The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 142
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH formation of a shape which is the result in each case (Mufradāt & Lane). Commentary: It appears from this verse that, although after the incident of calf- worship a general pardon was granted to the Israelites, yet it was thought essential to punish the ringleaders who were ordered to be slain. The clause does not mean "slay yourselves", but "slay your men or slay your kith and kin". The latter meaning is borne out by 2:85, where God says, you shall not turn your people out of your homes. Similarly, in 24:62, we read: When you enter houses, greet your people with salām. In these verses the expression has been used in the sense of 'your people or your brethren'. See also 2:86 & 4:67. Speaking of this incident, the Bible says: "Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men" (Exod. 32:27, 28). PT. 1 servants and labourers of the Egyptians, who themselves speak of them as "a small community" (the Quran, 26:55). The error has apparently arisen from a confusion of the words (ilf) and (alf), the former meaning "a family", and the latter "a thousand" (Aqrab). Really, there were only 600 families of the Israelites who lived in Egypt and who left the country under the leadership of Moses, but they were misconstrued into 600 thousands. Similarly, the number of persons slain could scarcely be three thousand. There were most likely only three families the leaders of which took part in setting up the calf for worship, and these were put to death, by their own kinsmen at the bidding of Moses. The words yourselves) have also been construed "kill your desires"-an interpretation borne out by the usage of the Arabic language. Some commentators prefer as slay) فاقتلوا أنفسكم this interpretation to the one given above on the ground that the Israelites, having been forgiven by God at the intercession of Moses, could not have been ordered to slay their brethren, for such an order would have been incompatible with the forgiveness In the above passage, the number of granted to them. This argument, persons slain has been put at three however, does not appear to be sound thousand, but this is apparently an for forgiveness of a people as a whole error. Similarly, the number of the is not incompatible with the Israelites who came out of Egypt is punishment of a few ringleaders. represented in the Bible as six hundred thousand (Exod. 12:37) which also is clearly wrong. Such a large number could not live as 142 The clause, turn ye therefore to your Maker, implies an exhortation to the Israelites to turn to their or Maker or Fashioner, which means