Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:88

(He brought out for them a calf) — meaning the Samiri brought out for those mentioned individuals (a calf) from those ornaments which they had cast. The delay of the object—despite it being the direct object—to follow the prepositional phrase occurs, as has been mentioned more than once, due to the interest in the fronted element and the yearning for the postponed one, along with the degree of length which, if presented, would interfere with the harmony of the noble arrangement.

For His saying: (a body—jasadan), meaning a corpse of flesh and blood, or a body of gold without a soul, is an appositive to it. It is also said that it is an attribute meaning it is red like cast gold. Likewise, His saying: (it had a lowing sound—lahu khuwar) is an attribute of it. The khuwar is the sound of a calf. This sound existed either because He blew a soul into it, based on what Ibn Marduyah narrated from Ka'b ibn Malik from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: "When Allah the Exalted promised Moses (peace be upon him) that He would speak to him, he went out at the time He promised him. While he was conversing with his Lord, he heard a sound behind him. He said: 'My Lord, I hear a sound behind me.' He said: 'Perhaps your people have gone astray.' He said: 'My Lord, who led them astray?' He said: 'The Samiri.' He said: 'In what did he lead them astray?' He said: 'He fashioned for them a calf, a body that had a lowing sound.' He said: 'My Lord, this Samiri fashioned the calf for them, so who blew the soul into it until it had a lowing sound?' He said: 'I did, O Moses.' He said: 'Then by Your might, no one led my people astray except You.' He said: 'You have spoken truthfully, O wisest of the wise; it does not befit a wise one to be wiser than You.'"

In another narration from Rashid ibn Sa'd, it is stated that He—Glorified be He—said to him: "O Moses, your people have been tempted after you." He said: "My Lord, how can they be tempted when I have saved them from Pharaoh, saved them from the sea, bestowed blessings upon them, and done for them what I have done?" He said: "O Moses, they took a calf after you that had a lowing sound." He said: "My Lord, then who placed the soul into it?" He said: "I did." He said: "Then You, my Lord, led them astray." He said: "O Moses, O leader of the prophets, and O father of the wise, I saw that in their hearts, so I made it easy for them."

Or, it is because wind would enter it and it would sound, based on what Ibn Jarir narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said: "The Children of Israel felt guilty about the jewelry of the people of Pharaoh that they had with them, so they brought it out for the fire to consume it. When they gathered it, the Samiri threw the handful and said: 'Be a calf, a body that has a lowing sound,' and it became such. The wind would enter from its rear and exit from its mouth, and thus a sound would be heard from it."

(And they said) — meaning the Samiri and those who were tempted by him upon first seeing it (or it is said the pronoun refers to the Samiri, and it was made a plural pronoun to magnify his crime, though this is far-fetched): (This is your god and the god of Moses, so he forgot). Meaning, Moses forgot Him and went to seek Him on the Mount. The pronoun of "forgot" refers to Moses (peace be upon him), as narrated from Ibn Abbas and Qatadah. The Fa (the 'so') is fasiha (eloquent), meaning: "So worship it and adhere to its worship, for Moses (peace be upon him) has forgotten."

From Ibn Abbas and Makhul it is also said that the pronoun refers to the Samiri, and the forgetting is a metaphor for abandoning. The Fa is also fasiha, meaning: "So the Samiri revealed the hypocrisy, abandoned what he was in of the secrets of disbelief." This report is from Him—the Exalted—and is not included within the scope of the speech [of the people], unlike the first view. The work of some researchers implies choosing the first.

It is not hidden that the use of the demonstrative pronoun while the thing pointed to is in their sight, the repetition of it, the specification of Moses (peace be upon him) by name, and the introduction of the Fa, all serve to exaggerate the straying. The report of the bringing out [of the calf] and what follows is an account of the result of the Samiri’s sedition, both in act and speech, from His side—the Exalted—with the intention of increasing its establishment [as a fact], not from the side of the speakers; otherwise, it would have been said: "Bring out for us."

Attributing their shift to the third-person pronoun to clarify that the bringing out and the statement were for the whole [group] and not just the worshippers is contrary to the apparent meaning. Furthermore, it is detrimental to their excuse, for if some of them opposed the Samiri and were not tempted by his deception—while the bringing out and the address were [directed at] them—their opposition would ease [the burden of] the excuse-makers, and their subsequent temptation would be a greater crime and more heinous.

As for what is said that the excuse-makers are those who did not worship the calf, and that the attribution of the actions to themselves while they were innocent of it is like the saying: "So-and-so's tribe killed so-and-so," even though the killer was one of them; they would have said: "We did not find the actions among us by a command we controlled, but rather the doubt took hold in the hearts of the worshippers where the Samiri did to them what he did, so he brought out for them what he brought out and said what he said, and we could not turn them away from that, nor did we separate from them for fear of increasing the sedition." The Sheikh al-Islam has said: "The context and the preceding text of the noble arrangement dictate its invalidity." Abu Muslim went on to say that the speech of the excuse-makers ends at their saying: (so we cast them), and what follows from His saying—the Exalted—(Then the Samiri cast) until the end is a report from His side—the Exalted—that the Samiri did as they did, so he brought out for them, etc. This is contrary to the apparent meaning.

Additionally, al-A'mash read "so he forgot" (fanasa) with a quiescent ya.