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This page is about the Golden Calf. For the cow of the Israelites mentioned in the Qur'an, see the Cow of the Israelites.

Samiri's Calf or the Golden Calf was a golden idol in the shape of a calf, crafted by al-Samiri following Moses (a)’s prolonged absence at the miqat. Samiri invited the Israelites to worship the idol, which emitted a lowing sound resembling that of a cow—a phenomenon that appeared miraculous to the people. Aaron (a), acting as the successor to Moses (a), forbade the Israelites from engaging in calf-worship, characterizing it as a divine trial. Nevertheless, the majority of the people accepted Samiri's invitation and turned to worshipping the calf.

Upon Moses (a)'s return from the miqat, witnessing the calf-worship, Moses became so enraged that he cast down and shattered the Tablets. He then rebuked the people, criticized Aaron (a) for failing to prevent the tribe's deviation, and punished Samiri. When questioned by Moses (a) regarding his motives, Samiri replied: "I saw something that others did not see. I took a handful of dust from the footprint of the messenger and threw it into the calf." Most commentators interpret the "messenger" as Gabriel (a), suggesting that Samiri collected dust from beneath Gabriel's feet during the crossing of the sea. According to Qur'anic verses, the calf was burned by Moses (a) and his followers, and its ashes were scattered into the sea. A parallel narrative appears in the Torah.

The Israelites' reversion to calf-worship, despite having witnessed numerous miracles from Moses (a), is presented as a divine trial. In the Qur'an, the severe penalty for this grave sin is articulated as: "Repent to your Creator and kill yourselves." Some commentators interpret this "killing" symbolically as self-mortification and the purging of sin through rigorous repentance. This punishment led to the acceptance of their repentance and the forgiveness of all involved after the sinners were executed. A similar event is recorded in the Torah, which notes that approximately three thousand calf-worshippers were killed.

Characteristics of the Calf

Following the exodus from Egypt and during the forty-day presence of Moses (a) at the miqat, the Israelites constructed a golden calf and worshipped it for a period.[1] Cattle held a sacred status among the Egyptians, who viewed them as symbols of their agricultural livelihood; the Israelites had developed a similar affinity.[2] The Qur'an identifies al-Samiri as the creator[3] and promoter of this calf-worship.[4] In contrast, the Torah identifies Prophet Aaron as the maker of the idol.[5] This idol is also commonly referred to as the Golden Calf.[6]

The Qur'an describes Samiri's calf using the expression jasadan lahu khuwar, denoting the body of an animal that emitted the lowing sound of a cow.[7][8] Commentators suggest that Samiri positioned the calf to catch the wind, causing it to produce a sound as air passed through it.[9] Others posit that this sound resulted from the dust taken from beneath Gabriel's feet, which had been placed inside the effigy.[10] Certain narrations state that God revealed to Moses that He had imbued the calf with the lowing sound to test the people.[11]

Sources also attribute characteristics such as flesh and skin to the calf, although scholars have expressed skepticism regarding the authenticity of some of these claims.[12]

Calf-Worship

Prophet Moses (a) attended the divine appointment for thirty days, a period subsequently extended by ten days.[13] As Moses (a)’s return was delayed, a rumor circulated among the Israelites that he had died.[14] Samiri seized this opportunity to craft a calf using the gold possessed by the people.[3] He, along with his cohorts,[15] invited the populace to worship the idol.[4] Aaron (a), Moses’s successor among the Israelites, forbade the people from this act, declaring it a divine trial;[16] nevertheless, the majority accepted Samiri's invitation and turned to calf-worship.[17]

When Moses (a) interrogated Samiri about his actions, he replied: "I saw something they did not see. I took a handful of dust from the footprint of the messenger, then I threw it."[18] The majority of commentators hold that "the messenger" in this verse refers to Gabriel, and that Samiri collected dust from beneath the hooves of the steed Gabriel rode when the sea was parted for the Israelites.[19] He then deposited this dust inside the calf.[10]

Conversely, some interpret this to mean that Samiri's initial intention was faith in Moses (a), which he subsequently doubted.[20]

Burning of the Calf by Moses

Prophet Moses (a) was informed of his tribe's idolatry while still at the miqat.[21] Upon his return and witnessing the calf-worship, he cast down and shattered the Tablets in a fit of extreme anger.[22] He then admonished the people, asking: "Did your Lord not make you a good promise?".[23] He also reprimanded Aaron severely for failing to prevent the tribe's deviation.[24] Subsequently, he interrogated Samiri and punished him.[25]

According to the verses of the Qur'an, the calf was burned by Moses and his followers, and its ashes were scattered into the sea.[26] The Torah narrates the destruction of the calf similarly: "And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it."[27]

Punishment of the Calf-Worshippers

The Israelites' reversion to calf-worship after witnessing numerous miracles and signs is regarded as a grievous offense.[28] According to Qur'anic verses, God's wrath and humiliation in the worldly life befell those who worshipped the calf.[29] Furthermore, in Sura al-Baqara, their specific punishment is decreed: "So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves."[30]

In the execution of this punishment, the people began killing one another;[31] this slaughter spared no one, including close relatives and family members.[32] However, some scholars maintain that the executioners were those who had not worshipped the calf.[33]

