Surah Al-Baqarah 2:54
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 54 of 286
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِٱتِّخَاذِكُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Translation
Moses said to his people, ‘My people, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf, so repent to your Maker and kill [the guilty among] you. That is the best you can do in the eyes of your Maker.’ He accepted your repentance: He is the Ever Relenting and the Most Merciful.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And when Moses said to his people: O my people, you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf, so repent to your Maker... That is better for you with your Maker. And He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the demanding path back from a grave sin, a real, costly repentance, met by a God who genuinely accepts it. Ask yourself: notice that repentance from a serious wrong was not cheap or merely verbal; it cost them something real. Yet however hard the turning-back, the outcome is 'He accepted your repentance'. It refuses two errors at once: the idea that some sins are too big to return from, and the idea that return is casual and costless. The door back is always open, but walking through it means genuinely turning, not just feeling bad. Is there a serious wrong I keep 'feeling guilty' about without ever making the real, costly turn back to my Maker who is ready to accept it?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:54 is discussed in 13 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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