Surah Baqarah ayat 54 Tafsir Quran 2:54

﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾
[ البقرة: 54]

2:54 And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf [for worship]. So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves. That is best for [all of] you in the sight of your Creator." Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.

And when Moses said to his people those who worshipped the calf ‘My people you have done wrong against yourselves by your taking the golden calf for a god; now turn to your Creator away from that worship of the calf and slay one another that is let the innocent of you slay the guilty; That slaughter will be better for you in your Creator’s sight’ who made it easier for you to accomplish this and sent down a dark cloud over you so that none of you was able to see the other and show him mercy such that almost seventy thousand of you were killed; and He will turn to you relenting before your turning in repentance; truly He is the Relenting the Merciful.

And that once when you idolised the calf and Mussa said to you: My people, you have indeed characterised yourselves by perversity of judgement and perversed the divine command by idolising the calf, and this is an affront nothing but blood can expiate! Therefore, stand repentant in lowliest plight to Allah, your Creator, and slay the wrongful of action among you, then you will have pursued the acceptable course to Allah, your Creator. Yet Allah give up resentment against you and pardoned your offence; it is He Who always accepts true repentance and people’s atonement and He is AL-Tawab (the Relenting) and AL-Rahim

The Children of Israel kill each other in Repentance This was the repentance required from the Children of Israel for worshipping the calf.
Commenting on Allah's statement; وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ يَـقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ ( And (remember ) when Musa said to his people: "O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf...), Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "When their hearts thought of worshipping the calf, وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فَى أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْاْ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّواْ قَالُواْ لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا ( And when they regretted and saw that they had gone astray, they (repented and ) said: "If our Lord does not have mercy upon us and forgive us") ( 7:149 ).
This is when Musa said to them, يَـقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ ( O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf... )." Abu `Al-`Aliyah, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas commented on, فَتُوبُواْ إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ ( So turn in repentance to your Bari' ) that it means, "To your Creator." Allah's statement, إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ ( to your Bari' (Creator )) alerts the Children of Israel to the enormity of their error and means, "Repent to He Who created you after you associated others with Him in worship." An-Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded Ibn `Abbas saying, "Allah told the Children of Israel that their repentance would be to slay by the sword every person they meet, be he father or son.
They should not care whom they kill.
Those were guilty whom Musa and Harun were not aware of their guilt, they admitted their sin and did as they were ordered.
So Allah forgave both the killer and the one killed." This is part of the Hadith about the trials that we will mention in Surat Ta Ha, ( 20 ) Allah willing. Ibn Jarir narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "Musa said to his people, فَتُوبُواْ إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ( "So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill each other (the innocent kill the wrongdoers among you ), that will be better for you with your Creator." Then He accepted your repentance.
Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.) Allah ordered Musa to command his people to kill each other.
He ordered those who worshipped the calf to sit down and those who did not worship the calf to stand holding knives in their hands.
When they started killing them, a great darkness suddenly overcame them.
After the darkness lifted, they had killed seventy thousand of them.
Those who were killed among them were forgiven, and those who remained alive were also forgiven." p

(2:54) Remember that when Moses (returned with the Divine Gift, he) said to his people, "O my people, you have .wronged yourselves grievously by taking the calf for worship. Therefore, turn to your Creator . in penitence and slay the guilty ones among you. *70 This is best for you in the sight of your Creator." At that time your Creator accepted your repentance because He is Relenting 'and Merciful.

And [recall] when Moses said to his meaning

*70).
That is, they should put to death those of their own number who made the calf an object of worship and actually worshipped it.

 

The Children of Israel kill each other in Repentance This was the repentance required from the Children of Israel for worshipping the calf.
Commenting on Allah's statement; وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ يَـقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ ( And (remember ) when Musa said to his people: "O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf...), Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "When their hearts thought of worshipping the calf, وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فَى أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْاْ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّواْ قَالُواْ لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا ( And when they regretted and saw that they had gone astray, they (repented and ) said: "If our Lord does not have mercy upon us and forgive us") ( 7:149 ).
This is when Musa said to them, يَـقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ ( O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf... )." Abu `Al-`Aliyah, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas commented on, فَتُوبُواْ إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ ( So turn in repentance to your Bari' ) that it means, "To your Creator." Allah's statement, إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ ( to your Bari' (Creator )) alerts the Children of Israel to the enormity of their error and means, "Repent to He Who created you after you associated others with Him in worship." An-Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded Ibn `Abbas saying, "Allah told the Children of Israel that their repentance would be to slay by the sword every person they meet, be he father or son.
They should not care whom they kill.
Those were guilty whom Musa and Harun were not aware of their guilt, they admitted their sin and did as they were ordered.
So Allah forgave both the killer and the one killed." This is part of the Hadith about the trials that we will mention in Surat Ta Ha, ( 20 ) Allah willing. Ibn Jarir narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "Musa said to his people, فَتُوبُواْ إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ( "So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill each other (the innocent kill the wrongdoers among you ), that will be better for you with your Creator." Then He accepted your repentance.
Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.) Allah ordered Musa to command his people to kill each other.
He ordered those who worshipped the calf to sit down and those who did not worship the calf to stand holding knives in their hands.
When they started killing them, a great darkness suddenly overcame them.
After the darkness lifted, they had killed seventy thousand of them.
Those who were killed among them were forgiven, and those who remained alive were also forgiven." p

Allah then mentioned the story of Moses with his people, saying: ( And when Moses said unto his people: O my people! Ye have wronged yourselves ) harmed yourselves ( by your choosing of the calf ) by worshipping the calf; and when Moses was then asked what to do, he said to them: ( so turn in penitence to your Creator ), again they asked him how to turn in penitence to Allah, and he said: ( and kill (the guilty ) among yourselves) let those who did not worship the calf kill those who worshipped it. ( That ) penitence and killing ( will be best for you with your Creator and He will relent towards you ) He will forgive you. ( Lo! He is the Relenting ) towards the penitent, ( the Merciful ) towards any that die repentant.

And (remember) when Musa (Moses) said to his people: "O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf. So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill yourselves (the innocent kill the wrongdoers among you), that will be better for you with your Lord." Then He accepted your repentance. Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.

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