Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 67

(Ayah 67 to 71) ➊ During the period of slavery in Egypt, the belief in the sanctity of the cow infiltrated the Israelites under the influence of the dominant nation. This was also manifested when Musa (peace be upon him) went to Mount Tur to receive the Torah, and they made a calf and began to worship it. Now, by Allah’s command, Musa (peace be upon him) ordered the slaughter of a cow to uproot this belief from its roots. They took it as a joke, saying, “Can a cow even be slaughtered?” They said, “Are you making fun of us?” This is similar to when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) clearly told his people regarding idol worship, “Surely you and your forefathers are in clear error,” but they could not believe that anyone could call idol worship misguidance, and said: «{ اَجِئْتَنَا بِالْحَقِّ اَمْ اَنْتَ مِنَ اللّٰعِبِيْنَ }» [ الأنبیاء : ۵۵ ] “Have you brought us the truth, or are you among those who jest?” In short, Musa (peace be upon him) said to his people: “I seek refuge with Allah from being among the ignorant.” It is clear that mockery and ridicule are the acts of the ignorant, whereas humor and good-naturedness are different; in them, nothing is contrary to reality, nor is there any insult or belittlement, rather, the one with whom good-naturedness is shown also feels happy. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also used to joke.

➋ { بَقَرَةً:} Its tanween indicates that any cow would have sufficed if they had slaughtered it, but they were not willing to slaughter a cow at all. On the other hand, they could not disobey the command of Musa (peace be upon him), so they kept asking question after question, with the sole purpose of somehow escaping the obligation. But the more questions they asked, the more entangled they became, until it came down to the bright yellow cow, which was considered ideal for worship. Nowadays, some Muslims do not venerate cows, but they do show excessive reverence for certain types of horses.

➌ Ikrimah said that if they had not said “in sha Allah,” they would never have found that cow. (Tabari, chain Hasan) It is clear that they were saved from the impurity of cow worship by the blessing of Allah’s pure name.

➍ In { ”بَقَرَةً“ }, the “taa” is for singularity, {”بَقَرٌ“} is a generic term, just as { ”تَمْرٌ“ } and {”نَمْلٌ“} are generic terms, and {’’ تَمْرَةٌ ‘‘} and {’’ نَمْلَةٌ ‘‘} refer to a single date and a single ant. This has nothing to do with masculine or feminine; it could be a cow or an ox, as plowing and drawing water are attributes of an ox. It is quite possible that they were commanded to slaughter an ox, and it is also possible that in Egypt, both oxen and cows were used for farming.

➎ This incident also shows the reprehensibility of unnecessary questioning. A person who is ready to act does not ask many questions. It is said: «{ لَا تَسْئَلُوْا عَنْ اَشْيَآءَ اِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ }» [ المائدۃ : ۱۰۱ ] “Do not ask about things which, if made plain to you, may trouble you.”

67. 1. Among the Children of Israel, there was a wealthy man without children whose only heir was a nephew. One night, this nephew killed his uncle and placed the corpse at the door of another person. In the morning, during the search for the murderer, they began to accuse each other of the crime. Eventually, the matter reached Musa (AS), and they were commanded to slaughter a cow. A piece of the cow was struck upon the murdered man, by which he came back to life, identified the killer, and then died again. (Fath al-Qadeer)

67. And when Musa (Moses) ؑ said to his people, "Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow," they said, "Do you make fun of us?" Musa replied, "I seek refuge with Allah from being among the ignorant [84]."

[84]
The Objections of Bani Israel Regarding the Command to Slaughter a Cow:

A wealthy man among Bani Israel was killed; his nephews found an opportunity in the wilderness and murdered him, then in the darkness of night threw his body in front of another person's house. There was no clue about his killer. Allah revealed to Musaؑ to command his people to slaughter a cow. Then, a piece of its meat should be struck upon the corpse, and the murdered man would speak himself and reveal the name and identity of his killer. When Musaؑ conveyed Allah's command to his people, they said, "Are you making fun of us?" The command to slaughter a cow was, in fact, akin to touching a raw nerve of Bani Israel. The germs of calf-worship, love for cows and oxen, and the belief of considering them as deities still existed among them. Therefore, one distress for them was that the very thing they considered worthy of worship, Allah commanded them to slaughter. Secondly, they did not believe that by striking a piece of cow's meat, the dead body would come to life and reveal the killer. Therefore, they said to Musaؑ, "Are you making fun of us?" Musaؑ replied, "I am conveying to you Allah's command, I am not making fun. Such jesting is the work of the ignorant."

If Bani Israel had been an obedient nation and had slaughtered any cow, the command would have been fulfilled. But stubbornness, procrastination, and even disobedience were ingrained in their very being. They said, "Alright, ask your Lord and tell us what kind of cow it should be." The answer came from Allah: "It should be a mature cow, neither old nor very young." Then, for the second time, they asked, "Ask Allah and tell us what its color should be." The answer from Allah was: "It should be of a deep yellow color, pleasing to the beholder." Even now, their nature was not inclined to obey, so for the third time, they asked, "There are many cows of such qualities among us; ask and tell us what further qualities it should have, so that we may know the specific cow whose sacrifice Allah desires." The answer from Allah was: "It should be a cow that has not yet been used for farming, that is, neither yoked to the plow nor to the well. It should be healthy and sound. It should not be that due to some illness or weakness it has not been used for work, and it should have no blemish."