“And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took [for worship] the calf after him [his departure], while you were wrongdoers. Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.”
Allah, the Exalted, arranged a private conversation with the Holy Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, in order to grant him further knowledge and guidance for him and his nation. The fact that the Holy Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, had to prepare for this divine meeting for forty days indicates the importance of gradually improving one’s behaviour and conduct towards Allah, the Exalted, and people. Meaning, Allah, the Exalted, does not demand one to become a saint overnight. Rather, He expects people to gradually learn and act on the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, so that they improve their conduct towards Him and people step by step. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 51:
“And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights…”
This was one of the main reasons why the Holy Quran was revealed in stages instead of in one go. Chapter 25 Al Furqan, verse 32:
“…Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly.”
Allah, the Exalted, then mentioned how many from the children of Israel began worshipping a golden calf which one of them manufactured after the departure of the Holy Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, for his meeting with Allah, the Exalted. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 51:
“And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took [for worship] the calf after him [his departure]…”
Muslims must avoid behaving in this manner towards the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, by ignoring his teachings now that he has left this world. One must instead show sincerity to him, which is an aspect of Islam according to the Hadith found in Sahih Muslim number 196, by learning and acting on the two sources of guidance he was granted: the Holy Quran and his traditions.
Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 51:
“And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took [for worship] the calf after him [his departure]…”
It is important to note that they fully understood the golden calf was nothing more than a lifeless object which was manufactured in front of their eyes by a human being. It possessed no divine qualities, in fact it possessed no praiseworthy qualities at all, yet they began worshipping it. The truth is that every worshipper of a false deity, whether the deity is an idol, a concept or anything else, such as social media, fashion or culture, only does so as it allows them to fulfill their desires instead of living by a higher code of conduct which teaches them to control and limit their desires so that they obtain peace of mind in both worlds. A false deity, such as an idol, will either provide no code of conduct to its worshippers thereby allowing them to fabricate their own one, which caters to their desires. Or the false deity, such as social media, is constructed in a way which encourages people to fulfil their desires. Either way, one is worshipping nothing but their own desires, just like the children of Israel did. The golden calf represented a lifestyle free of any restrictions and allowed them to live a life based on fulfilling their desires without question or restrictions. This reality is indicated in chapter 7 Al A’raf, verse 148:
“And the people of Moses made, after [his departure], from their ornaments a calf – an image having a lowing sound. Did they not see that it could neither speak to them nor guide them to a way? They took it [for worship], and they were wrongdoers.”
They clearly understood it could not speak nor guide them to live by a higher code of conduct which restricted their desires but that is exactly what they wanted. They wished to fabricate their own code of conduct which allowed them to fulfil their desires without restraint. This twisted attitude is what made them wrongdoers. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 51:
“And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took [for worship] the calf after him [i.e., his departure], while you were wrongdoers.”
They were also wrongdoers as they had recently physically witnessed the many miracles granted to the Holy Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army. All of these events and signs should have strengthened their faith and therefore their obedience to Allah, the Exalted, yet they abandoned that and worshipped their desires instead.
Muslims must avoid this misguided attitude whereby they verbally accept Islam as their faith yet worship nothing but their desires. This occurs when one willingly and intentionally uses the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to themself, other people, social media, culture and fashion, instead of using them in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. This is the difference between sincerely obeying and worshipping Allah, the Exalted, and worshipping one’s desires. Chapter 45 Al Jathiyah, verse 23:
“Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire…”
One must avoid this attitude by learning and acting on the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, so that they strengthen their faith. Strong faith coupled with a good intention to please Allah, the Exalted, will encourage one to sincerely obey Him.
Despite the behaviour of the children of Israel, Allah, the Exalted, still forgave them. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 52:
“Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.”
This indicates the infinite mercy and forgiveness of Allah, the Exalted. One must never lose hope in His forgiveness despite the sins they have committed. But as indicated by the end of verse 52, one must avoid adopting wishful thinking, whereby they continue to disobey Allah, the Exalted, while assuming the infinite mercy and forgiveness of Allah, the Exalted, will be granted to them. Instead, they must sincerely repent, which involves feeling remorse, seeking the forgiveness of Allah, the Exalted, and anyone who has been wronged, as long as this will not lead to further trouble, they must sincerely promise to avoid committing the same or similar sin again and make up for any rights which have been violated in respect to Allah, the Exalted, and people and continue using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted. All of this encompasses sincere repentance and showing gratitude to Allah, the Exalted.
Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verses 51-52:
“And [recall] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took [for worship] the calf after him [his departure], while you were wrongdoers. Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.”
To conclude, Allah, the Exalted, reminded the people of the book how he forgave their ancestors after they committed polytheism, the very ancestors the people of the book living in Medina used to boast about and attribute perfection to. The people of the book were therefore reminded of the mercy of forgiveness of Allah, the Exalted, and were therefore encouraged to sincerely repent for rejecting Islam and their harmful attitude towards the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and to sincerely accept Islam, knowing it was the truth as described in their divine scriptures. Chapter 6 Al An’am, verse 20:
“Those to whom We have given the Scripture recognize it[the Holy Quran] as they recognize their [own] sons…”
And chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 146:
“Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him [Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him] as they know their own sons…”
Yet despite this invitation towards the forgiveness and mercy of Allah, the Exalted, many from the people of the book remained firm on rejecting Islam as the love of fulfilling all their worldly desires that Islam would moderate had overtaken them just like this love had overtaken their ancestors and encouraged them to worship a lifeless object. A muslim must remember that if they behave in the same manner then they will be counted as one of them in the eyes of Allah, the Exalted. This has been warned in a Hadith found in Sunan Abu Dawud, number 4031. Chapter 5 Al Ma’idah, verse 51:
“O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allāh guides not the wrongdoing people.”
Chapter 2 Al Baqarah Free eBook: READ
Al Fatihah – The Quran Summarized Complete Free eBook & Backup Link: READ & READ
PodQuran Series Free eBooks: READ
500+ FREE English Books & Audiobooks / اردو کتب / كتب عربية / Buku Melayu / বাংলা বই / Libros En Español / Livres En Français / Libri Italiani / Deutsche Bücher / Livros Portugueses:
https://shaykhpod.com/books/
Backup Sites for eBooks: https://shaykhpodbooks.wordpress.com/books/
https://shaykhpodbooks.wixsite.com/books
https://archive.org/details/@shaykhpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShaykhPod/playlists
AudioBooks, Blogs, Infographics & Podcasts: https://shaykhpod.com/
Anonymously Follow WhatsApp Channel for Daily Blogs, eBooks, Pics and Podcasts: FOLLOW
Subscribe to Receive Daily Blogs & Updates Via Email: https://shaykhpod.com/subscribe
#Allah #ShaykhPod #Islam #Quran #Hadith #Charity #ProphetMuhammad #Sunnah #Piety #Taqwa #Tafseer
ShaykhPod 