إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ ٱلْعِجْلَ سَيَنَالُهُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَذِلَّةٌ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُفْتَرِينَ
Inna'lladhīna'ttakhadhu'l-ʿijla sa-yanāluhum ghaḍabun min rabbihim wa dhillatun fi'l-ḥayāti'd-dunyā, wa kadhālika najzi'l-muftarīn · Wa'lladhīna ʿamilu's-sayyiʾāti thumma tābū min baʿdihā wa āmanū inna rabbaka min baʿdihā la-ghafūrun raḥīm · Wa lammā sakata ʿan Mūsa'l-ghaḍabu akhadha'l-alwāḥ, wa fī nuskhatihā hudan wa raḥmatun lilladhīna hum li-rabbihim yarhabūn
"Those who took the calf: anger from their Lord and abasement in the life of this world will reach them. Thus do We recompense those who invent falsehood. · And as for those who do evil deeds and then repent afterwards and believe: your Lord, after that, is indeed forgiving and merciful. · And when the anger fell silent in Moses he took up the tablets. In their writing there was guidance and mercy for those who stand in awe of their Lord."
A point of word order must be recorded, and this is one of the most striking sequences in the sūra: the hundred and fifty-second verse announces a punishment, and the hundred and fifty-third opens a door immediately after it.
| Verse | What is stated |
|---|---|
| 152 | Sa-yanāluhum ghaḍabun … wa dhillatun — punishment |
| 153 | Thumma tābū … wa āmanū … la-ghafūrun raḥīm — the possibility of return |
I record this as my own reading and it is not binding; its ground is the order of the two verses: the sūra does not close the door after announcing the punishment. And the same structure was present in the second block of the sūra too: Adam broke the prohibition (22), then confessed (23), and the prayer was received.
| Step | Verb |
|---|---|
| 1 | ʿAmilu's-sayyiʾāt — it was done |
| 2 | Thumma tābū — there was a turning back |
| 3 | Wa āmanū — there was belief |
The construction of the hundred and fifty-fourth verse is a place the lexicographers particularly dwell on, and it must be recorded.
| It could have been built thus | What is built |
|---|---|
| Wa lammā sakana ghaḍabu Mūsā — when his anger subsided | Wa lammā sakata ʿan Mūsa'l-ghaḍab — "the anger fell silent in Moses" |
One — the verb used is not "to subside" but "to fall silent". That is, the anger is told of as something that speaks.
Two — the subject of the sentence is al-ghaḍab, not Moses. And the preposition is ʿan (from): the anger departs from Moses.
I record this as my own reading and it is not binding; its ground is the choice of verb and the preposition: the sentence pictures anger not as a state belonging to the person but as something that comes and goes. And the lexicographers explain this construction as istiʿāra (a borrowed expression); I convey this explanation as transmitted.
نُسْخَة — the root ن-س-خ: to put one thing in the place of another; and to transfer a text from one place to another (istinsākh). The word here means "what is written".
And the last sentence of the verse must be recorded: the guidance and the mercy are lilladhīna hum li-rabbihim yarhabūn — "for those who stand in awe of their Lord".
The root ر-ه-ب had occurred in the hundred and sixteenth verse: wa'starhabūhum — the sorcerers had struck fear into the people. The same root, two different fears. This is a repetition that can be verified within the sūra.