سورة طه

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Musa (peace be upon him), in one of his intimate conversations, said: 'O Lord, this Samiri fashioned a calf that gives out a mooing sound — who made it?' A call came: 'O Musa! This was a trial from Me; do not inquire about it.'

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Husayn ibn Khalid said: I asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him): 'For how many people does a camel suffice?' He said: 'For one person.' I said: 'And a cow?' He said: 'For five people, on condition that these persons eat at one table.' I said: 'How is it that a camel suffices for only one person, whereas a cow suffices for five?' He said: 'Because the reason that exists in the cow does not exist in the camel, and that reason is this: those who commanded the people of Musa (peace be upon him) to worship the calf were five persons, all of whom used to eat at one table. These five were: Adhibawayh, his brother Madhawayh, his brother's son, his daughter's son, and his wife. They were the ones who commanded the worship of the calf, and they were the ones who slaughtered the cow which Allah the Exalted had ordered to be slaughtered.'

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Rida (peace be upon him) narrated from his fathers from Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A man from the people of Sham asked me about some matters, and among his questions he asked: "Why does the cow keep its eyes lowered and not raise its head to the sky?" His Eminence said: "Out of shame before Allah; because when the people of Musa (peace be upon him) worshipped the calf, this animal lowered its head."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Honour the cow, for it is the master of the beasts, and out of shame before Allah the Exalted, ever since the people of Musa (peace be upon him) worshipped the calf, it has never raised its head.

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): When thirty days had passed and Musa (peace be upon him) had not returned, Samiri went to the ignorant and weak among the Bani Israel and said to them: "Musa (peace be upon him) promised you that he would return after thirty days; now this period has passed and Musa (peace be upon him) has not returned. Musa (peace be upon him) has surely disobeyed his Lord's command, and your Lord has willed to show you that He is able to invite you to Himself by Himself, and that He has no need of sending Musa (peace be upon him)." Then he showed them a calf which he himself had made. They said: "How can this calf be our god?" Samiri said: "This calf will speak to you about your Lord, just as He spoke to Musa (peace be upon him) from behind the tree." When they heard this speech from him, they said: "Our Lord is in the calf, just as He was in the tree," and in this way they themselves went astray and led others astray. When Musa (peace be upon him) returned to his people, he turned to the calf and, in the presence of the people, addressed it: "O calf! Has your Lord truly indwelt you, as these people have supposed?" The calf answered: "O Musa (peace be upon him)! By Allah! Our Lord is far above being contained by a calf, or by anything like a tree, or by any other place encompassing Him." But Samiri had placed the calf beside a wall, and from the other side, under the ground, he had concealed some of his apostate followers, and they put their hand in the mouth of the calf and themselves spoke in its place: هذا إِلهُکُمْ وَ إِلهُ مُوسی [This is your god and the god of Musa]! But the calf spoke and said: "O Musa (peace be upon him)! These servants of Allah did not become wretched and afflicted except because they were slack in sending blessings upon Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the family of Muhammad, and they denied loyalty to him and his successor, and took me as a god. Now that Allah, on account of their slackness in sending blessings upon the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family) and his pure Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), afflicted them with calf-worship, how do you not fear a greater abandonment and enmity toward Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali (peace be upon him)? — while you have witnessed the manifest signs and proofs of the truth of them both."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "When Allah the Exalted informed Musa that his people had worshipped a calf that had a sound, it did not appear to him as something visible and tangible. When he saw them he became distressed and threw the tablets from his hand." Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Seeing with the eyes is superior to hearing the news."