Surah 2. Al-Baqara

And [remember] when you said: "O Moses, indeed we cannot endure but one kind of food; pray, then, to thy Sustainer that He bring forth for us aught of what grows from the earth - of its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils, its onions." Said [Moses]: "Would you take a lesser thing in exchange for what is [so much] better?⁴⁶ Go back in shame to Egypt, and then you can have what you are asking for!"⁴⁷ And so, ignominy and humiliation overshadowed them, and they earned the burden of God's condemnation: all this, because they persisted in denying the truth of God's messages and in slaying the prophets against all right: all this, because they rebelled [against God], and persisted in transgressing the bounds of what is right.⁴⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "Would you exchange your freedom for the paltry comforts which you enjoyed in your Egyptian captivity?" In the course of their wanderings in the desert of Sinai, many Jews looked back with longing to the comparative security of their life in Egypt, as has been explicitly stated in the Bible (Numbers xi), and is, moreover, evident from Moses' allusion to it in the next sentence of the above Qur'anic passage.

The verb habata means, literally, "he went down a declivity"; it is also used figuratively in the sense of falling from dignity and becoming mean and abject (cf. Lane VIII, 2876). Since the bitter exclamation of Moses cannot be taken literally, both of the above meanings of the verb may be combined in this context and agreeably translated as "go back in shame to Egypt".

This passage obviously refers to a later phase of Jewish history. That the Jews actually did kill some of their prophets is evidenced, for instance, in the story of John the Baptist, as well as in the more general accusation uttered, according to the Gospel, by Jesus: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee" (Matthew xxiii, 37). See also Matthew xxiii, 34-35, Luke xi, 51 - both of which refer to the murder of Zachariah - and I Thessalonians ii, 15. The implication of continuity in, or persistent repetition of, their wrongdoing transpires from the use of the auxiliary verb kana in this context.

Remember when you said: "O Musa (Moses)! We cannot endure one kind of food; call on your Rabb to give us a variety of food which the earth produces, such as green-herbs, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions. 'What?' Musa asked. 'Would you exchange the better for the worse? If that's what you want go back to some city; there you will find what you have asked for. Gradually they became so degraded that shame and misery were brought upon them and they drew upon themselves the wrath of Allah; this was because they went on rejecting the commandments of Allah and killed His prophets unjustly, furthermore, it was the consequence of their disobedience and transgression.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when ye said: O Moses! We are weary of one kind of food; so call upon thy Lord for us that he bring forth for us of that which the earth groweth of its herbs and its cucumbers and its corn and its lentils and its onions. He said: Would ye exchange that which is higher for that which is lower? Go down to settled country, thus ye shall get that which ye demand. And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them and they were visited with wrath from Allah. That was because they disbelieved in Allah's revelations and slew the prophets wrongfully. That was for their disobedience and transgression.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

VERILY, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians⁴⁹ - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.⁵⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

The Sabians seem to have been a monotheistic religious group intermediate between Judaism and Christianity. Their name (probably derived from the Aramaic verb tsebha', "he immersed himself [in water]") would indicate that they were followers of John the Baptist - in which case they could be identified with the Mandaeans, a community which to this day is to be found in 'Iraq. They are not to be confused with the so-called "Sabians of Harran", a gnostic sect which still existed in the early centuries of Islam, and which may have deliberately adopted the name of the true Sabians in order to obtain the advantages accorded by the Muslims to the followers of every monotheistic faith.

The above passage - which recurs in the Qur'an several times - lays down a fundamental doctrine of Islam. With a breadth of vision unparalleled in any other religious faith, the idea of "salvation" is here made conditional upon three elements only: belief in God, belief in the Day of Judgment, and righteous action in life. The statement of this doctrine at this juncture - that is, in the midst of an appeal to the children of Israel - is warranted by the false Jewish belief that their descent from Abraham entitles them to be regarded as "God's chosen people".

