وَمَا أَعْجَلَكَ عَنْ قَوْمِكَ يَا مُوسَى ﴿۸۳﴾ قَالَ هُمْ أُولَاءِ عَلَى أَثَرِي وَعَجِلْتُ إِلَيْكَ رَبِّ لِتَرْضَى ﴿۸۴﴾ قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السَّامِرِيُّ ﴿۸۵﴾

﴾83﴿ Wa maaa a'jalaka 'an qawmika yaa Moosa
﴾84﴿ Qaala hum ulaaa'i 'alaaa asaree wa 'ajiltu ilaika Rabbi litardaa
﴾85﴿ Qaala fa innaa qad fatannaa qawmaka mim ba'dika wa adallahumus Saamiriyy

﴾83﴿ (Allah, the Exalted, said): And what made you hasten away from your people, O Moses
﴾84﴿ He said, They are close behind me, following in my footsteps, and I hastened to You, my Lord, so that You may be pleased
﴾85﴿ Allah, the Exalted, said: "Indeed, We have tested your people after you, and the Samiri has led them astray

[83] From this verse, the sixth section begins until verse (98). In this section, the anger of Musa (peace be upon him) for his people is mentioned, then his words to his brother, then to the Samiri, and each one's response in their own way. At the end, the calf — the symbol of polytheism — is burned, and the call to monotheism is made.
Note: In verse (83), the beginning of Musa’s (peace be upon him) appointment is mentioned for receiving the Book, the details of which are found in verse (142) of Surah Al-A’raf. In this verse, two questions are posed to Musa (peace be upon him) with a single phrase: *"Ma a‘jalaka" (What hastened you?) — First: In what state did you leave your people? Second: Why did you come before the appointed time of the meeting?
[84] In this response, both questions are answered. The first answer is that “my people are following me,” meaning they are not engaged in polytheism — the word athari (my footsteps) implies this meaning. The second answer is that he came before the appointed time so that “You may be more pleased with me”; this was his own personal judgment, like a believer who enters the mosque before the prayer time begins.
Some commentators have written that athari means “my people are following me closely,” but I went ahead of them. However, this view contradicts the sequence of Surah Al-A‘raf, because in the first appointment (miqat) with Musa (peace be upon him), the other people (the seventy individuals) were not present — they were present in the second appointment. And the incident of worshipping the calf occurred before the second appointment.
[85] In this [verse], there is news for Musa (peace be upon him) that his people have fallen into polytheism. The phrase (fatannā) indicates that placing a human or jinn devil in authority over a people is a test from Allah the Exalted. The phrase (aḍallahumu) means “he called them to misguidance,” because actual misguidance originates as an act of Allah the Exalted. The cause of this was Samiri.
This verse proves that Musa (peace be upon him) had no knowledge of the unseen.
Note: Samiri was from the tribe of Samarah and was either an Israelite or a Copt — there are two opinions. The first opinion is more well-known. He entered the religion of Musa (peace be upon him) hypocritically and later apostatized. He then invited the Children of Israel to polytheism.