Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | MAN IN CHARGE OF THE EARTHIngratitude at Its WorstThe Jews have left Egypt and, through God’s grace and mercy, crossed the RedSea safely. The sūrah picks up the story: “And [remember, too], when We appointed forMoses forty nights, and in his absence you took to worshipping the calf, and thus becamewrongdoers. Yet even after that We pardoned you, so that you might be thankful. We gaveMoses the Scriptures and the Standard [by which to distinguish right from wrong], so thatyou might be rightly guided. Moses said to his people, ‘You, my people, have wrongedyourselves by worshipping the calf Turn, then, in repentance to your Maker and slay oneanother. That will be better for you in your Maker’s sight.’ Thus, He accepted yourrepentance; for He is the One to accept repentance, the Merciful.” (Verses 51-54)The episode of the calf is covered in more detail in verses 87-98 of Sūrah 20,revealed earlier in Makkah. It is a well-known chapter of Jewish history. When theirProphet left them for a while, they sank as low as worshipping an inanimate object,in total disregard of the instructions of the Prophet who saved them, by God’s grace,from Pharaoh and his army. Their attitude is described in its true colours:“You took to worshipping the calf, and thus became wrongdoers.” (Verse 51) Who couldbe a worse wrongdoer than one who worships the model of a calf after God hadsaved him from idolaters?Nevertheless, God pardoned them and gave their Prophet, Moses, the Torah as asource of guidance for them. However, there was need for a thorough cleansing ofranks. Such a shaky nature could only be steadied by a very stringent atonement:“Moses said to his people: “You, my people, have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calfTurn, then, in repentance to your Maker and slay one another. That will be better for you inyour Maker’s sight.” (Verse 54) Thus, the order was given to kill those who went farastray as a means of cleansing for the whole community.No doubt it was a heavy responsibility, for killing members of their communitywas like killing themselves; but it was inescapable in order to preserve the purity andrighteousness of the rest of the community. It was a punishment commensurate withthe vile transgression perpetrated. Had they counselled one another againsttransgression, they would not have worshipped the calf. Hence, the punishment toreform their nature.Once punishment has been meted out, God’s mercy descends afresh. “Thus, Heaccepted your repentance; for He is the One to accept repentance, the Merciful.” (Verse 54)Yet, true to form, their stubbornness and obduracy had the better of the Israelites.They now demanded to see God Himself. The demand was made by the seventyindividuals who, as detailed in the earlier Makkan sūrahs, had been chosen by Mosesto represent his people. They went further than that, making their belief in Mosesand his message conditional on their seeing God in person. Obviously, this is74