Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) appears many times in the Quran, but the longest continuous part of his story is in Surah Taha. One of the episodes described in this set of ayahs is the incident of the golden calf, when Musa (peace be upon him) left his people for a short while to go to Mount Sinai and speak to Allah, and returned to find they had started worshipping an idol of a golden calf.
The story of the golden calf
Remember that the Bani Israil had only just crossed out of Egypt and escaped Pharaoh. They had been surrounded by idols for generations, and scholars have commented that they still had traces of jahiliyya in them: they were not fully purified yet.
They had jewellery with them that they had borrowed from people in Egypt, which Haroon (peace be upon him) told them they were not allowed to keep, because it was a trust from someone else and did not belong to them. A man called Samiri convinced them to turn it into a calf, and to start worshipping it.
قَالُواْ مَآ أَخۡلَفۡنَا مَوۡعِدَكَ بِمَلۡكِنَا وَلَـٰكِنَّا حُمِّلۡنَآ أَوۡزَارً۬ا مِّن زِينَةِ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ فَقَذَفۡنَـٰهَا فَكَذَٲلِكَ أَلۡقَى ٱلسَّامِرِىُّ (٨٧) فَأَخۡرَجَ لَهُمۡ عِجۡلاً۬ جَسَدً۬ا لَّهُ ۥ خُوَارٌ۬ فَقَالُواْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَـٰهُڪُمۡ وَإِلَـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ فَنَسِىَ (٨٨)
They said, ‘We did not break our word to you deliberately. We were burdened with the weight of people’s jewellery, so we threw it [into the fire], and the Samiri did the same,’ 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.’ [20:87-88]
Who was Samiri?
قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِنۢ بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ ٱلسَّامِرِىُّ
God said, ‘We have tested your people in your absence: the Samiri has led them astray.’ [20:85]
The incident of the calf also appears in the Torah, but interestingly that version says Haroon (peace be upon him) was the one who created the calf, and that he was later forgiven by Allah. We know this was not the case, because Haroon (peace be upon him) was a prophet and therefore infallible in these matters.
The Quran explicitly states that it was Samiri who waited until Musa (peace be upon him)had left the people, and then misled them. The majority of scholars agree that he was a man from within the Bani Israil, although there is a minority opinion that he wasn’t one of them, but was an outsider who joined them later.
Every community has a Samiri
Allah doesn’t only tell us this as a story about historic characters, it is also something we need to apply in our own lives. Every community has someone like this, a trickster who preys on people’s vulnerabilities for their own purposes.
What was in it for him? Status and influence, becoming the leader of the people. Although Musa (peace be upon him)appointed Haroon (peace be upon him) as the leader while he was gone, but Samiri seems to have had more control over the group, almost convincing them to attack Haroon (peace be upon him). We see many similar people today, who are spilling over with arrogance and only want domination over others.
قَالَ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوا۟ بِهِۦ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةًۭ مِّنْ أَثَرِ ٱلرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذْتُهَا وَكَذَٰلِكَ سَوَّلَتْ لِى نَفْسِى
He said, “I perceived something they did not perceive. So I picked up a handful from under the footstep of the messenger. Then, I cast it. And thus my inner self tempted me.” [20:96]
Samiri claimed to have seen traces of Angel Jibril and have picked up a handful of dust from where he stepped. This is what he threw into the fire with the gold to make the calf start mooing. The most authentic opinion is that he was making it all up just to fool people, and Musa (peace be upon him) knew this and punished him.
We need to be careful of people like this. They will sell you the air just to get ahead and gain themselves power. We see this happen all the time in elections when candidates claim they will do all sorts of things, just to get voted in, only to turn around and break all their promises.
We ask Allah to protect us and make us wary of the Samiris in our own communities. Ameen.
Based on the Ramadan Reflection Night 18 by Shaykh Haytham Tamim. Transcribed by Hana Khan.