Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (512)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

That is: “What is the matter with you, O Sāmirī, that you did what you did?” He replied, “I perceived what they did not perceive.” What he perceived was Gabriel, peace be upon him, mounted on a horse; he saw him when they emerged from the sea and Pharaoh and his troops drowned, according to the exegetes. “So I took a handful” of the earth marked by his horse’s hoof “and cast it” upon the calf. “Thus did my soul entice me” to take it and then cast it, and what followed came to pass.

Moses then said to him, “Go!”—that is, keep away from me and withdraw. “Your lot in this life shall be to say, ‘Do not touch me!’” In other words, you will be punished in this life: no one will come near you or touch you, so that whenever anyone tries to approach you, you will say, “Do not touch me or come near me.” This was a punishment because he had touched what no one else had touched and brought about what no one else had. “And you have an appointed time that you cannot escape,” when you will be requited for your deeds, whether good or evil. “Look at your god, to which you remained devoted”—meaning the calf—“we will surely burn it and then scatter it utterly into the sea.”

Moses did so. Had it truly been a god, it would have defended itself against anyone seeking to harm and destroy it. The hearts of the Children of Israel had been imbued with love for the calf, so Moses, peace be upon him, wanted to destroy it before their eyes in such a way that it could never be restored: by burning and crushing it, then scattering its dust and dispersing it into the sea. Thus, the love of it would vanish from their hearts just as its physical form had vanished. Moreover, leaving it intact would have been a source of temptation, for souls possess a powerful inclination toward falsehood.

Once its falsity had become clear to them, he informed them of the One who alone deserves worship and has no partner, saying:

(98) “Your only God is Allah, besides whom none has the right to be worshipped. He encompasses all things in knowledge.”

That is, none is worthy of worship but His noble Self. None, therefore, is to be worshipped, loved, hoped in, feared, or invoked except Him, for He is the Perfect One, to whom belong the most beautiful names and the loftiest attributes, and whose knowledge encompasses all things. Every blessing enjoyed by His servants comes from Him alone, and none but He can repel harm. There is no god worthy of worship but Him, and none is to be worshipped besides Him.

أي: ما شأنك يا سامري، حيث فعلت ما فعلت؟، فقال: ﴿بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوا بِهِ﴾ وهو جبريل ﵇ على فرس رآه وقت خروجهم من البحر، وغرق فرعون وجنوده على ما قاله المفسرون، فقبضت قبضة من أثر حافر فرسه، فنبذتها على العجل، ﴿وَكَذَلِكَ سَوَّلَتْ لِي نَفْسِي﴾ أن أقبضها، ثم أنبذها، فكان ما كان، فقال له موسى: ﴿فَاذْهَبْ﴾ أي: تباعد عني واستأخر مني ﴿فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ أَنْ تَقُولَ لا مِسَاسَ﴾ أي: تعاقب في الحياة عقوبة، لا يدنو منك أحد، ولا يمسك أحد، حتى إن من أراد القرب منك، قلت له: لا تمسني، ولا تقرب مني، عقوبة على ذلك، حيث مس ما لم يمسه غيره، وأجرى ما لم يجره أحد، ﴿وَإِنَّ لَكَ مَوْعِدًا لَنْ تُخْلَفَهُ﴾ فتجازى بعملك، من خير وشر، ﴿وَانْظُرْ إِلَى إِلَهِكَ الَّذِي ظَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا﴾ أي: العجل ﴿لَنُحَرِّقَنَّهُ ثُمَّ لَنَنْسِفَنَّهُ فِي الْيَمِّ نَسْفًا﴾ ففعل موسى ذلك، فلو كان إلها، لامتنع ممن يريده بأذى ويسعى له بالإتلاف، وكان قد أشرب العجل في قلوب بني إسرائيل، فأراد موسى ﵇ إتلافه وهم ينظرون، على وجه لا تمكن إعادته بالإحراق والسحق وذريه في اليم ونسفه، ليزول ما في قلوبهم من حبه، كما زال شخصه، ولأن في إبقائه محنة، لأن في النفوس أقوى داع إلى الباطل، فلما تبين لهم بطلانه، أخبرهم بمن يستحق العبادة وحده لا شريك له، فقال: ﴿٩٨﴾ ﴿إِنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ وَسِعَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا﴾ . أي: لا معبود إلا وجهه الكريم، فلا يؤله، ولا يحب، ولا يرجى ولا يخاف، ولا يدعى إلا هو، لأنه الكامل الذي له الأسماء الحسنى، والصفات العلى، المحيط علمه بجميع الأشياء، الذي ما من نعمة بالعباد إلا منه، ولا يدفع السوء إلا هو، فلا إله إلا هو، ولا معبود سواه.