سورة البقرة

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Musa (peace be upon him) used to say to the Children of Israel: "When Allah brings you relief and destroys your enemies, a Book will be sent down to you from your Lord containing His commands, prohibitions, admonitions and lessons ..."

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic commanded Musa (peace be upon him) to come to the appointed time.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic commanded Musa (peace be upon him) ... to fast for thirty days at the foot of the mountain. Musa (peace be upon him) thought that after these thirty days the divine Book would be sent down to him. So he fasted for thirty days; on the final day, before breaking his fast, he began to brush his teeth with the miswak, whereupon Allah revealed to him: "O Musa (peace be upon him)! Do you not know that the odour of the mouth of the fasting person (from fasting) is more fragrant to Me than the sweet scent of the miswak? So fast ten more days, and do not use the miswak at the time of breaking your fast." Musa (peace be upon him) did so. And Allah had promised him that He would send down the Book of the Torah to him after forty nights, and so it was.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): What is meant by the phrase [فَتَمَّ مِیقَاتُ رَبِّهِ أَرْبَعِینَ لَیْلَةً — so the appointed time of his Lord was completed, forty nights] is that on the tenth day of Dhul Hijjah, the tablets of the Torah were sent down upon Musa, containing all the rulings and precepts of life, as well as the stories of the earlier peoples [that the Children of Israel needed].

Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): [The length of Musa's (peace be upon him) appointed meeting with his Lord] was, in Allah's knowledge and decree, thirty nights; then Allah saw fit to change His decree and add ten nights, so the meeting, from first to last, was completed as forty nights.

Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): Fudayl ibn Yasar asked him: 'Does this matter [the rise of al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his return)] have a set time?' He said: 'Those who set times lie! Those who set times lie! Those who set times lie!' — repeating this three times. Then he said: 'When Musa (peace be upon him) went out to answer his Lord's call, he promised his people thirty days; when Allah added ten days to those thirty, his people said, "Musa broke his promise to us." So they did what they did. [This refers to what the Children of Israel did after Musa's (peace be upon him) delay — as related in history and the traditions about them; for instance, they abandoned worshipping Allah and worshipped the Samiri's calf.] So whenever We relate a hadith to you and it comes to pass as We told you, say, "Allah has spoken truly!" And whenever We relate a hadith to you and it comes to pass contrary to what We told you, say, "Allah has spoken truly!" — for then you will be rewarded twice.'

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): The Samiri went to the weak and ignorant among the Children of Israel and told them: 'Musa (peace be upon him) promised you he would return after forty days; twenty nights and twenty days have passed — forty days are complete — and Musa (peace be upon him) has not returned. Musa (peace be upon him) must have disobeyed his Lord's command, and your Lord has willed to show you that He can call you to Himself directly, without an intermediary, and that He has no need to send Musa (peace be upon him).' Then he showed them the calf he had made. They said: 'How can this calf be our god?' He said: 'Your Lord speaks to you through this calf, just as He spoke to Musa (peace be upon him) from the tree.' When they heard a sound from it [caused by the wind blowing through it], they said: 'Our Lord is in the calf, just as He was in the tree' — and so they went astray and led others astray. When Musa (peace be upon him) returned to his people, he noticed the calf and, before the people, addressed it: 'O calf! Did our Lord dwell in you, as these people claim?' The calf spoke and said: 'O Musa! By Allah, our Lord is far above being contained by the calf, or by anything like the tree or any place enveloping Him. No, by Allah, O Musa! Rather, the Samiri set up a calf with its hindquarters against a wall, and dug a hole on the other side in the ground, and seated in it some of his rebellious followers — it was he who put his mouth to its rear and spoke what he spoke, when he said: "This is your god and the god of Musa." O Musa ibn Imran! These people were not abandoned to my worship and to taking me as a god, except for their neglect of invoking blessings on Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his pure household, and their denial of walayah (spiritual authority) towards them and of the Prophet's prophethood and the Wasi's succession, until it led them to take me as a god.' Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: 'Since Allah the Exalted abandoned the worshippers of the calf only for their neglect of invoking blessings on Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his successor Ali (peace be upon him), then why do you not fear the greater abandonment for your enmity toward Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali (peace be upon him), when you have witnessed them both and their signs and proofs have become clear to you?'