Al-Qur'an Surah Taha Verse 88

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Then he brought forth for them a calf, which was (merely) a body with a lowing sound. Then they said, “This is your god and the god of Mūsā, and he (Mūsā) erred.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Then he moulded for them an idol of a calf that made a lowing sound. They said, “This is your god and the god of Moses, but Moses forgot ˹where it was˺!”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Then he moulded for them an image of a calf that made a lowing sound. They said, “This is your god and Moses’ god, but he has forgotten.”

A. J. Arberry

(Then he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, 'This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has forgotten.'

Abdul Haleem

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.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And he produced for them a calf: a body with a low. Then they Said: this is your god and the god of Musa, and that he forgat.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf; It seemed to low; so they said; This is your god, and the god of Moses, but (Moses) has forgotten!"

Abul Ala Maududi

and brought out of there (from the molten gold) the effigy of a calf that lowed." The people cried out: "This is your deity and the deity of Moses, whom Moses has forgotten."

Ahmed Ali

Then he produced the image of a calf which mooed like a cow. And they said: 'This is your god and the god of Moses (whom) he has neglected."

Ahmed Raza Khan

He therefore made a calf for them – a lifeless body, making sounds like a cow – so they said, “This is your God and the God of Moosa; whereas Moosa has forgotten.”

Ali Quli Qarai

Then he produced for them a calf—a [lifeless] body with a low—and they said, This is your god and the god of Moses, so he forgot!

Ali Ünal

And then he brought out for them a calf shaping to it (from the molten ornaments) a body (which made a sound like) mooing. Then they said (some of them to others): "This is your deity and the deity of Moses, but he has forgotten."

Amatul Rahman Omar

Then (it came to pass that) he (- Sâmirî) produced (an effigy of) a calf for the people (to worship), a mere body (without a soul) which emitted a lowing sound. And then they (- Sâmirî and his followers) said, `This is your god as well as that of Moses,´ so he (- Sâmirî) gave up (the religion of Moses).

English Literal

So he brought out for them a body (of) a (M) calf, for him (is a) moo/bellow , so they said: "This (is) your god, and Moses` god." So he forgot.

Faridul Haque

He therefore made a calf for them - a lifeless body, making sounds like a cow - so they said, "This is your God and the God of Moosa; whereas Moosa has forgotten."

Hamid S. Aziz

They said, "We have not broken our promise to you of our own accord. But we were made to carry the load of the ornaments of the people, and we hurled them (into the fire). That was what As-Samiri bid us.

Hilali & Khan

Then he took out (of the fire) for them a statue of a calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your ilah (god), and the ilah (god) of Musa (Moses), but [Musa (Moses)] has forgotten (his god).'"

Maulana Mohammad Ali

They said: We broke not the promise to thee of our own accord, but we were made to bear the burdens of the ornaments of the people, then we cast them away, and thus did the Samiri suggest.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

So he brought forth for them a calf, a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Then he produced for them a calf, of saffron hue, which gave forth a lowing sound. And they cried: This is your god and the god of Moses, but he hath forgotten.

Muhammad Sarwar

Then the Samiri forged the body of a motionless calf which gave out a hollow sound." The people said, "This is your Lord and the Lord of Moses whom he (Moses) forgot to mention".

Qaribullah & Darwish

and made a calf for them, a figure that lowed. "This," they said, "is your god and the god of Moses but whom he has forgotten."

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Then he took out for them a calf which was mooing. They said: "This is your god, and the god of Musa," but he had forgotten.

Wahiduddin Khan

then he forged a calf for them -- an image producing a lowing sound. They said, "This is your deity, the deity of Moses; he has forgotten it."

Talal Itani

So he produced for them a calf—a mere body which lowed. And they said, “This is your god, and the god of Moses, but he has forgotten.”

Tafsir jalalayn

Then he produced for them a calf, which he fashioned from the [melted] trinkets -- a [mere] body, of flesh and blood, with a low, in other words, [it made] a sound that was audible; it was transformed into such [a state] because of the dust [from Gabriel's steed] the effect of which is [to create] life in whatever thing it is placed. After he had fashioned it, he placed it [the dust] in its mouth. And they, namely, the Samaritan and his followers, said, `This is your God and the God of Moses; so he, Moses, forgot', his Lord here and set off in search of him. God, exalted be He, says;

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلًأ جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ



"...that was what As-Samiri suggested." Then he took out (of the fire) for them (a statue of) a calf which was mooing.

فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى

They said;"This is your god, and the god of Musa."

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn Abbas said,

"So they became religiously devoted to it (the calf) and they loved it with a love that they had never loved anything else with before."

Allah then says,

فَنَسِيَ



but he had forgotten.

This means that he abandoned what he was following of the religion of Islam. This is referring to As-Samiri.

Allah says in refuting them and rebuking them, and also explaining to them their folly and foolishness in that which they had done