“So he brought forth for them a calf—a body that lowed. They said, ‘This is your god and the god of Moses, but Moses forgot.’ Do they not see that it cannot answer them with a word and has no power to harm or benefit them?”

This was due to their dullness and the feebleness of their minds: when they saw this extraordinary thing, which began to low after having been inanimate, they imagined it to be the God of the heavens and earth.

“Do they not see” that the calf “cannot answer them with a word”? That is, it does not speak to them or engage in conversation with them; nor does it possess any power to harm or benefit them. Anything devoid of perfection, speech, and action does not deserve to be worshipped, for it is more deficient than its worshippers. They can speak and are capable ⦗512⦘ of bringing about some benefit and warding off some harm, because Allah has enabled them to do so.