Surah Taha 20:92

What happened between Musa and Harun after Musa returned

Allah informs of what happened when Musa returned to his people and saw the great matter that had taken place among them. With this he became filled with anger and he threw down the Divine Tablets that he had in his hand. Then, he grabbed his brother Harun by his head and pulled him towards himself. We expounded upon this previously in Surat Al-A`raf, where we mentioned the Hadith,

(Information is not the same as observation.) Then, he began to blame his brother, Harun, by saying,

(What prevented you when you saw them going astray; that you followed me not) meaning, "You should have informed me of this matter as soon as it happened."

(Have you then disobeyed my order) "In that which I entrusted to you," referring to Musa's statement,

(Replace me among my people, act in the right way and follow not the way of the mischief-makers.)7:142

(He (Harun) said: "O son of my mother!") This mentioning of the mother was Harun's attempt to soften Musa's anger, because he was Musa's biological brother and they had the same parents. The mentioning of the mother here is more delicate and profound in bringing about gentleness and mildness. This is why he said,

(O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head!) This was Harun's excuse to Musa for being delayed from coming to him and informing him of the great mishap that took place. He said,

(Verily, I feared) meaning, "I was afraid to come after you and inform you of this, because I thought you might accuse me of leaving them alone and causing division between them."

(and you have not respected my word!) This means, "And you did not take care of what I commanded you to do when I left you in charge of them." Ibn `Abbas said, "Harun was respectful and obedient to Musa."

Musa sangat menyesal atas sikap Harun yang tidak bertindak tegas terhadap penyelewengan kaumnya. Kenapa dia hanya menegur dan menasehati kaumnya, padahal menyembah patung adalah syirik yang tidak bisa diampuni, dan tidak dapat dibiarkan apapun alasan yang dikemukakan kaumnya. Mengapa dia tidak menyusul Musa bersama orang-orang yang beriman untuk memberitahukan hal itu dan mengambil sikap tegas terhadap orang-orang yang membangkang. Kalau Harun mengambil tindakan seperti ini tentulah kaumnya yang kafir itu akan merasa takut dan mungkin akan meninggalkan penyembahan patung itu karena khawatir akan kehilangan pemimpin yang mereka cintai.