67- AND WHEN MOSES SAID TO HIS PEOPLE: “ALLAH COMMANDS YOU TO SLAUGHTER A COW”, THEY SAID: “ARE MAKING A LAUGHING STOKE OF US?” HE SAID: “MAY ALLAH SAVE ME FROM BEING ONE OF THE IGNORANT”.

68- THEY SAID: “CALL UPON YOUR LORD TO LET US KNOW WHAT KIND OF COW IT SHOULD BE?”  HE SAID: “HE (ALLAH) SAYS: “IT SHOULD BE NEITHER TOO OLD NOR TOO YOUNG A COW, BUT IN BETWEEN, SO DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN COMMANDED TO DO”.

69- THEY SAID: “CALL UPON YOUR LORD TO LET US KNOW its COLOUR”.  HE (MOSES) SAID: “HE SAYS THAT IT SHOULD BE A YELLOW COW, BRIGHT COLOURED, PLEASING TO THOSE WHO SEE IT.

70- THEY SAID: “CALL UPON YOUR LORD TO LET US KNOW WHAT IT SHOULD BE LIKE, FOR ALL COWS LOOK ALIKE TO US, AND IF ALLLAH WILLS, WE WILL BE RIGHTLY GUIDED”.

71- HE (MOSES) SAID: ALLAH SAYS THAT IT IS NOT A WORKING COW, WHICH PLOUGHS THE EARTH OR WATERS THE FIELDS, SOUND WITH NO MARKINGS.  THEY SAID: NOW YOU CAME WITH THE TRUTH.  THEY SLAUGHTERED IT, ALTHOUGH THEY ALMOST DID NOT.

72- AND WHEN YOU KILLED A SOUL AND HAD A DISPUTE CONCERNING IT, BUT ALLAH REVEALS WHAT YOU CONCEAL.

73- WE SAID: “STRIKE HIM WITH PART OF IT”.  AS SUCH ALLAH REVIVES THE DEAD AND SHOWS YOU HIS AYAHS SO THAT YOU MAY UNDERSTAND.

This is another incident concerning the Children of Israel, for us to learn from.  It is the one after which the Sorah is named, the Cow.

A man of the Children of Israel was killed, and his body was dumped between the homes of one of the 12 tribes.  Naturally, this tribe was accused of the murder.  They asked Moses, peace upon him, to judge the case, and Moses asked Allah the Highest for guidance on the matter.  When the Guidance came from Allah the Highest, it was to slaughter a cow.

Perhaps they expected Allah the Highest to tell them who the killer was directly, however, Allah the Highest made this as a test for them, and ordered them to slaughter a cow.

The command did not specify the kind of cow, or any thing about it, age, colour, or any other specifications, so any cow would have fulfilled the requirement. 

It was particularly bad that they initially thought that Moses, peace upon him, was mocking them.  How would he mock them? By lying in Allah’s name? A terrible thing, to think about their messenger.

Then they started to ask questions about the description of the cow, first its age.  At every stage and after each of their questions was answered, slaughtering the said cow would have been sufficient, but they went on asking more questions and making more enquiries.  As if Allah the Highest forgot to give them the details or specifications.

When they decided that the requirements were getting too difficult – they made it difficult for themselves- they said to Moses: “NOW YOU CAME WITH THE TRUTH”.  As if what Moses, peace upon him, had told them before was not the truth or was not the whole truth.

They struck the dead man’s body with a part of the cow, at which, he came back to life, told the name of his killer and died again.  One might ask did Allah the Highest need this to revive the dead man.  Of-course not, but there were other reasons:

1-    Testing their obedience to Allah the Highest and, His messenger Moses, peace upon him.  This did not prove to be good.

2-    Showing them another Miracle.

3-    Showing them and indeed showing us that we should not question Allah’s commands or ask about things Allah the Highest did not mention, for this makes things difficult not easy for us.

It is important for us to take heed of this.  Allah does not try to make things difficult for us, if Allah wants them to be, things will be very difficult or impossible.  However, Allah the Highest said: “ALLAH DESIRES EASE FOR YOU AND DOES NOT DESIRE HARDSHIP FOR YOU”.  (S: 2 A: 185)

Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him, said: “There is ease not hardship in the religion”.  (B: Eman; 29 & N: Eman; 28 & A: 5; 69)

Whenever Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him, sent his companions to people to teach them about Islam, he commanded them: “Make things easy not hard”.  (B: Adab; 80 & M: Jihad; 4-5 & D: Adab; 17 & A: 1; 239 3; 131)

It is not righteous to be very fussy to the point of making things hard for one’s self and others.  Indeed, making the practice of the Religion hard is a wrong which causes a person to suffer in this life and the Hereafter.  Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “Will suffer those who are very fussy in religion”.  (M: Elm; 7 & D: Sonah; 5 & a: 1; 386)

B: Bukhari   M: Muslim    Mal: Malek   A: Ahmed   D: Abu Dawood     

 Da: Daremy       Ma: Ibn Magah            N: Nesae          T: Termezi