Tâ Hâ
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[20:96]
He answered: "I have gained insight into something which they were unable to see: and so I took hold of a handful of the Apostle’s teachings and cast it away: for thus has my mind prompted me [to act].

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* v.96 : It is to be noted that the verb basura (lit., “he became seeing”) has the tropical significance of “he perceived [something] mentally,” or “he gained insight,” or “he understood.” Hence, Abū Muslim al-Isfahānī (whose interpretation of the whole of this verse Rāzī analyzes and finds most convincing) explains the above phrase as meaning, “I realized what they [i.e., the rest of the people] did not realize – namely, that some of thy beliefs, O Moses, were wrong.” It would seem that the Samaritan objected to the idea of a transcendental, unperceivable God, and thought that the people ought to have something more “tangible” to believe in. (See also next note.)
* Contrary to the fanciful interpretations advanced by some of the other commentators, Abū Muslim (as quoted by Rāzī) explains the term athar (lit., “vestige” or “trace”) in its tropical sense of the “practices and sayings” or – collectively – the “teachings” of any person, and particularly of a prophet; thus, he makes it clear that the phrase qabadtu qabdatan min athari ’r-rasūl fa-nabadhtuhā signifies “I took hold of a handful [i.e., “something”] of the teachings of the Apostle, and discarded it”: it being understood that “the Apostle” referred to by the Samaritan in the third person is Moses himself. (As already mentioned in the preceding note, Rāzī unreservedly subscribes to Abū Muslim’s interpretation of this passage.) In my opinion, the Samaritan’s rejection of a part of Moses’ teachings is meant to explain the subconscious tendency underlying all forms of idolatry and of the attribution of divine qualities to things or beings other than God: a futile, self-deceiving hope of bringing the Unperceivable closer to one’s limited perception by creating a tangible “image” of the Divine Being or, at least, of something that could be conceived as His “emanation.” Inasmuch as all such endeavours obscure rather than illuminate man’s understanding of God, they defeat their own purpose and destroy the misguided devotee’s spiritual potential: and this is undoubtedly the purport of the story of the golden calf as given in the Qur’ān.