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Ayah
Word by Word
وَإِذۡ
And when
قَالَ
said
مُوسَىٰ
Musa
لِقَوۡمِهِۦٓ
to his people
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ
commands you
أَن
that
تَذۡبَحُواْ
you slaughter
بَقَرَةٗۖ
a cow
قَالُوٓاْ
They said
أَتَتَّخِذُنَا
Do you take us
هُزُوٗاۖ
(in) ridicule
قَالَ
He said
أَعُوذُ
I seek refuge
بِٱللَّهِ
in Allah
أَنۡ
that
أَكُونَ
I be
مِنَ
among
ٱلۡجَٰهِلِينَ
the ignorant
وَإِذۡ
And when
قَالَ
said
مُوسَىٰ
Musa
لِقَوۡمِهِۦٓ
to his people
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ
commands you
أَن
that
تَذۡبَحُواْ
you slaughter
بَقَرَةٗۖ
a cow
قَالُوٓاْ
They said
أَتَتَّخِذُنَا
Do you take us
هُزُوٗاۖ
(in) ridicule
قَالَ
He said
أَعُوذُ
I seek refuge
بِٱللَّهِ
in Allah
أَنۡ
that
أَكُونَ
I be
مِنَ
among
ٱلۡجَٰهِلِينَ
the ignorant
Translation
And remember Moses said to his people: "Allah commands that ye sacrifice a heifer." They said: "Makest thou a laughing-stock of us?" He said: "Allah save me from being an ignorant (fool)!"
Tafsir
And, mention, when Moses said to his people, when one among them was killed and the killer was not known, and so they asked Moses to pray to God to reveal the killer, which he did; 'God commands you to sacrifice a cow'. They said, 'Do you take us in mockery?', that is, making fun of us when you answer us like this? He said, 'I take refuge with, I seek defence with, God lest I should be one of the ignorant', one of those who indulge in mockery.
"The Stubbornness of the Jews regarding the Cow; Allah made the Matter difficult for Them
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.
Allah tells;
قَالُواۡ ادۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لّنَا مَا هِيَ قَالَ
They said, ""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 لاَّ فَارِضٌ وَلَا بِكۡرٌ
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.
عَوَانٌ بَيۡنَ ذَلِكَ
but (it is) between the two conditions',
Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn Abbas said that,
it means, ""Neither old nor young. Rather, she was at the age when the cow is strongest and fittest.""
فَافۡعَلُواۡ مَا تُوۡمَرونَ
so do what you are commanded.""
قَالُواۡ ادۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوۡنُهَا قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفۡرَاء فَاقِـعٌ لَّوۡنُهَا تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ
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.""'
In his Tafsir Al-Awfi reported from Ibn Abbas that,
فَاقِـعٌ لَّوۡنُهَا
(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.
قَالُواۡ ادۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ
They said, ""Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us what it is.
إِنَّ البَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيۡنَا
Verily, to us all cows are alike,
this means, that since cows are plentiful, then describe this cow for us further.
وَإِنَّأ إِن شَاء اللَّهُ
And surely, if Allah wills,
and if you further describe it to us,
لَمُهۡتَدُونَ
we will be guided
قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لاَّ ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الَارۡضَ وَلَا تَسۡقِي الۡحَرۡثَ
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 لاَّ شِيَةَ فِيهَا
sound, having no blemish in it.""'
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.
...
قَالُواۡ الانَ جِيۡتَ بِالۡحَقِّ
They said, ""Now you have brought the truth.""
فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُواۡ يَفۡعَلُونَ
So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it.
Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said that the Ayahmeans,
""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."
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