Rest assured that Believers (Muslims), Jews, Christians and Sabians - whoever believes in Allah and the last day and perform good deeds - will be rewarded by their Rabb; they will have nothing to fear or to regret.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND LO! We accepted your solemn pledge, raising Mount Sinai high above you,⁵¹ [and saying,] "Hold fast with [all your] strength unto what We have vouchsafed you, and bear in mind all that is therein, so that you might remain conscious of God!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and We raised the mountain (at-tur) above you": i.e., letting the lofty mountain bear witness, as it were, to their solemn pledge, spelled out in verse {83} below. Throughout my translation of the Qur'an, I am rendering the expression at-tur as "Mount Sinai", since it is invariably used in this sense alone.

Remember O Children of Israel when We took a covenant from you and when We lifted the Mount (Tur) over your heads saying: "Hold firmly to what We have given you (Torah) and follow the commandments therein, so that you may guard yourself against evil."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (remember, O children of Israel) when We made a covenant with you and caused the Mount to tower above you, (saying): Hold fast that which We have given you, and remember that which is therein, that ye may ward off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And you turned away after that! And had it not been for God's favour upon you and His grace, you would surely have found yourselves among the lost;

  - Mohammad Asad

But even after that you backed out; if there would not have been the grace and mercy of Allah upon you, you surely would have been among the losers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then, even after that, ye turned away, and if it had not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy ye had been among the losers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for you are well aware of those from among you who profaned the Sabbath, whereupon We said unto them, "Be as apes despicable!" -

  - Mohammad Asad

You very well know the story of those of you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath; We ordered them: "Be detested apes".

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And ye know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, bow We said unto them: Be ye apes, despised and hated!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and set them up as a warning example for their time and for all times to come, as well as an admonition to all who are conscious of God.⁵²

  - Mohammad Asad

For the full story of the Sabbath-breakers, and the metaphorical allusion to "apes", see {7:163-166}. The expression ma bayna yadayha, rendered here as "their time", is explained in surah {3}, note [3].

Thus, We made their fate an example to their own people and to succeeding generations, and a lesson to those who are God-conscious.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We made it an example to their own and to succeeding generations, and an admonition to the God fearing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND LO! Moses said unto his people: "Behold, God bids you to sacrifice a cow."⁵³ They said: "Dost thou mock at us?" He answered: "I seek refuge with God against being so ignorant!"⁵⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

As is evident from verse {72}, the story related in this and the subsequent passages almost certainly refers to the Mosaic law which ordains that in certain cases of unresolved murder a cow should be sacrificed, and the elders of the town or village nearest to the place of the murder should wash their hands over it and declare, "Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it" - whereupon the community would be absolved of collective responsibility. For the details of this Old Testament ordinance, see Deuteronomy xxi, 1-9.

Lit., "lest I be one of the ignorant". The imputation of mockery was obviously due to the fact that Moses promulgated the above ordinance in very general terms, without specifying any details.

Remember the incident when Musa (Moses) said to his people: "Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow," they replied, "do you ridicule us?" Musa answered, "I seek the protection of Allah from being one of the ignorant."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when Moses said unto his people: Lo! Allah commandeth you that ye sacrifice a cow, they said: Dost thou make game of us? He answered: Allah forbid that I should be among the foolish!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like." [Moses] replied: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow neither old nor immature, but of an age in-between. Do, then, what you have been bidden!"

  - Mohammad Asad

"Request your Rabb," they said, "to give us some details of that cow". Musa replied: "Allah says, the cow should neither be too old nor too young but of middle age;" do, therefore, what you are commanded!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith, Verily she is a cow neither with calf nor immature; (she is) between the two conditions; so do that which ye are commanded.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what her colour should be." [Moses] answered: "Behold, He says it is to be a yellow cow, bright of hue, pleasing to the beholder."

