Surah TaHa ayat 94 Tafsir Quran 20:94

﴿قَالَ يَا ابْنَ أُمَّ لَا تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتِي وَلَا بِرَأْسِي ۖ إِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقْتَ بَيْنَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِي﴾
[ طه: 94]

20:94 [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, do not seize [me] by my beard or by my head. Indeed, I feared that you would say, 'You caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not observe [or await] my word.' "

He Aaron said ‘O son of my mother read ya’bna’ummi or ya’bna’umma meaning ummī ‘my mother’ the mention of her is more effective in provoking the affection of his heart — do not clutch my beard which he had seized with his left hand or my head! for he had seized his hair with his right hand in anger. Indeed I feared that if I followed you for inevitably a group of those who did not worship the calf would have followed me you would have said “You have caused division among the Children of Israel — and have been furious with me — and you did not wait for my word”’ concerning what my opinion would have been in this matter.

O son of my mother, Harun said, do not drag me by the beard nor by the head. I was afraid you would say I have set the children of Israel at variance and did not listen to your instructions

What happened between Musa and Harun after Musa returned Allah informs of what happened when Musa returned to his people and saw the great matter that had taken place among them.
With this he became filled with anger and he threw down the Divine Tablets that he had in his hand.
Then, he grabbed his brother Harun by his head and pulled him towards himself.
We expounded upon this previously in Surat Al-A`raf, where we mentioned the Hadith,
«لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَة»
( Information is not the same as observation. ) Then, he began to blame his brother, Harun, by saying, مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذْ رَأَيْتَهُمْ ضَلُّواْأَلاَّ تَتَّبِعَنِ ( What prevented you when you saw them going astray; that you followed me not ) meaning, "You should have informed me of this matter as soon as it happened." أَفَعَصَيْتَ أَمْرِى ( Have you then disobeyed my order ) "In that which I entrusted to you," referring to Musa's statement, اخْلُفْنِى فِى قَوْمِى وَأَصْلِحْ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ( Replace me among my people, act in the right way and follow not the way of the mischief-makers. )7:142 قَالَ يَبْنَؤُمَّ ( He (Harun ) said: "O son of my mother!") This mentioning of the mother was Harun's attempt to soften Musa's anger, because he was Musa's biological brother and they had the same parents.
The mentioning of the mother here is more delicate and profound in bringing about gentleness and mildness.
This is why he said, يَبْنَؤُمَّ لاَ تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتِى وَلاَ بِرَأْسِى ( O son of my mother! Seize (me ) not by my beard, nor by my head!) This was Harun's excuse to Musa for being delayed from coming to him and informing him of the great mishap that took place.
He said, إِنِّى خَشِيتُ ( Verily, I feared ) meaning, "I was afraid to come after you and inform you of this, because I thought you might accuse me of leaving them alone and causing division between them." وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِى ( and you have not respected my word! ) This means, "And you did not take care of what I commanded you to do when I left you in charge of them." Ibn `Abbas said, "Harun was respectful and obedient to Musa."

(20:94) Aaron said, "O son of my mother,do not seize me by my beard nor pull the hair of my head. *71 I was afraid that you might say on your return, `You sowed discord among the Israelites and did not pay due heed to my words' ! " *72

[Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, meaning

*71) See VII: 150.

*72) It can also be interpreted like this: " You did not wait for orders from me " In order to understand fully the statement of Prophet Aaron, one should read this verse along with verse 150 of Chapter VII, where he says: " Son of my mother, these people overpowered me and were going to kill me: so, let not the enemies gloat over me: do not count the among the people who have done wrong. " Now if both these verses are read together, one can easily see the true picture of the event: Prophet Aaron did his utmost to stop the people from committing the sin of calf-worship, but they revolted against him and might even have killed him.
Fearing a clash between them, therefore, he held his peace lest Prophet Moses, on his return, might blame him for letting the situation worsen and failing to control it effectively in his absence.
The last clause of VII: 150 also gives the hint that there existed among the people a good number of the enemies of the two brothers.

 

What happened between Musa and Harun after Musa returned Allah informs of what happened when Musa returned to his people and saw the great matter that had taken place among them.
With this he became filled with anger and he threw down the Divine Tablets that he had in his hand.
Then, he grabbed his brother Harun by his head and pulled him towards himself.
We expounded upon this previously in Surat Al-A`raf, where we mentioned the Hadith, «لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَة» ( Information is not the same as observation. ) Then, he began to blame his brother, Harun, by saying, مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذْ رَأَيْتَهُمْ ضَلُّواْأَلاَّ تَتَّبِعَنِ ( What prevented you when you saw them going astray; that you followed me not ) meaning, "You should have informed me of this matter as soon as it happened." أَفَعَصَيْتَ أَمْرِى ( Have you then disobeyed my order ) "In that which I entrusted to you," referring to Musa's statement, اخْلُفْنِى فِى قَوْمِى وَأَصْلِحْ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ( Replace me among my people, act in the right way and follow not the way of the mischief-makers. )7:142 قَالَ يَبْنَؤُمَّ ( He (Harun ) said: "O son of my mother!") This mentioning of the mother was Harun's attempt to soften Musa's anger, because he was Musa's biological brother and they had the same parents.
The mentioning of the mother here is more delicate and profound in bringing about gentleness and mildness.
This is why he said, يَبْنَؤُمَّ لاَ تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتِى وَلاَ بِرَأْسِى ( O son of my mother! Seize (me ) not by my beard, nor by my head!) This was Harun's excuse to Musa for being delayed from coming to him and informing him of the great mishap that took place.
He said, إِنِّى خَشِيتُ ( Verily, I feared ) meaning, "I was afraid to come after you and inform you of this, because I thought you might accuse me of leaving them alone and causing division between them." وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِى ( and you have not respected my word! ) This means, "And you did not take care of what I commanded you to do when I left you in charge of them." Ibn `Abbas said, "Harun was respectful and obedient to Musa."

( He said ) Aaron said to Moses: ( O son of my mother ) he mentioned their mother so that he be kind and compassionate with him! ( Clutch not my beard nor my head ) nor my hair! ( I feared lest thou shouldst say: Thou hast caused division among the Children of Israel ) if I had killed them, ( and hast not waited for my word ) and did not wait until I come back. This is why I refrained from fighting them.

He [Harun (Aaron)] said: "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: 'You have caused a division among the Children of Israel, and you have not respected my word!' "

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