The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

200 The Quran
20: 88
and the Samiri did the same,’ 88 but he [used the molten jewellery to]
produce an image of a calf which made a lowing sound, and they
said, ‘This is your god and Moses’ god, but he has forgotten.’ 89 Did
they not see that [the calf] gave them no answer, that it had no power
to harm or benefit them? 90 Aaron did say to them, ‘My people, this
calf is a test for you. Your true Lord is the Lord of Mercy, so follow
me and obey my orders,’ 91 but they replied, ‘We shall not give up our
devotion to it until Moses returns to us.’
92 Moses said, ‘When you realized they had gone astray, what prevented
you, Aaron, 93 from coming after me? How could you disobey
my orders?’ 94 He said, ‘Son of my mother – let go of my beard and
my hair! – I was afraid you would say, “You have caused division
among the children of Israel and have not heeded what I said.”’
95 Moses said, ‘And what was the matter with you, Samiri?’ 96 He
replied, ‘I saw something they did not; I took in some of the teachings
of the Messenger but tossed them aside: a my soul prompted me
to do what I did.’ 97 Moses said, ‘Get away from here! Your lot in this
life is to say, “Do not touch me,” b but you have an appointment from
which there is no escape. Look at your god which you have kept on
worshipping – we shall grind it down c and scatter it into the sea.
98 [People], your true god is the One God – there is no god but
Him – whose knowledge embraces everything.’
99 In this way We relate to you [Prophet] stories of what happened
before. We have given you a Quran from Us. 100 Whoever turns away
from it will bear on the Day of Resurrection a heavy burden101 and
will remain under it. What a terrible burden to carry on that Day!
102 When the trumpet is sounded and We gather the sinful, sightless, d
103 they will murmur to one another, ‘You stayed only ten days [on
earth]’– 104 We know best what they say – but the more perceptive of
them will say, ‘Your stay [on earth] was only a single day.’
105 They ask you [Prophet] about the mountains: say, ‘[On that
Day] my Lord will blast them into dust 106 and leave a flat plain,
107 with no peak or trough to be seen. 108 On that Day, people will
follow the summoner from whom there is no escape; every voice will
be hushed for the Lord of Mercy; only whispers will be heard. 109 On
a Literally ‘I took a handful from the trail of the messenger and flung it . . .’.
b Another interpretation is that the Samiri will become a social outcast.
c Harraqa in classical usage has the meaning ‘grind’, as used here, rather than ‘burn’.
d Zurq from azraq, which means, among other things, ‘blind’. Cf. verses 124–6.