Surah Al-Baqarah
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِٱتِّخَاذِكُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Wa iż qāla mūsā liqaumihī yā qaumi innakum ẓalamtum anfusakum bittikhāżikumul- ‘ijla fatūbū ilā bāri'ikum faqtulū anfusakum, żālikum khairul lakum ‘inda bāri'ikum, fatāba ‘alaikum, innahū huwat-tawwābur-raḥīm(u).
And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf [for worship]. So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves. That is best for [all of] you in the sight of your Creator." Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
📝 Footnotes
27) According to some commentators, the command to kill yourselves in this verse means a command for those who did not worship the calf statue to kill those who worshipped it. However, the command can also be understood as an order for those who worshipped the calf statue to kill one another or to kill themselves as a form of repentance to Allah.