Quran Universe
20:93

أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِۖ أَفَعَصَيۡتَ أَمۡرِي

Alla tattabiAAani afaAAasayta amree

From following me? Then have you disobeyed my order?"

Word by word
  1. أَلَّاThat not
  2. تَتَّبِعَنِۖyou follow me
  3. أَفَعَصَيۡتَThen,have you disobeyed
  4. أَمۡرِيmy order
Taha · 20:93Makkah

Why did you not follow me? Did you disobey me?

Blame aimed at the trusted one

What Musa had said
take my placeamong my people
set things right
do not followthe corrupters
Where Musa looked first
the corrupterSamiri
the deputyHarun, his brother

Musa had told Harun: take my place among my people, set things right, do not follow the corrupters. So he asked: have you disobeyed my order? Ibn Kathir explains he meant in what he had entrusted to him.

You come home to a mess and the first person you shout at is the one who stayed behind and tried. The person closest is often the first one blamed, even when they did their best.

When things go wrong, the person in charge must have failed.

I should hear the trusted person out before blaming them for someone else's wrong.

Try this

Next time you want to blame someone close, ask first: what happened from your side?

Related7:142
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 20:92)

(Musa) said: "O Harun! What prevented you when you saw them going astray; (92)"That you followed me not (according to my advice to you)? Have you then disobeyed my order? (93)He (Harun) said: "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: 'You have caused a division among the Children of Israel, and you have not respected my word!' (94)

What happened between Musa and Harun after Musa returned

Allah informs of what happened when Musa returned to his people and saw the great matter that had taken place among them. With this he became filled with anger and he threw down the Divine Tablets that he had in his hand. Then, he grabbed his brother Harun by his head and pulled him towards himself. We expounded upon this previously in Surat Al-A'raf, where we mentioned the Hadith,

لَيْسَ الْخَبَرُ كَالْمُعَايَنَةِ

(Information is not the same as observation.) Then, he began to blame his brother, Harun, by saying,

مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذْ رَأَيْتَهُمْ ضَلُّوا - أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِ

(What prevented you when you saw them going astray; that you followed me not?) meaning, "You should have informed me of this matter as soon as it happened."

أَفَعَصَيْتَ أَمْرِي

(Have you then disobeyed my order?) "In that which I entrusted to you," referring to Musa's statement,

اخْلُفْنِي فِي قَوْمِي وَأَصْلِحْ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

(Replace me among my people, act in the right way and follow not the way of the mischief-makers.)[7:142]

قَالَ يَا ابْنَ أُمَّ

(He (Harun) said: "O son of my mother!") This mentioning of the mother was Harun's attempt to soften Musa's anger, because he was Musa's biological brother and they had the same parents. The mentioning of the mother here is more delicate and profound in bringing about gentleness and mildness. This is why he said,

يَا ابْنَ أُمَّ لَا تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتِي وَلَا بِرَأْسِي

(O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head!) This was Harun's excuse to Musa for being delayed from coming to him and informing him of the great mishap that took place. He said,

إِنِّي خَشِيتُ

(Verily, I feared) meaning, "I was afraid to come after you and inform you of this, because I thought you might accuse me of leaving them alone and causing division between them."

وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِي

(and you have not respected my word!) This means, "And you did not take care of what I commanded you to do when I left you in charge of them." Ibn 'Abbas said, "Harun was respectful and obedient to Musa."