Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 54
| وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ عِنْدَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- 'idh qaala mosaa li- qawm -hi yaa qawm -e 'inna -kum z.alamtum anfus -kum bi- ittikhaadh -kum al- cijl fa- tobo 'ilaa baari' -kum fa- uqtulo anfus -kum dhaalikum khayr la- -kum cinda baari' -kum fa- taaba calay -kum 'inna -hu huwa at- tawwaab ar- rah.em |
| Pickthall | : | And when Moses said unto his people: O my people! Ye have wronged yourselves by your choosing of the calf (for worship) so turn in penitence to your Creator, and kill (the guilty) yourselves. That will be best for you with your Creator and He will relent toward you. Lo! He is the Relenting, the Merciful. |
| Asad | : | and when Moses said unto his people: "O my people! Verily, you have sinned against yourselves by worshipping the calf; turn, then, in repentance to your Maker and mortify yourselves;39 this will be the best for you in your Maker's sight." And thereupon He accepted your repentance: for, behold, He alone is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace. |
| Malik | : | Remember when Musa returned with the Divine Book he said to his people: "O my people! You have indeed grievously wronged yourselves by taking the calf for worship; so turn in repentance to your Creator and slay the culprits among you; that will be best for you in His sight." He accepted your repentance; surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | And remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! Ye have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf so turn (in repentance) to your Maker and slay yourselves (the wrong-doers); that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker." Then He turned toward you (in forgiveness); for He is Oft-returning Most Merciful. 69 |
Note - 39Lit., "kill yourselves" or, according to some
commentators, "kill one another". This literal
interpretation (probably based on the Biblical account in
Exodus xxxii, 26-28) is not, however, convincing in view
of the immediately preceding call to repentance and the
subsequent statement that this repentance was accepted by
God. I incline, therefore, to the interpretation given by
'Abd al-Jabbar (quoted by Razi in his commentary on this
verse) to the effect that the expression "kill
yourselves" is used here in a metaphorical sense
(majazan), i.e., "mortify yourselves".
|
Note - 69Moses's speech may be construed literally, as translated,
in which case it reproduces Exod. xxxii 27-28 but in a
much softened form, for the Old Testament says: "Go in
and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay
every man his brother and every man his companion, and
every man his neighbor... and there fell of the people
that day 3,000 men." A more spiritualized version would
be that the order for slaying was given by way of trial,
but was withdrawn, for God turned to them in forgiveness.
A still more spiritualized way of construing it would be
to take "anfusakum" as meaning "souls" not "selves".
Then the sense of Moses's speech (abbreviated) would be:
"By the worship of the calf you have wronged your own
souls; repent: mortify (=slay) your souls now: it will be
better in the sight of God."
|
Share your thoughts about this with others by posting a comment. Visit our FAQ for some ideas.
Filter Comments 
 |
Lit., "kill yourselves" or, according to some commentators, "kill one another". This literal interpretation (probably based on the Biblical account in Exodus xxxii, 26-28) is not, however, convincing in view of the immediately preceding call to repentance and the subsequent statement that this repentance was accepted by God. I incline, therefore, to the interpretation given by 'Abd al-Jabbar (quoted by Razi in his commentary on this verse) to the effect that the expression "kill yourselves" is used here in a metaphorical sense (majazan), i.e., "mortify yourselves". |
| |
Moses's speech may be construed literally, as translated, in which case it reproduces Exod. xxxii 27-28 but in a much softened form, for the Old Testament says: "Go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor... and there fell of the people that day 3,000 men." A more spiritualized version would be that the order for slaying was given by way of trial, but was withdrawn, for God turned to them in forgiveness. A still more spiritualized way of construing it would be to take "anfusakum" as meaning "souls" not "selves". Then the sense of Moses's speech (abbreviated) would be: "By the worship of the calf you have wronged your own souls; repent: mortify (=slay) your souls now: it will be better in the sight of God." |
