The calf that the Children of Israel worshipped: Did it have a soul?
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The questioner : The calf that the Children of Israel worshipped: Did it have a soul?
The Shaykh : No, Allah made it clear: and there is no life in it, because Allah said: there is no soul in it.
The questioner : .......؟
The Shaykh : Allah knows best regarding the Isra'iliyyat; we neither affirm nor deny them, but the apparent meaning of the Qur'an is that it had nothing but a mere voice, or a voice like the voice of a calf. As for it having a soul, no, because describing it as a body indicates that it has no soul. If it had simply been called a calf, one might have assumed it had a soul, so he removed this misconception by saying:
The questioner : This handful?
The Shaykh : Did this handful have any effect? Did it affect it by ruling that it was a camel or a donkey, for example, or did this handful have an effect on the voice, the voice of this calf? The Israelites say that this voice is not natural in this thing, and that wind enters from its rear and exits from its mouth, giving it a voice. Yes.
The Shaykh : No, Allah made it clear:
It had a lowing
له خوارA calf with a body
عجلا جسداThe questioner : .......؟
The Shaykh : Allah knows best regarding the Isra'iliyyat; we neither affirm nor deny them, but the apparent meaning of the Qur'an is that it had nothing but a mere voice, or a voice like the voice of a calf. As for it having a soul, no, because describing it as a body indicates that it has no soul. If it had simply been called a calf, one might have assumed it had a soul, so he removed this misconception by saying:
A body
جسداThe questioner : This handful?
The Shaykh : Did this handful have any effect? Did it affect it by ruling that it was a camel or a donkey, for example, or did this handful have an effect on the voice, the voice of this calf? The Israelites say that this voice is not natural in this thing, and that wind enters from its rear and exits from its mouth, giving it a voice. Yes.