Quran Universe
20:91

قَالُواْ لَن نَّبۡرَحَ عَلَيۡهِ عَٰكِفِينَ حَتَّىٰ يَرۡجِعَ إِلَيۡنَا مُوسَىٰ

Qaloo lan nabraha AAalayhi AAakifeena hatta yarjiAAa ilayna moosa

They said, "We will never cease being devoted to the calf until Moses returns to us."

Word by word
  1. قَالُواْThey said
  2. لَنNever
  3. نَّبۡرَحَwe will cease
  4. عَلَيۡهِbeing devoted to it
  5. عَٰكِفِينَbeing devoted to it
  6. حَتَّىٰuntil
  7. يَرۡجِعَreturns
  8. إِلَيۡنَاto us
  9. مُوسَىٰMusa
Taha · 20:91Makkah

We will not stop until Musa comes back.

Postponing truth until someone else arrives

Their answer
Harun's warningclear and present
refused
wait for Musakeep worshipping till then
Whose word counts
only the bosswait for Musa
the truthwhoever says it

They answered Harun: we will not stop worshipping it until Musa returns. Ibn Kathir says they opposed Harun and fought against him, nearly killing him. A prophet was right in front of them and they waited for another.

Your younger sibling tells you something true about your temper. You wait until a scholar or a parent says the same thing. Truth does not need a senior voice to be true.

I will only change when the right authority tells me to.

If something is true, I should act on it whoever says it.

Try this

Act on one piece of good advice today that came from someone you usually overlook.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 20:90)

And Harun indeed had said to them beforehand: "O my people! You are being tried in this, and verily, your Lord is (Allah) the Most Gracious, so follow me and obey my order. (90)They said: "We will not stop worshipping it, until Musa returns to us. (91)

Harun prohibits them from worship of the Calf and the Persistence of the Children of Israel in doing so

Allah, the Exalted, informs of Harun's attempt to prohibit them from worshipping the calf and his telling them that this was only a test for them. He told them that their Lord was the Most Beneficent, Who created everything and decreed for everything its just measure. He is the Owner of the Mighty Throne, the One Who does whatever He wants.

فَاتَّبِعُونِي وَأَطِيعُوا أَمْرِي

(so follow me and obey my order.) Meaning, "Follow me in that which I am commanding you with and leave that which I forbid you from."

قَالُوا لَن نَّبْرَحَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفِينَ حَتَّىٰ يَرْجِعَ إِلَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ

(They said: "We will not stop worshipping it, until Musa returns to us.") meaning, "We will not cease in our worship of this calf until we hear what Musa has to say about it." So they opposed Harun in this matter and they fought against him, nearly killing him.