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Ayah
Word by Word
قَالُواْ
They said
ٱدۡعُ
Pray
لَنَا
for us
رَبَّكَ
(to) your Lord
يُبَيِّن
to make clear
لَّنَا
to us
مَا
what
هِيَ
it (is)
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱلۡبَقَرَ
[the] cows
تَشَٰبَهَ
look alike
عَلَيۡنَا
to us
وَإِنَّآ
And indeed we
إِن
if
شَآءَ
wills
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
لَمُهۡتَدُونَ
(will) surely be those who are guided
قَالُواْ
They said
ٱدۡعُ
Pray
لَنَا
for us
رَبَّكَ
(to) your Lord
يُبَيِّن
to make clear
لَّنَا
to us
مَا
what
هِيَ
it (is)
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱلۡبَقَرَ
[the] cows
تَشَٰبَهَ
look alike
عَلَيۡنَا
to us
وَإِنَّآ
And indeed we
إِن
if
شَآءَ
wills
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
لَمُهۡتَدُونَ
(will) surely be those who are guided
Translation
They said: "Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us what she is: To us are all heifers alike: We wish indeed for guidance, if Allah wills."
Tafsir
They said, 'Pray to your Lord for us, that He make clear to us what she may be: does it graze freely or is it used in labour?; the cows (that is, the species described in the way mentioned), are all alike to us, because there are many of them and we have not been able to find the one sought after; and if God wills, we shall then be guided' to it. In one hadeeth [it is reported]: 'Had they not uttered the proviso [inshaa'a Llaah], it would never have been made clear to them'.
"Bringing the murdered Man back to Life
Allah tells;
وَإِذۡ قَتَلۡتُمۡ نَفۡساً فَادَّارَأۡتُمۡ فِيهَا وَاللّهُ مُخۡرِجٌ مَّا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ
And (remember) when you killed a man and disagreed among yourselves as to the crime. But Allah brought forth that which you were Taktumun.
Al-Bukhari said that,
فَادَّارَأۡتُمۡ فِيهَا
(And disagreed among yourselves as to the crime) means,
""Disputed.""
This is also the Tafsir of Mujahid.
Ata' Al-Khurasani and Ad-Dahhak said,
""Disputed about this matter.""
Also, Ibn Jurayj said that,
وَإِذۡ قَتَلۡتُمۡ نَفۡساً فَادَّارَأۡتُمۡ فِيهَا
(And (remember) when you killed a man and disagreed among yourselves as to the crime) means,
some of them said, ""You killed him,"" while the others said, ""No you killed him.""
This is also the Tafsir of Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.
Mujahid said that,
وَاللّهُ مُخۡرِجٌ مَّا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ
(But Allah brought forth that which you were Taktumun) means,
""what you were hiding.""
Allah said
فَقُلۡنَا اضۡرِبُوهُ بِبَعۡضِهَا
So We said:""Strike him (the dead man) with a piece of it (the cow).""
meaning, ""any part of the cow will produce the miracle (if they struck the dead man with it).""
We were not told which part of the cow they used, as this matter does not benefit us either in matters of life or religion. Otherwise, Allah would have made it clear for us. Instead, Allah made this matter vague, so this is why we should leave it vague.
Allah's statement,
كَذَلِكَ يُحۡيِي اللّهُ الۡمَوۡتَى
Thus Allah brings the dead to life,
means, ""They struck him with it, and he came back to life.""
This Ayah demonstrates Allah's ability in bringing the dead back to life. Allah made this incident proof against the Jews that the Resurrection shall occur, and ended their disputing and stubbornness over the dead person.
Allah mentioned His bringing the dead back to life in five instances in Surah Al-Baqarah.
First Allah said,
ثُمَّ بَعَثۡنَاكُم مِّن بَعۡدِ مَوۡتِكُمۡ
Then We raised you up after your death. (2:56)
He then mentioned the story about the cow.
Allah also mentioned the story of those who escaped death in their land, while they were numbering in the thousands.
He also mentioned the story of the Prophet who passed by a village that was destroyed, the story of Abraham and the four birds, and the land that comes back to life after it has died.
All these incidents and stories alert us to the fact that bodies shall again become whole, after they were rotten.
The proof of Resurrection is also reiterated in Allah's statement,
وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرۡضُ الۡمَيۡتَةُ أَحۡيَيۡنَـهَا وَأَخۡرَجۡنَا مِنۡهَا حَبّاً فَمِنۡهُ يَأۡكُلُونَ
وَجَعَلۡنَا فِيهَا جَنَّـتٍ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَأَعۡنَـبٍ وَفَجَّرۡنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الۡعُيُونِ
لِيَأۡكُلُواۡ مِن ثَمَرِهِ وَمَا عَمِلَتۡهُ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ أَفَلَ يَشۡكُرُونَ
And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof. And We have made therein gardens of date palms and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein. So that they may eat of the fruit thereof ـ and their hands made it not. Will they not then give thanks! (36:33-35)
وَيُرِيكُمۡ ايَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ
and shows you His Ayat (proofs, evidences, etc.) so that you may understand."
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