“Wa-ushribū fī qulūbihimu al-ʿijl”
“They were made to absorb the calf into their hearts.” (al-Baqarah 2:93, excerpt)
The expression conveys intense attachment to the calf associated with idolatry. “Ushribū” depicts something deeply absorbed into the heart; the understood sense is an absorption of the calf’s love or devotion, not the physical animal.
The source’s reconstruction “love of the calf” clarifies what the imagery entails. Figurative language and an implied relation work together here.
The point is an ingrained spiritual attachment. Interpretation must make the figure intelligible without flattening its force or replacing the actual wording of revelation.