Qala basurtu bima lam yabsuroo bihi faqabadtu qabdatan min athari arrasooli fanabathtuha (surah TaHa: 96)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(20:96) He replied, "I saw what the people did not see: so I took a handful of dust from the footprints of the Messenger, and sprinkled it (on the calf), for so did my soul prompt me. " *73

Qaala basurtu bimaa lam yabsuroo bihee faqabadtu qabdatam min asarir Rasooli fanabaztuhaa wa kazaalika sawwalat lee nafsee

*73) here has been a good deal of divergence of opinion in regard to the interpretation of this verse. According to the majority of the early commentators and their followers, it means: "The Samiri saw the Messenger (Angel Gabriel) when he was passing and took a handful of dust from his footprints. Then he sprinkled this upon the idol of the golden calf. This created life in it and it began to low like a living calf." The Qur'an, in fact, dces not say that this actually happened but merely cites the reply given by the Samiri to Prophet Moses when the latter took him to, task for the great sin he had committed.
There are others who interpret the words of the Samiri; like this: "I saw a Weakness in the Messenger (Prophet Moses) or in his Creed, which others did not see. Therefore I followed in his footsteps to a certain limit but afterwards I left his way." This interpretation was moat probably put forward first of alI by Abu Muslim Isfahani. Then Imam Razi not only cited it in his own Commentary but also approved of it. And now it is being followed by some modernistic commentators, who try to prove their own favourite theories by giving far-fetched interpretations to the obvious meaning of the words of the Qur'an. Such people forget that the Qur'an has not been sent down in the terminology of enigmas, riddles and puzzles but in clear, plain and intelligible Arabic. Therefore the Qur'an would have never employed the words it has used in the Text to convey the meaning given by them because their usage cannot support that far-fetched interpretation. What such interpreters really mean to imply is that Allah has failed to express Himself clearly and plainly; therefore, they wish to come to His rescue by their interpretations in order to save Him from the ridicule of the "learned" people.
If we study the verse in the context in which it occurs, we shall be able to understand easily that the Samiri was a mischief-monger who had contrived his deceitful scheme after a good deal of consideration. As he appears to have been a good craftsman, he caused the golden calf he had made to produce a lowing sound, and successfully deluded the ignorant and simple people. He did not rest content with this but impudently invented the story that he had seen what the common people could not see and that he had taken a handful of the dust from the footprints of the Messenger and sprinkled it on the calf which made it low like a living calf. It is possible that by the "Messenger", he meant Prophet Moses himself and might have cunningly tried to flatter him, saying, that the dust of his footprints was miraculous. By saying so, he was playing the most subtle trick. He wanted to offer an intellectual bait to Moses so that he might feel elated about the miraculous effect of the dust trodden by his feet and utilize his services for propagating his own miraculous acts. Anyhow, the fact is that the Qur'an has presented the whole thing as a trick of the Samiri and has not given the account as if it were a real event by itself. The subsequent reaction of Prophet Moses to the statement of the Samiri clearly shows that he considered it as a deceitful story, and so laid the curse on him.