Key Verses

1. 2:67Al-BaqarahWarning
   وَإِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوۡمِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ أَن تَذۡبَحُواْ بَقَرَةٗۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوٗاۖ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ أَنۡ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡجَٰهِلِينَ
   And when Moses said unto his people: Lo! Allah commandeth you that ye sacrifice a cow, they said: Dost thou make game of us? He answered: Allah forbid that I should be among the foolish!
   In context

   From the stories of your ancestors, remember what happened between them and Moses (peace be upon him) when he told them that Allah had instructed them to slaughter a cow. Instead of hurrying to do so, they said, stubbornly, ‘Are you making fun of us?’ Moses replied that he asked for Allah’s protection from being one of the ignorant people, who lied about Allah, and made fun of other people.

2. 2:68Al-Baqarah
   قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ لَّا فَارِضٞ وَلَا بِكۡرٌ عَوَانُۢ بَيۡنَ ذَٰلِكَۖ فَٱفۡعَلُواْ مَا تُؤۡمَرُونَ
   They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith, Verily she is a cow neither with calf nor immature; (she is) between the two conditions; so do that which ye are commanded.
   In context

   They asked Moses to call on his Lord to clarify what the cow they had been told to sacrifice was like. Moses told them that Allah said that it was neither old nor young, but was between the two; and he told them to do what Allah had instructed them to.

3. 2:69Al-BaqarahCommand
   قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوۡنُهَاۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ صَفۡرَآءُ فَاقِعٞ لَّوۡنُهَا تَسُرُّ ٱلنَّـٰظِرِينَ
   They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us of what colour she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a yellow cow. Bright is her colour, gladdening beholders.
   In context

   They continued debating and being stubborn, telling Moses (peace be upon him) to call on his Lord to make clear to them the colour of the cow. Moses told them that Allah said that it was a yellow cow, with a very strong colour, which was pleasing to everyone who saw it.

4. 2:70Al-BaqarahWarning
   قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ ٱلۡبَقَرَ تَشَٰبَهَ عَلَيۡنَا وَإِنَّآ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَمُهۡتَدُونَ
   They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. Lo! cows are much alike to us; and Lo! if Allah wills, we may be led aright.
   In context

   They continued in their stubbornness, telling Moses to ask Allah to further clarify the nature of the cow. They said that there were many cows fitting the description, and they could not therefore identify it, insisting that they would then, if Allah willed, be guided to the right cow for sacrifice.

5. 2:71Al-BaqarahWarning
   قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ لَّا ذَلُولٞ تُثِيرُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَلَا تَسۡقِي ٱلۡحَرۡثَ مُسَلَّمَةٞ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَاۚ قَالُواْ ٱلۡـَٰٔنَ جِئۡتَ بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُواْ يَفۡعَلُونَ
   (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a cow unyoked; she plougheth not the soil nor watereth the tilth; whole and without mark. They said: Now thou bringest the truth. So they sacrificed her, though almost they did not.
   In context

   Then Moses told them that Allah said the cow was not used for ploughing or irrigating the earth; she had no faults, and no marks of a different colour other than her yellow. They then replied that now he had brought them a detailed description, correctly identifying the cow. They sacrificed it, after almost not having done it, due to all their arguing and stubbornness.

6. 6:144Al-AnamWarning
   وَمِنَ ٱلۡإِبِلِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ وَمِنَ ٱلۡبَقَرِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِۗ قُلۡ ءَآلذَّكَرَيۡنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِ أَمَّا ٱشۡتَمَلَتۡ عَلَيۡهِ أَرۡحَامُ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِۖ أَمۡ كُنتُمۡ شُهَدَآءَ إِذۡ وَصَّىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِهَٰذَاۚ فَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفۡتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبٗا لِّيُضِلَّ ٱلنَّاسَ بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٍۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهۡدِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
   And of the camels twain and of the oxen twain. Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain; or were ye by to witness when Allah commanded you (all) this? Then who doth greater wrong than he who deviseth a lie concerning Allah, that he may lead mankind astray without knowledge. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
   In context

   The remainder of the eight types are a pair of camels and a pair of cattle. Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: Did Allah make any of them unlawful due to their being male or female or due to being contained in the womb? Were you, O idolaters, present when Allah gave the instruction for the prohibition of the animals that you regard as unlawful, according to your claim?

7. 6:146Al-Anam
   وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ حَرَّمۡنَا كُلَّ ذِي ظُفُرٖۖ وَمِنَ ٱلۡبَقَرِ وَٱلۡغَنَمِ حَرَّمۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ شُحُومَهُمَآ إِلَّا مَا حَمَلَتۡ ظُهُورُهُمَآ أَوِ ٱلۡحَوَايَآ أَوۡ مَا ٱخۡتَلَطَ بِعَظۡمٖۚ ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيۡنَٰهُم بِبَغۡيِهِمۡۖ وَإِنَّا لَصَٰدِقُونَ
   Unto those who are Jews We forbade every animal with claws. And of the oxen and the sheep forbade We unto them the fat thereof save that upon the backs or the entrails, or that which is mixed with the bone. That we awarded them for their rebellion. And lo! we verily are truthful.
   In context

   I made unlawful for the Jews animals whose toes were not separated (such as camels and ostriches). I also made unlawful for them the fat of cattle and sheep, except for what was attached to their backs or on their intestines or what was mixed with bone (such as the rump or flank). I repaid them for their disobedience by making these things unlawful for them. I am truthful in all that I relate.

8. 12:43Yusuf
   وَقَالَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ إِنِّيٓ أَرَىٰ سَبۡعَ بَقَرَٰتٖ سِمَانٖ يَأۡكُلُهُنَّ سَبۡعٌ عِجَافٞ وَسَبۡعَ سُنۢبُلَٰتٍ خُضۡرٖ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَٰتٖۖ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلۡمَلَأُ أَفۡتُونِي فِي رُءۡيَٰيَ إِن كُنتُمۡ لِلرُّءۡيَا تَعۡبُرُونَ
   And the king said: Lo! I saw in a dream seven fat kine which seven lean were eating, and seven green ears of corn and other (seven) dry. O notables! Expound for me my vision, if ye can interpret dreams.
   In context

   One day the king said that he had seen a dream in which seven fat cows were being eaten by seven thin ones, and seven green ears of corn and seven dry ears of corn. He asked the notables and nobles to tell him the interpretation of his dream, if they knew how to interpret dreams.

9. 12:46Yusuf
   يُوسُفُ أَيُّهَا ٱلصِّدِّيقُ أَفۡتِنَا فِي سَبۡعِ بَقَرَٰتٖ سِمَانٖ يَأۡكُلُهُنَّ سَبۡعٌ عِجَافٞ وَسَبۡعِ سُنۢبُلَٰتٍ خُضۡرٖ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَٰتٖ لَّعَلِّيٓ أَرۡجِعُ إِلَى ٱلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُونَ
   (And when he came to Joseph in the prison, he exclaimed): Joseph! O thou truthful one! Expound for us the seven fat kine which seven lean were eating and the seven green ears of corn and other (seven) dry, that I may return unto the people, so that they may know.
   In context

   When the man who had been saved reached Joseph, he asked Joseph, the truthful, to inform them of the interpretation of someone dreaming about seven fat cows being eaten by seven thin cows, and seven green ears of corn and seven dry ears of corn, so that he might return to the king and those with him and they might know the explanation of the king’s dream, and also know the virtue and rank of Josep…