Athar al-Rasūl (The Track of the Messenger) : Attitudes of Muslim Exegetes On Qurʾān 20: 96

The Holy Qurʾān has verses and phrases that do not have clear indications and instances and exegetes are not unanimous in their interpretations. In the verse 96 of Surah Taha, “He said, I saw what they did not see, so I took a handful [of dust] from the track of the messenger and threw it, and thus did my soul entice me”, which indicates the Samaritanʾs response to Prophet Moses questioning of his peopleʾs calf worship, is an example of such unanimous interpretation. The present study aims to analyze the meaning of the term "the track of the messenger" in a descriptive-analytical way. Examining the narrative and interpretative sources of Farīqiyn (Shia and Sunni) and analyzing the implications of the verse shows that Allām-e Ṫabāṭabāīʾs view point who considers the track as gold and the Messenger as Moses, and says “the track of the messenger, was the gold of Moses or attributed to him, which Moses ordered to collect from the Copts and carry with themselves, and then Samaritan made a statue with these golds, which is inside the hollow and whenever the air goes through, It would come out of its mouth with pressure, making the sound of a calf”, is compatible with the logic of verse 87 and Therefore is closer to correctness and preferred over other interpretations.