| وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا ۖ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ ۚ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِهِ إِيمَانُكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ |
| Asad | : | And, lo, We accepted your solemn pledge, raising Mount Sinai high above you, [saying,] "Hold fast with [all your] strength unto what We have vouchsafed you, and hearken unto it!" [But] they say, "We have heard, but we disobey"77 - for their hearts are filled to overflowing with love of the [golden] calf because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth.78 Say: "Vile is what this [false] belief of yours enjoins upon you - if indeed you are believers!" |
| Malik | : | Remember that when We took a Covenant from you and We lifted the Mount of Tur over your heads saying: "Take what We have given you firmly and listen to Our Commandments," you replied: "we have heard but we will not obey." So much was the love of that calf in their hearts due to their unbelief. O Muhammad, tell them: "If you are real believers, then why does your faith prompt you to do such evil things?" |
| Mustafa Khattab | : | And when We took your covenant and raised the mountain above you ˹saying˺, “Hold firmly to that ˹Scripture˺ which We have given you and obey,” they answered, “We hear and disobey.” The love of the calf was rooted in their hearts because of their disbelief. Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “How evil is what your ˹so-called˺ belief prompts you to do, if you ˹actually˺ believe ˹in the Torah˺!” |
| Pickthall | : | And when We made with you a covenant and caused the Mount to tower above you , (saying): Hold fast by that which We have given you, and hear (Our Word), they said: We hear and we rebel. And (worship of) the calf was made to sink into their hearts because of their rejection (of the Covenant). Say (unto them): Evil is that which your belief enjoineth on you, if ye are believers. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | And remember We took your Covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai) (saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you and hearken (to the Law)"; they said: "We hear and we disobey"; and they had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their faithlessness. Say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your faith if ye have any faith!" 97 98 99 |
| Transliteration | : | Waith akhathna meethaqakum warafaAAna fawqakumu alttoora khuthoo ma ataynakum biquwwatin waismaAAoo qaloo samiAAna waAAasayna waoshriboo fee quloobihimu alAAijla bikufrihim qul bisama yamurukum bihi eemanukum in kuntum mumineena |
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It is obvious that they did not actually utter these words; their subsequent behaviour, however, justifies the above metonymical expression. |
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Cf. the introductory words of ii. 63 which are the same as the introductory words here but the argument is developed in a different direction in the two places. In ii. 63, after they are reminded of the solemn Covenant under the towering height of Mount Sinai they are told how they broke the Covenant in after ages. Here, after they are reminded of the same solemn Covenant, they are told that even then they never meant to observe it. Their thought is expressed in biting words of sarcasm. They said in words: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do" But they said in their hearts: "We shall disobey". |
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What they should have said was: "We hear and we obey" this is the attitude of the true men of Faith (ii. 285). |
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After the Commandments and the Law had been given at Mount Sinai, and the people had solemnly given their Covenant, Moses went up to the Mount, and in his absence, the people made the golden calf. When Moses returned, his anger waxed hot. "He took the Calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it." (Exod. xxxii. 20). This incident is interpreted in the Qur-an allegorically. The Calf is the symbol of disobedience, rebellion, want of faith. It was like a taint of poison. Their punishment was to swallow the taint of poison which they had themselves produced. They swallowed it not into their stomachs, but into their hearts, their very being. They had to mortify and humble themselves in the sight of God, as was shown in another allegory based on the Jewish narrative (see ii. 54 and note, above). |
