[The Story of the Cow of the Children of Israel]

Allah, exalted is He, says:

“And when Moses said to his people, ‘Allah commands you to slaughter a cow,’ they said, ‘Are you making a mockery of us?’ He replied, ‘I seek refuge in Allah from being one of the ignorant.’ (67)

They said, ‘Call upon your Lord for us that He make clear to us what it is.’ He said, ‘He says it is a cow neither old nor virgin, but of middle age between the two; so do what you are commanded.’ (68)

They said, ‘Call upon your Lord for us that He make clear to us its colour.’ He said, ‘He says it is a yellow cow, bright in colour, delighting the beholders.’ (69)

They said, ‘Call upon your Lord for us that He make clear to us what it is, for all cows look alike to us; and, if Allah wills, we shall be rightly guided.’ (70)

He said, ‘He says it is a cow that has never been subjected to ploughing the earth or watering the fields, sound with no blemish upon her.’ They said, ‘Now you have brought the truth.’ So they slaughtered her, though they almost did not do so. (71)

And when you killed a man and fell into dispute about it, yet Allah was to bring forth what you were concealing. (72)

So We said, ‘Strike him with a part of it.’ Thus does Allah bring the dead to life, and He shows you His signs so that you may reason.” (73) [al-Baqarah: 67–73]

Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿUbaydah al-Salmānī, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, Mujāhid, al-Suddi, and many others from the early generations said:

A certain man among the Children of Israel was exceedingly wealthy and advanced in years. He had nephews who longed for his death so that they might inherit him. One of them therefore killed him at night and cast the body at a crossroads (1)—it is also said: at the doorway of one of them. When morning came the people disputed about it. The murdered man’s nephew arrived, crying and protesting the injustice that had befallen him.

They said, “Why do you quarrel among yourselves instead of going to Allah’s Prophet?” The nephew then came and complained about his uncle’s murder to Allah’s Messenger, Moses—peace be upon him. Moses said, “I adjure anyone who possesses knowledge concerning this slain man to inform us.” None of them had any knowledge, so they asked him to petition his Lord—glorified is He—about the matter. Moses did so, and Allah commanded him to order them to slaughter a cow.

He therefore said, “Indeed Allah commands you to slaughter a cow.” They replied, “Are you making a mockery of us?”—meaning: we ask you about a murder and you tell us this. He said, “I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant,” that is, I seek refuge in Allah from saying anything about Him other than what has been revealed to me. This is what He answered me with when I asked Him about what you requested.

Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿUbaydah, Mujāhid, ʿIkrimah, al-Suddi, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, and others said: Had they simply taken any cow and slaughtered it, the objective would have been fulfilled; but they made matters difficult, so it was made difficult for them. A marfūʿ ḥadīth to this effect has been transmitted (2), though its chain of transmission is weak. Thus they asked about its description, then its colour, then its age, and were answered with what was scarce and hard for them to find. We have explained all of this in detail in the Tafsīr (3).