Surah Al-Baqarah — Verse 71

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.

They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!" He said, "He says, 'Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but (it is) between the two conditions', so do what you are commanded. (68)They said, "Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us its colour." He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in its colour, pleasing the beholders.' ( 69)They said, "Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us what it is. Verily, to us all cows are alike. And surely, if Allah wills, we will be guided. ( 70)He (Musa) said, "He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no blemish in it.'" They said, "Now you have brought the truth." So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it (71)

Allah mentioned the stubbornness of the Children of Israel and the many unnecessary questions they asked their Messengers. This is why when they were stubborn, Allah made the decisions difficult for them. Had they slaughtered a cow, any cow, it would have been sufficient for them, as Ibn 'Abbas and 'Ubaydah have said. Instead, they made the matter difficult, and this is why Allah made it even more difficult for them. They said,

ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ

(Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!), meaning, "What is this cow and what is its description?" Musa said,

إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا فَارِضٌ وَلَا بِكْرٌ

(He says, 'Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young'), meaning, that it is neither old nor below the age of breeding. This is the opinion of Abu Al-'Aliyah, As-Suddi, Mujahid, 'Ikrimah, 'Atiyah Al-'Awfi, 'Ata', Al-Khurasani, Wahb bin Munabbih, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ibn 'Abbas. Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn 'Abbas said that,

عَوَانٌ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ

(But (it is) between the two conditions) means, "Neither old nor young. Rather, she was at the age when the cow is strongest and fittest." In his Tafsir Al-'Awfi reported from Ibn 'Abbas that,

فَاقِعٌ لَّوْنُهَا

(bright in its colour) "A deep yellowish white."

As-Suddi said,

تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ

(pleasing the beholder) meaning, that it pleases those who see it. This is also the opinion of Abu Al-'Aliyah, Qatadah and Ar-Rabi' bin Anas. Furthermore, Wahb bin Munabbih said, "If you look at the cow's skin, you will think that the sun's rays radiate through its skin." The modern version of the Tawrah mentions that the cow in the Ayah was red, but this is an error. Or, it might be that the cow was so yellow that it appeared blackish or reddish in color. Allah's knows best.

إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا 

(Verily, to us all cows are alike) this means, that since cows are plentiful, then describe this cow for us further,

وَإِنَّا إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ

(And surely, if Allah wills) and if you further describe it to us,

لَمُهْتَدُونَ

(we will be guided.)

قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ

(He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields') meaning, it is not used in farming, or for watering purposes. Rather, it is honorable and fair looking. 'Abdur-Razzaq said that Ma'mar said that Qatadah said that,

مُسَلَّمَةٌ

(sound) means, "The cow does not suffer from any defects." This is also the opinion of Abu Al-'Aliyah and Ar-Rabi'. Mujahid also said that the Ayah means the cow is free from defects. Further, 'Ata' Al-Khurasani said that the Ayah means that its legs and body are free of physical defects.

Also, Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn 'Abbas said that the Ayah,

فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ

(So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it) means, "They did not want to slaughter it."

This means that even after all the questions and answers about the cow's description, the Jews were still reluctant to slaughter the cow. This part of the Qur'an criticized the Jews for their behavior, because their only goal was to be stubborn, and this is why they nearly did not slaughter the cow. Also, 'Ubaydah, Mujahid, Wahb bin Munabbih, Abu Al-'Aliyah and 'Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "The Jews bought the cow with a large amount of money." There is a difference of opinion over this.

These Verses show how the Israelites were disposed to disobedience, and how this inclination expressed itself in different forms. The Hadith says that if these people had obeyed Allah's commandment without raising so many doubts and asking unnecessary questions, such strict condition would not have been imposed on them, and the sacrifice of any cow whatsoever would have been accepted.

Another mistake that the Israelites had made was to destroy the simplicity of divine religion by involving themselves in complicated theological wrangling. They had to learn to interpret God’s will in a straightforward manner and obey it immediately. This was another lesson that was taught under the pretext of this murder case: hair-splitting to define the exact scope of divine edicts will only make things difficult for everyone; additional conditions will only complicate the carrying out of what had originally been a simple commandment.