RECORD OF THE GOING OF MÛSA—U. W. B., ETC.—TO MOUNT SINAI; HIS BEING ADDRESSED BY THE DIVINE ALLO­CUTION; THE DESCENT OF THE TABLES OF THE LAW; THE SOJOURN OF THE CHILDREN OF ESRÂIL IN THE DESERT DURING MANY YEARS, AND SÂMERI’S SEDUCING THEM.

As the children of Esrâil were greatly importuning the Lord Mûsa—u. w. b., etc.—to give them a separate law, which they might observe, and by the aid thereof acquire divine favour, the Lord Mûsa—u. w. b., etc.—addressed his petition with reference to this subject to the Lord of Unity, whereon this allocution came: ‘It will be necessary for thee to approach Mount Sinai, and to fast thirty days, that thou mayest obtain thy desire, and that thy wish may be grati­fied.’ Mûsa then said to the children of Esrâil: ‘I shall go to Mount Sinai, and intend to remain there for some time; do you likewise move towards the desert of Sin, take up your position there, engage in adoring the Most High, and wait for my return. I hope He will grant you a fresh religion and a new law.’ Then Mûsa appointed Harûn to be his successor in the government of the people until his return. When the children of Esrâil heard from Mûsa that the Lord of Magnificence had promised to converse with him on the mountain, they requested him to be allowed to despatch several individuals of each tribe to accompany him, so that they might likewise be ennobled by learning the sublime words of God, and that the memory of this propitious event might be perpetuated among the descendants of Ya’qûb—u. w. b., etc.—from generation to generation. Mûsa complied with their request, and selected from among the twelve tribes seventy pious and wise men to go with him.

Another tradition is, that these seventy men went with Mûsa for the sake of propitiation and deprecation to Mount Sinai, after the people had worshipped the [molten] calf. In the ‘Labâb-ut-tafâsir’ it is recorded that the going of these seventy individuals took place, because on a certain occasion Mûsa had gone with Harûn to the mountain for the purpose of devotion, and that on the said occasion Harûn died suddenly. When the people again saw Mûsa they accused him of having slain his brother; therefore he took, for the purpose of justifying himself, seventy men to the mountain, and prayed that Harûn might again be resuscitated to life, which request having been responded to, the skirts of his lordship’s innocence were purified from the mire of suspicion. The above traditions may perhaps be reconciled by assuming, that on both these occasions the said seventy men had accompanied his lordship.

