to return the jewellery to its rightful owners: for, according to the Biblical statement (ibid., verse 36), "they spoiled [i.e., robbed] the Egyptians" by doing so. While it is noteworthy that the Old Testament, in its present, corrupted form, does not condemn this behaviour, its iniquity seems to have gradually dawned upon the Israelites, and so they decided to get rid of those sinfully acquired ornaments (Baghawi, Zamakhshari and - in one of his alternative interpretations - Razi).
74 This interpolation is necessary in view of the change from the direct speech in the preceding verse to the indirect in this one and in the sequence.
75 See surah 7, note 113.
76 An allusion to the fact that Moses had been brought up - obviously as an Egyptian - at Pharaoh's court. ]]