8. THE STORY OF THE COW OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRA’EEL
Allah, Most High, says, “And (remember) when Moosa said to his people, ‘Verily, Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow.’ They said, ‘Do you make fun of us?’ He said, ‘I take Allah’s Refuge from being among Al-Jahiloon (the ignorant or the foolish).’ 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.’ They said, ‘Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us its color.’ He said, ‘Allah says, ‘It is a yellow cow, bright in its color, pleasing to the beholders’.’ 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.’ He (Moosa) said, ‘He says, ‘It is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no other color except bright yellow’.’ They said, ‘Now you have brought the truth.’ So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it. And (remember) when you killed a man and fell into dispute among yourselves as to the crime. But Allah brought forth that which you were hiding. So We said, ‘Strike him (the dead man) with a piece of it (the cow).’ Thus Allah brings the dead to life and shows you His Ayat so that you may understand.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:67-73)
They were commanded to slaughter a cow which was ‘awan, i.e. halfway between old and young. This was said by ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), Mujahid, Abul-‘Aliyah ‘Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and a number of others. Then they became more demanding and made things more difficult for themselves, asking about its color. They were then commanded to slaughter a yellow cow, whose color was bright, i.e. mixed with redness, which was pleasing to those who saw it; and this color is hard to find.
Then they became even more demanding, 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.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:70) And in the Hadith traceable to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) which was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduyah, it was reported: “Had not the Children of Isra’eel said that they would be guided if Allah willed, they would not have been granted guidance.” But there is some doubt about its authenticity – and Allah knows better. He (Moosa) said, “He says, ‘It is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no shiyah in it’.” They said, “Now you have brought the truth.” So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it. (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:71) This description was more difficult than what had preceded it, since they were now commanded to slaughter a cow which had not been trained to plough the earth or irrigate the soil with a water scoop, being musallamah, i.e. sound in body, without any defects. This was said by Abul-‘Aliyah and Qatadah. Allah’s Saying: “…having no shiyah in it” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:71) means: having no other color besides yellow. Rather, it was free from any defect and free from having any other colors mixed with its yellow color. When he had determined its description in such great detail, They said, “Now you have brought the truth.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:71) It was said that they did not find a cow matching this description except with a man from among them who was dutiful to his father and they requested it from him, but he refused to give it to them. So they asked him to suggest a price for it, even offering to pay him its weight in gold, according to As-Suddi, but he still refused to give it to them unless they agreed to give him ten times its weight in gold. They did so and he then sold it to them, after which Allah’s Prophet (Peace be upon him) commanded them to slaughter it. “So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:71) That is, they were uncertain regarding it. Then he conveyed to them from Allah that they should strike the body of the murdered man with a part of it. It was said that that part was the meat of its thigh and it was also said that it was the bone that adjoins the cartilage. It was also said that they struck him with the part that is between the shoulders. When they struck him with a part of it, Allah, Most High, brought him back to life and he stood up and the blood was flowing from his jugular veins. Then the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him) asked him, “Who killed you?” He replied, “My brother’s son killed me.” Then he became dead once more. Allah, Most High, says, “Thus Allah brings the dead to life and shows you His Ayat so that you may understand.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:73) It means that as you have witnessed the bringing back to life of this murdered man, as a result of Allah’s Command to him, likewise it is the case regarding all people who die; if Allah wills to revive them, He revives them in a single hour, as He, Most High, says, “The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as (the creation and resurrection of) a single person.” (Soorah Luqman 31:28)
By Ibn Katheer
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