Intermediate
موسى
Surah: Ta-Ha (88)
Musa and the Samaritan — How One Man Can Destroy a Nation
فَأَخۡرَجَ لَهُمۡ عِجۡلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوا۟ هَٰذَآ إِلَٰهُكُمۡ وَإِلَٰهُ مُوسَىٰ فَنَسِيَ
— طه الآية 88
Quranic context: Moses was away forty nights communing with his Lord, and the Samaritan crafted a golden calf and led the Children of Israel astray.
Context:
A leader absence is an opportunity for the hypocrite — the Samaritan waited for the moment of emptiness to fill it with sedition. A community that does not hold firm to its principles in the leader absence will fall.
Context:
- The Samaritan collected the peoples jewelry and forged a calf with a lowing sound: "And he brought forth for them a calf — a body which had a lowing sound." (Ta-Ha 88)
- The people declared deludedly: "This is your god and the god of Moses." (Ta-Ha 88)
- When Moses returned and found what happened he seized his brother Harun by the head — Harun had warned them but they disobeyed him
- The Samaritan punishment: social isolation "No touching" — he would not touch anyone nor would anyone touch him (Ta-Ha 97)
A leader absence is an opportunity for the hypocrite — the Samaritan waited for the moment of emptiness to fill it with sedition. A community that does not hold firm to its principles in the leader absence will fall.
Source: Ibn Kathir (5/293); Al-Tabari (16/193); Al-Qurtubi (11/216)
Test Yourself
How did the Samaritan exploit Moses absence, and what lesson does his story offer about the nature of sedition?
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