Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:148

"And the people of Moses took, after him..." Meaning: after he departed from them to the Mount (al-Ṭūr).

If you ask: Why is it said, "The people of Moses took a calf," when the one who actually took it was the Samiri? I say: There are two aspects:

1. The action is attributed to them because one of their own initiated it while in their midst. It is like saying, "The Banū Tamīm said such-and-such and did such-and-such," even if the speaker or actor was only one individual. Furthermore, they desired its taking and were pleased with it, as if they had collectively agreed upon it.
2. It means they took it as a god and worshipped it.

"From their ornaments (ḥuliyihim):" It is recited as ḥuliyihim (with a ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and a shadda), the plural of ḥulī, like thudī (plural of thadī). It is also recited as ḥilihim (with a kasra) for assimilation, like dilī. It is also recited as ḥuliyihim in the singular. Al-ḥulī is a name for that which is used for adornment from gold and silver.

If you ask: Why did He say "from their ornaments," when the ornaments were not theirs, but rather borrowed items in their possession? I say: Attribution occurs through the slightest connection, and the fact that they were borrowed items in their possession is sufficient connection. Moreover, they had come to own them after the destruction of the [Egyptians], just as they inherited their other properties. Do you not see His saying, the Almighty and Exalted: "So We expelled them from gardens and springs... and treasures and an honorable station. Thus, and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit them" (al-Shuʿarāʾ: 59).

"A body (jasadan):" A physical form with flesh and blood, like all other bodies.

"Lowing (khuwār):" The sound of a cow. Al-Ḥasan said: The Samiri took a handful of dust from the tracks of the horse of Gabriel (peace be upon him) on the day he crossed the sea, and he cast it into the calf, so it became a calf that had a lowing sound. ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) recited it as juʾār (with a jīm and hamza), from jaʾara (to cry out). The accusative case of jasadan is as a substitute (badal) for ʿajalan.

"Did they not see..." When they took it as a god, did they not see that it had no power over speech nor over guidance to any path? They should not have preferred it over the One who, if the sea were ink for His words, the sea would be exhausted before His words were exhausted—He who guided creation to the paths of truth and its methods through what He established in the intellects of the leaders, and what He revealed in His books.

Then He began by saying: "They took it..." Meaning: they proceeded with the abominable act they committed.

"And they were wrongdoers..." Placing everything in other than its proper place. Taking the calf was not an innovation for them, nor was it the first of their abominations.

"And when it was regretted (suqiṭa fī aydīhim)..." Meaning: when their remorse and grief over worshipping the calf intensified. It is the nature of one whose remorse and grief are intense to bite his hand in anguish, so his hand becomes "fallen into" (suqiṭa fīhi) because his mouth has fallen upon it. Suqiṭa is attributed to fī aydīhim as a metonymy. Abū al-Sumayqaʿ recited it as saqaṭa fī aydīhim (active voice), meaning the biting fell upon them. Al-Zajjāj said: Its meaning is that remorse fell into their hands, meaning into their hearts and souls. It is like saying, "A calamity fell into his hand," even though it is impossible for it to be in the hand; it is a comparison of what occurs in the heart and soul to what occurs in the hand and is seen by the eye.

"And they saw that they had gone astray..." They realized it with such clarity as if they were seeing it with their own eyes. It is recited: "If You do not have mercy on us, our Lord, and forgive us..." and with the tāʾ (addressing the feminine/plural). Rabbanā is in the accusative as a vocative. This is the speech of the repentant, just as Adam and Eve (peace be upon them) said: "If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us..."