In short, when Mûsa proceeded to the mountain, he ordered the people to move in the direction of the desert of Sin. Accordingly the cloud, which was constantly throw­ing its shadow upon the heads of the children of Esrâil, began to move towards the plain of Sin; following the cloud with cheerfulness, and marching till they reached the appointed place, they halted, waiting for the return of Mûsa.* After Mûsa had left his people, he remained, according to one tradition, from the first of Zilqa’da during a whole month, on the heights of Sinai, never ceasing his devotions, fasting in the day, watching in the night, and constantly praising God. Jebrâil then descended and brought the divine revelation, that yet ten days more were required to complete the appointed time. Mûsa assented, but thereby failed in his promise to return, wherefore the fools among the children of Esrâil congregated around Harûn, and said: ‘The days, after which thy brother promised to return, have elapsed, and till now we possess no news either of him, or about the chiefs of our people; it is possible that Mûsa has killed them, or may do so. What is the remedy in this emergency, and how can this embar­rassment be removed?’ Sâmeri, being aware of their imperfect understandings, made use of this opportunity to seduce them, and said: ‘O my people, I know why Mûsa has not kept his promise, and why he has not come.’ The children of Esrâil inquired, and Sâmeri continued: ‘Mûsa was displeased when he separated from you, and the cause of his displeasure is, that when after the drowning of the Qabats you took their property and disposed of the spoils, you have not been warned by the prohibition of the prophet of Allah; therefore he now avoids you, that he may not be present in case any misfortune should befall the people of Esrâil on account of their disobedience, or become a sharer in their troubles and afflictions. It is possible that he will become reconciled to you, and that he will speedily return, in case you should be willing to part with your riches.’ The Jews who believed these words of Sâmeri dug a well, and throwing into it whatever they had taken without the permission of Mûsa, covered the top of it. Sâmeri then continued his wicked proposals, saying: ‘Mûsa will not return to you until you burn all that property.’ They again complied with his wish, opened the well, threw fire into it, and gave everything dissolvable to Sâmeri—who knew the trade of a goldsmith—that he might melt it. That chief of seducers then liquefied all the silver and gold, of which he made a calf,* into whose abdomen he placed a little dirt, which he had gathered from under the hoofs of the horse of Jebrâil when the Fara’ûnites were destroyed. The golden calf immediately commenced to bleat; but according to another tradition this figure was transmuted into flesh and bones, with skin and feet. After this strange event, Sâmeri said to the people: ‘This calf is your god, and the omnipotent nourisher of Mûsa. Worship it, and pray to it that Mûsa may again send you back the chieftains of your tribes.’ Being led astray by this foolish suggestion, they girded their loins to adore the calf, except twelve thousand men of the tribes of Yusuf and Ben Yâmin, who refrained from that opprobrious act, blamed the people, and refused to comply with their wishes. Harûn was likewise, despite all his admonitions, unable to effect anything, although he never ceased reproaching the people till they threatened to expel or to murder him. Mûsa, who had remained with those seventy men engaged in prayer on Mount Sinai, knew nothing of what had taken place, until forty days had elapsed, namely, from the beginning of Zilqa’da till the tenth of Zilhajja, or, according to another tradition, from the beginning of Zilhajja till the tenth of Muharram. Then Mûsa hastened on the forty-first day— which was, according to the beliefs of Jews and Christians, the first day of the fifth month—before his companions to the place of worship, and a subtle cloud intervening between him and them, he disappeared from their sight. The Lord Most High spoke to him without the intervention of palate or tongue, gave him the tables of the ten commandments that contained the nucleus and principles of religion and laws, and rejoiced the sons of Esrâil with a new Law. It is recorded in some histories, that when Mûsa the speaker [with God] had on that occasion ascended Mount Sinai, after the completion of the forty days, he asked in his prayers to behold God, but his request was not granted.

Distich:‘Thou shalt not see me,’ the answer to Mûsa comes;
All this is the clamour of longing, but not His want.

