Verse. 2442

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (he said) aaron said to moses: (o son of my mother) he mentioned their mother so that he be kind and compassionate with him! (clutch not my beard nor my head) nor my hair! (i feared lest thou shouldst say: thou hast caused division among the children of israel) if i had killed them, (and hast not waited for my word) and did not wait until i come back. this is why i refrained from fighting them.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : he, aaron, said, ‘o son of my mother (read ya’bna’ummi or ya’bna’umma, meaning ummī, ‘my mother’) the mention of her is more effective in provoking the affection of his heart — do not clutch my beard, which he had seized with his left hand, or my head!, for he had seized his hair with his right hand in anger. indeed i feared that, if i followed you, for inevitably a group of those who did not worship the calf would have followed me, you would have said, “you have caused division among the children of israel — and have been furious with me — and you did not wait for my word”’, concerning what my opinion would have been in this matter.