His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And what has hastened you from your people, O Moses?" He said, "They are close upon my tracks, and I hastened to You, my Lord, that You might be pleased." He said, "Indeed, we have tried your people after you, and the Samaritan has led them astray." So Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved.

The story of this verse is that when Moses, peace be upon him, began to set out with the Children of Israel to the side of the right side of the Mount, where it was promised that Allah would speak to Moses with that which honored the immediate and the deferred, he saw - based on his own judgment - that he should advance alone, hastening to Allah, exalted and glorified is He, out of eagerness for closeness and longing for His conversation. He appointed Aaron, peace be upon him, as a successor over the Children of Israel, and Moses, peace be upon him, said to them: "You will travel to the side of the Mount." When Moses, peace be upon him, reached and spoke with his Lord, He increased him in the term by ten. At that time, he was made aware of the meaning of his hastening without waiting to inform him that they were on his tracks, so that he would be informed of what they had done.

A group read: "They are close upon my tracks," and another group read: "They are close upon me" with the 'ya' being opened. And his saying: "upon my tracks" is possible to be in the position of raising as a news after news, and it is possible to be in the position of lowering as a state. A group read: "upon my tracks" with the opening of the hamzah and the thaa, and a group read: "upon my tracks" with the kasrah of the hamzah and the sukoon of the thaa.

And Moses, peace be upon him, informed him that he hastened only seeking the pleasure. So Allah, exalted and glorified is He, informed him that He had tried the Children of Israel, meaning He tested them with what the Samaritan had done. It is possible that He means: We cast them into a trial, meaning into inclination with desires, and falling into disagreement of words. And His saying: "after you" means after your separation from them. A group read: "And the Samaritan led them astray" attributing the action to the Samaritan, and a group read: "And he led them astray, the Samaritan" with the lam being pronounced to indicate the beginning and the news about the Samaritan that he led the people astray.

'The Samaritan' is a man from the Children of Israel. It is said that he was the cousin of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him. A group has said that he was not from the Children of Israel, but rather his origin was from the non-Arabs of the people of Kerman. The first opinion is more correct. The story of the Samaritan is that he was a hypocrite who had tricks and magic. He took a handful from the trace of Jibril, blessings be upon him, and he knew what Allah had decreed for him to cause the trial of the people. He thought that with that handful, he could create what he wanted that is permissible by Allah, the Exalted. For if he had claimed prophethood with that haste, it would not have been valid nor permissible for him to deceive, nor would the trick have succeeded in him. However, when he claimed divinity, and the signs of his lies were evident, the trial was established through him, and that was permissible by Allah, the Exalted, like the story of the Dajjal, for whom the norms are broken because he claims divinity. If he had claimed prophethood, nothing of that would have been valid. When the Samaritan saw that Musa had gone, and he saw the remainder of the Children of Israel seeking from Musa a god when they passed by a people who worshipped idols in the form of a calf. It is said that it was a real calf. He knew that he would lead them astray by this means. It is narrated that he said to them: 'Indeed, the jewelry that you have from the wealth of the Copts is ugly for you to keep it. But gather it with me until Allah judges for you in it.' It is said that Harun, blessings be upon him, commanded them to gather it and place it in a pit until Musa comes and seeks permission from his Lord regarding it. It is said that the wealth they gathered for the Samaritan was from what the sea had cast up of the wealth of the drowned Copts with Fir'aun. It is narrated - despite this difference - that the jewelry was gathered with the Samaritan, and that he fashioned the calf and threw the handful into it, and it became a calf. It is narrated - and this is the more correct and more common view - that the people threw the jewelry into a pit or something similar, and he threw the handful upon it, and the calf took form. This is the aspect of the trial of Allah, the Exalted, for them. And on this we say: A norm was broken for the Samaritan. As for him shaping it, no norm was broken for him. They were only led astray at that time by its mooing, and that sound can be produced in materials by craftsmanship. When Allah, the Exalted, informed Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, of what had occurred, Musa returned to his people angry, grieved for them, as he had the power to change their wrongdoing. His saying: 'grieved' means: saddened, as he knew that it was a place of punishment that he must repel, and there is no escaping it. 'Grief' in the speech of the Arabs, whenever it is from one who has power over those beneath him, is anger. And whenever it is from the weaker towards the stronger, it is sadness. Reflect on this, for it is consistent, if Allah wills.