It is related in creditable books, that when the veil [of the cloud] was removed, Mûsa became visible to the people, and expounded to them the contents of the tables, with the details of the commandments of religion, they replied: ‘Our object in undergoing so many hardships, and the intention of the community of Esrâilites in sending us was, that we might likewise be made happy by hearing the divine words and might bear witness of them to our people.’ Mûsa, therefore, prayed with reference to this subject and his request was granted, whereon, all of a sudden the same subtle cloud appeared, and enveloped Mûsa with his seventy companions. All heard the divine voice, and were gratified by listening to the words that were written upon the ten [sic] tables. When the veil was removed the companions of Mûsa began to contend with each other, and said: ‘We shall not believe thee by merely hearing the words, unless we behold the Speaker Himself with our own eyes.’ After they had thus vented their feelings, a black cloud made its appearance, various great and terrible phenomena manifested themselves, lightnings and an earthquake took place, and those who desired to see the Governor of the Universe, were trans­mitted into non-existence. Mûsa was astonished at their unbelief, and wondered at the suspicions of the sons of Esrâil; he therefore prayed until the Lord of Glory again invested them with the robe of life and they repented of their acts and sayings, believed the words of Mûsa, and obeyed the laws of the Almighty Lord. The Lord Mûsa remained three days longer and prayed, until God—w. n. b. e.—sent him two other tables, made of gems and contain­ing evident signs [i.e. miracles] written with the pen of light. Then he took the tables and proceeded with those seventy men to the people. When the Lord, who knows all secrets, had informed Mûsa that the Esrâilites were worshipping a calf, his wrath was incensed, and when he arrived among the people, he first began to upbraid Harûn, and then the perfidious nation; and when anger towards Sâmeri had overpowered his blessed nature, he threw the tables upon the ground so that some of them were broken.* He also took hold of Harûn’s beard and head, which he drew towards himself; but Harûn said: ‘O son of my mother, the children of Esrâil have not regarded me, and well-nigh killed me.’ Mûsa rejoined: ‘When thou sawest that the people did not obey thee, why didst thou not leave them, and come to me?’ Harûn continued: ‘O son of my mother, do not hold me by my beard nor by my head. I feared thou wouldest say, “Why hast thou abandoned the children of Esrâil, and hast not regarded my words? Cause not my foes to rejoice over me, and place me not with the wicked people.”’ When Mûsa had become convinced of Harûn’s inability [to resist the idolatrous intentions of the people] he apologized to him, and also interceding for him said: ‘O Lord, forgive me and my brother, and receive us into Thy mercy; for Thou art the most merciful of those who practise mercy.’* Mûsa looked at the sons of Esrâil and all the calf-worshippers became ashamed, drooping their heads. His lordship then said: ‘Our God has made a good promise to you, has called me to adore Him, and has sent a book to you. During the short time, however, I was separated from you, the covenant seemed long to you, and you have broken your promise.’ Then the sons of Esrâil unani­mously accused Sâmeri of having seduced them, but con­fessed also their own guilt and sin. Mûsa called Sâmeri, examined him concerning the circumstances of the case, and Sâmeri said: ‘I have seen Jebrâil, and have taken a handful of dirt from under the hoof of his horse. I have for a long time desired to mislead the children of Esrâil, and when I obtained the opportunity to do so, I placed the dirt into the body of the calf, whereon it gave forth a sound, and these fools, having deflected from the straight road, the intention of my mind was fulfilled.’ Mûsa said: ‘O Sâmeri, I shall not kill thee, but may no one feel amity for thee or become thy companion in this world, until the chastisement due to thee reaches thee in the next [sic].’ Then the sons of Esrâil congregated around Mûsa and craved pardon. After Mûsa had addressed his prayers to the Almighty, the mandate was issued to kill [the idolaters]. Therefore, dis­putes arose among the children of Esrâil, many of whom were inclined, and many were not inclined, to obey the said mandate, saying: ‘As we have not worshipped the calf, why should we consent to be killed?’ This uproar and quarrel­ling continued until Mûsa burnt up the calf, by the com­mand of the Lord of Unity, and throwing its ashes into the sea ordered every one of the people to drink of the water thereof.* No sign appeared upon the obedient [after the people had drank], but the tongue of every one of the rebels was marked with a golden point. Then the command was issued that those twelve thousand men who had not wor­shipped the calf should take up their swords and exter­minate the calf-worshippers. The latter accordingly put on their funeral shrouds, made their last wills, turned their faces towards the Qiblah; then wailing and lamentation rose from the children of Esrâil, those twelve thousand men performed their work of decapitation, and the awfulness of the resurrection appeared to be at hand. It is related that on the said occasion a black vapour covered them, to pre­vent their seeing each other, so that the father might not spare his son, nor the latter his father, and that the execu­tion of God’s command might not be delayed. During the carnage Mûsa, Harûn, the pious, the weak, the children and the aged of the people bared their necks, and prostrated themselves in adoration, humiliation, and lamentation. According to one tradition that catastrophe lasted from morn to noon, and according to another, it ended after the expiration of three days and nights. So many were killed that rivers of blood flowed. According to the first tradition the number of the slain amounted to seventy thousand, and according to the second to three hundred and twenty thousand individuals. When the appointed time had expired, their swords no longer operated, and by no efforts could any more of the people be slain. When Mûsa heard this news he knew that divine pardon had been awarded to the [rest of the] criminals; he therefore ordered the executioners to sheath their swords and to cease the carnage. After that Mûsa went on the 18th of Tamûz up to Mount Sinai to intercede for the nation. He prayed there forty days, and after returning to his people on the 27th of the month of Ab, he again went to Mount Sinai, and humbled himself during forty days [more] in prayer, until the Lord God Almighty gave him two other tables, instead of those which he had broken to pieces under the influence of his wrath. The belief of the Jews and Christians is that the descent of these tables took place on the 10th of Tashrin the first which they call ‘the day of hearts’; they consider it a very solemn day and fast. After that the Mosaic Law descended [from heaven] in forty volumes, but more correctly after these forty three additional ones descended; and the first forty which his lordship obtained when he went to Mount Sinai for the purpose of seeing [God] are called the ‘forty Miqât.’ It is said that during the forty days he was sitting there he never got up, and the second forty days are called ‘the quarantine of intercession,’ during the whole time of which he was engaged in adoration. The third forty days are called the ‘quarantine of supplication,’ during the whole period of which he was standing, until the Most High gave him the tables. Theologians differ about the ten com­mandments which were written on the tables, but the most correct and the most current opinion is here recorded as follows: