And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, "How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?" And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by [the hair of] his head, pulling him toward him. [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, indeed the people overpowered me and were about to kill me, so let not the enemies rejoice over me1 and do not place me among the wrongdoing people."
خَلَفۡتُمُونِيyou have done in my placekhalaftumūnī
مِنۢfrommin
بَعۡدِيٓۖafter mebaʿdī
أَعَجِلۡتُمۡWere you impatientaʿajil'tum
أَمۡرَ(over the) matteramra
رَبِّكُمۡۖ(of) your Lordrabbikum
وَأَلۡقَىAnd he cast downwa-alqā
ٱلۡأَلۡوَاحَthe tabletsl-alwāḥa
وَأَخَذَand seizedwa-akhadha
بِرَأۡسِby headbirasi
أَخِيهِhis brotherakhīhi
يَجُرُّهُۥٓdragging himyajurruhu
إِلَيۡهِۚto himselfilayhi
قَالَHe saidqāla
ٱبۡنَO sonib'na
أُمَّ(of) my motherumma
إِنَّIndeedinna
ٱلۡقَوۡمَthe peoplel-qawma
ٱسۡتَضۡعَفُونِيconsidered me weakis'taḍʿafūnī
وَكَادُواْand were about towakādū
يَقۡتُلُونَنِيkill meyaqtulūnanī
فَلَاSo (let) notfalā
تُشۡمِتۡrejoicetush'mit
بِيَover mebiya
ٱلۡأَعۡدَآءَthe enemiesl-aʿdāa
وَلَاand (do) notwalā
تَجۡعَلۡنِيplace metajʿalnī
مَعَwithmaʿa
ٱلۡقَوۡمِthe peoplel-qawmi
ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ(who are) wrongdoingl-ẓālimīna
Tafsir
Moses returned to his people from his meeting with His Lord full of anger and sadness upon finding them worshipping the calf. He said: 'What an evil condition you have fallen into after me O people, which leads only to ruin and misery! Were you tired of waiting for the appointed time of your Lord assigned for me – the forty nights – so you started to worship the calf!' Moses threw the Tablets down because of his extreme anger and sadness, and took his brother Aaron by the head and beard and dragged him, because he had been with them and had not been able to stop them from worshipping the calf. Aaron said to his brother Moses: 'O son of my mother, indeed the people considered me to be weak, not respecting me, and they had almost killed me; so do not punish me in a way that would make my enemies rejoice, and do not to include me out of your anger among the people who had done wrong by worshipping other than Allah.'