Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 72

(Ayah 73,72) ➊ { ”فَادّٰرَءْتُمْ“ } was originally {”فَتَدَارَأْتُمْ“}, the "taa" of the form "tafaa'ul" was changed to "daal" and assimilated into the "daal." By assimilating, the initial letter became silent, so to pronounce the silent letter at the beginning, a hamzah was brought in, then with "faa" coming at the start, the hamzah dropped from pronunciation, though it remains in writing. A person from the Children of Israel killed another, and those who knew the killer concealed it. Now they began accusing each other and a dispute started, so Allah commanded that a part of the slaughtered cow be struck on the murdered man, by which he came to life and identified the killer. This much is clearly evident from these verses. The details in the commentaries are as follows: Among the Children of Israel, a wealthy man was killed by his nephew so that he could inherit him, then at night the body was placed at another person's door and in the morning the accusation of murder was made against them. Weapons were drawn from both sides, and a fight was about to break out when some people suggested asking Allah's Messenger, Musa (peace be upon him). Eventually, Musa (peace be upon him) gave them this command. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) after narrating this incident writes that the details of this event are taken from Isra'iliyyat, and cannot be fully relied upon.

➋ Some commentators have said that this story begins with the murder of a man from the Children of Israel, so its place was earlier, but Allah mentioned the command to slaughter the cow first, so that multiple scenes of the Israelites' disobedience could be presented, such as their reluctance to slaughter the cow, repeatedly asking questions, committing unjust murder, and then trying to conceal it. If the verses had begun with the murder, it would have seemed like a single incident and the multiple aspects of the Israelites' disobedience would not have been highlighted. (Zamakhshari) But Abu Hayyan said, the apparent matter is that the order of events is as the order of the verses, thus the reality is that Allah first commanded them to slaughter the cow, they did not know its secret, then the murder occurred among them, so another wisdom for slaughtering the cow was revealed to them. We are under no compulsion to consider the later event as earlier and the earlier as later. As for the stories mentioned in history, they have no credibility. [ البحر المحیط ] Abu Hayyan's statement indeed carries weight. This makes the importance and wisdom of the command to slaughter the cow clearer, which is to strike at the root of cow-worship.

➌ {كَذٰلِكَ يُحْيِ اللّٰهُ الْمَوْتٰى:} It is clear from this that the murdered man came to life when struck with a piece of the cow. It is said: "Thus Allah brings the dead to life," meaning this incident is also a proof and sign of resurrecting the dead on the Day of Judgment, because He who can bring one dead person to life is also able to bring all the dead to life. It is said: « مَا خَلْقُكُمْ وَ لَا بَعْثُكُمْ اِلَّا كَنَفْسٍ وَّاحِدَةٍ » [ لقمان : ۲۸ ] "Your creation and your resurrection are only like that of a single soul."

In this surah, Allah has mentioned bringing the dead to life in this world in five places: (1) « ثُمَّ بَعَثْنٰكُمْ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ» [ البقرۃ : ۵۶ ] (2) The story of this murdered man mentioned here. (3) The story of those who, fearing death, fled their homes in thousands. [ البقرۃ : ۲۴۳ ] (4) The story of the man who passed by a ruined town. [ البقرۃ : ۲۵۹ ] (5) The story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and the four birds. [ البقرۃ : ۲۶۰ ] In addition, Allah has argued for the resurrection of bodies by reviving the earth through rain. [ یٰسٓ : ۳۳ ]

72. 1. This is the same incident of murder on the basis of which the Children of Israel were commanded to slaughter a cow, and in this way Allah revealed the secret of this murder, even though the murder was committed in the darkness of night, hidden from the people. The meaning is that whether you do good or evil in secret, it is within Allah’s knowledge, and Allah has the power to make it manifest to people. Therefore, whether in solitude or in public, at all times and in all places, do only good deeds so that if they are ever revealed and come to people’s knowledge, there is no shame, but rather an increase in respect and dignity. And no matter how secretly evil is done, there is always the possibility of it being exposed, which leads to a person’s disgrace, humiliation, and ignominy.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).