Did Prophet Haroon Prevent the Bani Israil from Worshipping the Calf?

Brief description of the dubiety

It is understood from verse 150 of Surah al-Araaf that Prophet Haroon did not prevent the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf. In spite of this, it has been mentioned in verse 90 of Surah Taha that this Prophet did prevent the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf. These two verses appear to be contradictory to one another.

Detailed description of the dubiety

Contradictory Verses

Verse in which it is mentioned that Prophet Haroon did not prevent the Bani Israil

In Surah al-Araaf, verse 150 it is mentioned that: “When Musa returned to his people, angry and indignant, he said, ‘Evil has been your conduct in my absence! Would you hasten on the edict of your Lord?’ He threw down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, pulling him towards himself. He (Haroon) said, ‘O Son of my mother, indeed these people thought me to be weak, and they were about to kill me. So, do not let the enemies gloat over me, and do not take me with the wrongdoing lot.’”  It is understood from this verse that Prophet Haroon did not prevent the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf because if he had done his duty properly, then there would not have been this kind of a harsh reaction from Prophet Musa.

There are other verses in Surah Taha in this regards to this as well. For example, verses 92-94 mention the following: “He said, ‘O Haroon! What kept you, when you saw them going astray, from following me? Did you disobey my command?’ He said, ‘O son of my mother! Do not grab my beard or my head! I feared lest you should say, ‘You have caused a rift among the Children of Israel and did not heed my word of advice.’’”

Verse in which it is mentioned that Prophet Haroon did prevent the Bani Israil

It verse 90 of Surah Taha, it says: “Haroon had certainly told them earlier, ‘O my people! You are only being tested by it. Indeed, your Lord is the All-Beneficent. So, follow me and obey my command!’” This verse states that Prophet Haroon had informed the Bani Israil about the test and discord that they were involved in. He requested them to return to monotheism from worshipping the calf and to follow him instead of Samiri. Therefore, Prophet Haroon tried to prevent the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf.

A summarized answer

Verse 150 of Surah al-Araaf does not prove that Prophet Haroon did not prevent the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf, but instead his conversation with his brother Musa at the end of the verse shows that Prophet Haroon tried to prevent the Bani Israil and indeed attempted to carry out his duty. Similarly, verse 90 of Surah Taha mentions that Prophet Haroon prevented the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf and carried out his duty. Therefore, there is no contradiction between these verses.

A detailed response

The meaning of the verse in Surah Taha is completely clear and there is no doubt that this verse mentions that Prophet Haroon prevented them from worshipping the calf, but the claim which brought this doubt is an incorrect understanding of verse 150 of Surah al-Araaf. If the meaning of this verse is made clear, then there would be no doubts. Therefore, the 150^th verse of Surah al-Araaf will be examined further.

Prophet Haroon’s prevention towards the end of verse 150 of Surah al-Araaf

The reason that it is thought that Prophet Haroon did not prevent them from worshipping the calf is how Prophet Musa acted so harshly with him; but with due attention to the end of the verse, it can be understood that Prophet Haroon did prevent them. The conclusion is that one cannot rely on just the beginning of the verse in which Prophet Musa acts harshly with his brother thinking that he did not prevent them because the end of the verse clarifies that he did indeed try to stop them. Therefore, instead of thinking that Prophet Haroon did not deter them due to the harsh reaction of his brother, one should try and clarify why Prophet Musa acted in such a harsh manner.

It must be clarified how the end of the verse proves that Prophet Haroon did attempt to prevent them. In the final part of this verse, Prophet Haroon said some sentences to his brother which were: “Indeed these people thought me to be weak, and they were about to kill me.” It is clear from these words that he had tried to prevent them from doing this because if he had not opposed them from worshipping the calf, then there would have been no reason for them to threaten him with death. Therefore, it is understood from his words to his brother that he did try to inhibit them until they finally threatened him with death; and in this manner, verse 150 of Surah al-Araaf also mentions that Prophet Haroon had advised them not to worship the calf, as it is mentioned in verse 90 of Surah Taha.