Following the death of several thousand sinners[34]—or potentially all of them[35]—their repentance was accepted, and both the slain and the slayers were forgiven.[36] This punishment is also recorded in the Torah: "Slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour... and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."[37]

Nasir Makarim Shirazi asserts that this punishment is unparalleled in the history of the Prophets.[38] Commentators suggest that such a severe penalty was intended to ensure the Israelites would never return to idol-worship.[39]

al-Sayyid al-Murtada, a prominent Shi'a scholar, argues that the intention of this verse is not literal killing; rather, it implies that they should subject themselves to such rigorous penance that it equates to self-destruction. He notes that this is a common metaphor in Arabic literature used for hyperbolic emphasis.[40] Similarly, Ibn 'Arabi interpreted "killing the self" as the mortification of the soul and the slaying of the ego with the sword of discipline to suppress carnal desires.[41]

Reasons for Calf-Worship

Prophet Moses performed many miracles for the Israelites, both during their sojourn in Egypt and following their exodus.[42] Nevertheless, after leaving Egypt and encountering an idolatrous tribe, the Israelites requested of Moses (a): "Make for us a god just as they have gods."[43] Due to this request, the Qur'an characterizes them as an ignorant people.[44]

Subsequently, during Moses (a)’s absence, the majority of the Israelites turned to worshipping the calf.[45] God identified this calf-worship as a trial for the Israelites,[46] labeling them as wrongdoers (zalim) for adopting idolatry after having witnessed various miracles.[47]

Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Modarresi, in his commentary Min Hudā l-Qur'an, states that the worship of the calf by the people of Prophet Moses (a) stemmed from the fact that while they followed Moses (a) in the political struggle against Pharaoh, this transformation failed to penetrate their culture; consequently, they retained their deep-seated idolatrous traits.[48] A researcher from the Encyclopedia of the Holy Qur'an similarly argues that the miracles influenced only the outward profession of tawhid among the Israelites, without rooting it in their hearts.[49]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 6, p. 371.
  2. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min Hudā l-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 3, p. 450.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Qurashī, Qāmūs-i Qur'ān, 1371 Sh, vol. 6, p. 315.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-Munīr, Bunyad-i Bi'that, vol. 16, p. 260.
  5. ↑ Bible, Exodus 32:1-6.
  6. ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-Bayan, 1378 Sh, vol. 9, p. 82.
  7. ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 4, p. 544.
  8. ↑ Qur'an 20:88.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 6, p. 372.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 160.
  11. ↑ Qumī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm, Tafsīr al-Qumī, vol. 2, p. 62.
  12. ↑ See: Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 14, pp. 201-203.
  13. ↑ Qur'an 7:142.
  14. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min Hudā l-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 3, p. 450.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 14, p. 192.
  16. ↑ Qur'an 20:90.
  17. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 6, p. 371.
  18. ↑ Qur'an 20:96.
  19. ↑ See for example: Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, 1420 AH, vol. 22, p. 95.
  20. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 13, pp. 285-286.
  21. ↑ Qur'an 20:85.
  22. ↑ Qur'an 7:150.
  23. ↑ Qur'an 20:86.
  24. ↑ Qur'an 20:92-94.
  25. ↑ Qur'an 20:97.
  26. ↑ Qur'an 20:97.
  27. ↑ Bible, Exodus 32:20.
  28. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 1, p. 255.
  29. ↑ Qur'an 7:152.
  30. ↑ Qur'an 2:54.
  31. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qur'ān, 1423 AH, p. 18.
  32. ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Tasnīm, 1387 Sh, vol. 4, p. 455.
  33. ↑ Fayḍ Kāshānī, al-Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 132.
  34. ↑ Qumī, Tafsīr al-Qumī, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 47.
  35. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 1, p. 189.
  36. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qur'ān, 1423 AH, p. 18.
  37. ↑ Bible, Exodus 32:27-28.
  38. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 1, p. 255.
  39. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 1, p. 256.
  40. ↑ al-Sayyid al-Murtaḍā, Amālī, Dār al-Fikr al-ʿArabī, vol. 2, p. 372.
  41. ↑ Ibn ʿArabī, Tafsīr Ibn ʿArabī, 1422 AH, vol. 1, p. 54.
  42. ↑ Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 1, p. 352.
  43. ↑ Qur'an 7:138.
  44. ↑ Qur'an 7:138.
  45. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i Nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 6, p. 371.
  46. ↑ Qur'an 20:85.
  47. ↑ Qur'an 2:92.
  48. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min Hudā l-Qur'ān, 1419 AH, vol. 3, p. 450.
  49. ↑ Ibrāhīmī, "Gūsāli-yi Sāmirī", p. 1043.

References

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  • Ibn ʿArabī, Muḥyī al-Dīn. Tafsīr Ibn ʿArabī. Edited by al-Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wārith Muḥammad ʿAlī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1422 AH.
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  • Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Mafātīḥ al-ghayb. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā' al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
  • Fayḍ Kāshānī, Mullā Muḥsin. al-Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī. Edited by Ḥusayn Aʿlamī. Tehran: Intishārāt al-Ṣadr, 1415 AH.
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