Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:152

"Indeed, those who took the calf" (meaning, those who remained in the state of taking it and persisted therein, like the Samaritan and his followers; this is clarified by the fact that the second relative pronoun refers to the repentant, which explicitly indicates that the first relative pronoun refers to the persistent) "will be reached by" (meaning, it will overtake and afflict them in the Hereafter as a penalty for that) "wrath" (a great wrath, the magnitude of which cannot be estimated, entailing various forms of punishment due to the enormity of their crime and the hideousness of their sin) "from their Lord" (meaning, their Owner. The prepositional phrase is connected to "will be reached by" or to a deleted adjective modifying "wrath," confirming the majesty indicated by the indefinite noun with an additive majesty—that is, a wrath coming from their Lord) "and humiliation" (great humiliation) "in the life of this world."

"And it is"—according to my view—"the humiliation that befell them at the time their god was burned and scattered in the sea like chaff, despite their inability to prevent that from happening to it." It is also said: It is the humiliation of alienation, which is proverbial, and the destitution that encompasses them and all their children. It is also the humiliation specifically reserved for the Samaritan: being shunned by people and afflicted with "touch me not." It is reported that their remnants today still say this, and if someone other than them touches one of them, he becomes feverish immediately. Perhaps what we have mentioned first is more appropriate, and the reported tradition lacks any verifiable trace.

The use of the future tense "will reach" (using the sīn) with what had already befallen them is for the sake of predominance (taghlīb). It is said—and the speech of Abu al-Aliyah points to this—that the intended subjects are the repentant ones, and the "wrath" refers to what they were commanded to do: killing one another, and the "humiliation" refers to their submission to this, and their confession of error. An apology is offered for the sīn by stating that this is a narration of what Allah the Exalted informed Moses (peace be upon him) of when He told him of his people's sedition and their taking of the calf; for He said to him: "A wrath will reach them," etc., so it precedes the wrath.

The statement is considered an answer to an implied question. When Allah the Exalted explained that the people regretted their worship of the calf in His saying: "And when they regretted and saw that they had gone astray"—and regret is repentance, which is why they followed it by saying: "If our Lord does not have mercy upon us and forgive us"—and after mentioning the rebuke of Moses to his brother (peace be upon them both) and their subsequent prayer for forgiveness, a questioner might ask: "O Lord, what will become of the people and their repentance, and the prayer for forgiveness of the Prophet of Allah? Did Allah accept their repentance?" He answered: "Indeed, those who took the calf will be reached by wrath"—meaning punishment—before the repentance of Moses and his brother and their being forgiven exclusively. Part of the completion of the people's repentance was that Allah the Exalted commanded them to kill themselves, and they surrendered themselves to the killing. Thus, "those who took the calf" was placed in the stead of "the people" to indicate the causality. This has been criticized on the grounds that the context of the noble structure, as well as its precursor, conflicts with this significantly. How could it not, when Allah the Exalted says: "And thus do We recompense the fabricators," which declares the opposite? For they were repentant believers; how then could they be described thereafter as fabricators? Furthermore, Allah does not recompense all fabricators with this penalty, the outward aspect of which is conquest and the inward aspect of which is mercy and kindness—unless it is said: it suffices for the validity of the analogy that the similarity exists in general terms. One must be committed to this in the manner we have mentioned, and what was stated regarding the formulation of the question and answer is such that the ears of the wise find it repulsive.

Atiyah al-Awfi said: The intent is the children of those who worshipped the calf, who were the ones present during the time of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). By "wrath" and "humiliation," it is intended what befell the Banu Nadir and Qurayza in terms of killing and expulsion, or what befell them in that regard alongside the imposition of the jizyah upon them. In this interpretation, there is an ellipsis of an added noun, which is "the children." It is possible that there is no ellipsis, and that this is a case of reproaching the sons for what the fathers did; there are many such instances in the Qur'an.

It is also said: The intended meaning of the relative pronoun is those who actually took the calf, and the pronoun in "will reach them" refers to their descendants. "Wrath" refers to the Hereafter's wrath, and "humiliation" refers to the jizyah that Islam imposed upon them, or something more general, so as to include what Nebuchadnezzar imposed upon them. This too has been criticized on the grounds that there is no doubt that the insertion of the condition of these people amidst the explanation of the condition of those who took [the calf] is like the separation between a tree and its bark. The "fabricators" refers to those who fabricate against Allah the Exalted; their fabrication against Him, be He glorified, was the statement of the Samaritan regarding the calf: "This is your god and the god of Moses," and their contentment with it. There is no fabrication greater than this, and perhaps no one before or after them fabricated the like. Sufyan ibn Uyaynah said: "Every possessor of innovation is humiliated," and he recited this verse.