Reason behind Prophet Musa’s harsh behaviour

In order to explain Prophet Musa’s harsh behaviour, one must think of the atmosphere at that time. Prophet Musa had gone to speak to Allah after undergoing all of the difficulties and hardships to guide the Bani Israil. When he returned, he saw that his people had strayed from the path of monotheism, had converted to idolatry and had taken a calf as their god. Thus, Prophet Musa threw the tablets on the side, acted harshly with Prophet Haroon, took him by his hair and pulled him towards himself.

The Prophet’s behaviour with his brother may seem harsh at this time and without context, because it was as if Prophet Haroon was at fault, and had not carried out his duty. Despite this, it must be said that it was not like this. According to the verses of the Quran, before coming to his people, Prophet Musa was already informed about what his people had done, as it says in the verse 150 of Surah al-Araaf that: “When Musa returned to his people, angry and indignant…” In addition, verse 85 of Surah Taha mentions clearly that Allah informed Prophet Musa about what his people had done where it says: “Indeed We tried your people in your absence, and Samiri has led them astray.” According to this verse, the main cause of his people’s misguidance which was Samiri had already been introduced to Musa. Therefore, he knew that his brother was faultless even before reuniting with his people, and his harsh reaction towards Haroon was due to something other than him not fulfilling his duty.

All of these interpretations and reactions were to awaken the Bani Israil and to show them the importance of monotheism and the greatness of their misguidance, because in such a critical time, only a harsh reaction would have been effective, and if Prophet Musa had acted softly and kindly, they would not have realized what a great sin they had committed. The fact that he threw the tablets to the side (the same tablets which he had been receiving over the forty days), and grappled with his brother in such a manner should have made the others look at what they had done and have a deep effect on their souls, and hopefully make them see the greatness of the sin that they had committed. Therefore, this harsh reaction and manifestation of anger showed on one hand, the inner feelings of Prophet Musa and the amount of pain which he was feeling, and on the other hand, it had a deep effect on the Bani Israil, and informed them about the extraordinary indecency of their sin and this then changed everything. Such behaviour was not out of place, but rather it was very much required.

As a result, with due attention to the reason why Prophet Musa acted so harshly with Prophet Haroon, one cannot say that this is the evidence that makes one believe that Prophet Haroon did not prevent the Bani Israil from worshipping the calf, but instead as mentioned at the end of the verses, he had performed his duty as required.

Common example

The manager of a sports team makes one of the players the captain before an important match. A day before the match, the manager is forced to go on a journey and cannot accompany the team, so he hands the responsibility to his assistant. On the day of the match, the players make someone else the captain. The assistant manager opposes them and prevents them from making this decision, but the players do not pay any attention to him, and in fact they threaten him by saying, “If you stop us, we will not play and we will walk off the field.” As the manager is travelling, he watches the match on television and notices that the players of his team have opposed his decision and made someone else the captain and this upsets him, but due to the trust that he had in his assistant, he is convinced that he is faultless in this opposition. The manager decides to show his disappointment in order to inform the players about their faults by harshly reprimanding the assistant on the first day of training. He says sternly to his assistant, “Why did you oppose my decision?” The assistant replies, “The players paid no attention to me. They even threatened me that they were not going to play.”

Even though it looks like the manager’s harsh encounter with the assistant shows that he was at fault, to someone who knows how much trust this manager has in his assistant, this encounter will not mean that the assistant had gone against the manager’s orders or that he had not prevented the players from opposing the manager’s opinion. Rather, it is clear from how he answered the manager that he performed his duty to the best of his capability and prevented the players, but if he continued to oppose them, it was possible that they would not have even played. In this case, all of the efforts of the manager would have gone to waste. Now if someone else who was with the team on the day of the match said that the players opposed the decision of the assistant and the assistant tried to prevent them, then the information of this person would not be contradictory to the harsh reaction of the manager with the assistant.

Thus we see that with the case of Prophet Haroon he tried to advise the Bani Israil NOT to worship the calf, but it was beyond his control to stop them, and Prophet Musa had to act harshly with him in order to prove a point.