  - Mohammad Asad

"Request your Rabb again" they said, "to clarify for us her color." Musa replied: "Allah says, the said cow should be of a rich and deep yellow color pleasing to the eyes."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us of what color she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a yellow cow. Bright is her color, gladdening beholders.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like, for to us all cows resemble one another; and then, if God so wills, we shall truly be guided aright!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Again they said: "Request your Rabb to clarify for us the exact type of cow she should be, for to us all cows look alike; if Allah wills, we shall be rightly guided."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. Lo! cows are much alike to us; and lo! if Allah wills, we may be led aright.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Moses] answered: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow not broken-in to plough the earth or to water the crops, free of fault, without markings of any other colour." Said they: "At last thou hast brought out the truth!" - and thereupon they sacrificed her, although they had almost left it undone.⁵⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., their obstinate desire to obtain closer and closer definitions of the simple commandment revealed to them through Moses had made it almost impossible for them to fulfil it. In his commentary on this passage, Tabari quotes the following remark of Ibn 'Abbas: "If [in the first instance] they had sacrificed any cow chosen by themselves, they would have fulfilled their duty; but they made it complicated for themselves, and so God made it complicated for them." A similar view has been expressed, in the same context, by Zamakhshari. It would appear that the moral of this story points to an important problem of all (and, therefore, also of Islamic) religious jurisprudence: namely, the inadvisability of trying to elicit additional details in respect of any religious law that had originally been given in general terms - for, the more numerous and multiform such details become, the more complicated and rigid becomes the law. This point has been acutely grasped by Rashid Rida', who says in his commentary on the above Qur'anic passage (see Manar I, 345 f.): "Its lesson is that one should not pursue one's [legal] inquiries in such a way as to make laws more complicated.... This was how the early generations [of Muslims] visualized the problem. They did not make things complicated for themselves - and so, for them, the religious law (din) was natural, simple and liberal in its straightforwardness. But those who came later added to it [certain other] injunctions which they had deduced by means of their own reasoning (ijtihad); and they multiplied those [additional] injunctions to such an extent that the religious law became a heavy burden on the community." For the sociological reason why the genuine ordinances of Islamic Law - that is, those which have been prima facie laid down as such in the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet - are almost always devoid of details, I would refer the reader to my book State and Government in Islam (pp. 11 ff. and passim). The importance of this problem, illustrated in the above story of the cow - and correctly grasped by the Prophet's Companions - explains why this surah has been entitled "The Cow". (See also 5:101 and the corresponding notes [120-123].)

Musa replied: "Allah says, the said cow should have neither been used to till the soil nor water the fields; a healthy one free from any blemish." "Now you have brought us the accurate description," they said. Then they slaughtered her, after they had nearly declined.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a cow unyoked; she plougheth not the soil nor watereth the tilth; whole and without mark. They said: Now thou bringest the truth. So they sacrificed her, though almost they did not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, O children of Israel, because you had slain a human being and then cast the blame for this [crime] upon one another - although God will bring to light what you would conceal⁵⁶ -

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [53] above. The use of the plural "you" implies the principle of collective, communal responsibility stipulated by Mosaic Law in cases of murder by a person or persons unknown. God's bringing the guilt to light obviously refers to the Day of Judgment.

And remember another incident when you killed a man and started disputing as to who killed him, Allah made it known what you concealed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (remember) when ye slew a man and disagreed concerning it and Allah brought forth that which ye were hiding.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We said: "Apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved murder]:⁵⁷ in this way God saves lives from death and shows you His will, so that you might [learn to] use your reason."⁵⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

The phrase idribuhu bi-ba'diha can be literally translated as "strike him [or "it"] with something of her [or "it"]" - and this possibility has given rise to the fanciful assertion by many commentators that the children of Israel were commanded to strike the corpse of the murdered man with some of the flesh of the sacrificed cow, whereupon he was miraculously restored to life and pointed out his murderer! Neither the Qur'an, nor any saying of the Prophet, nor even the Bible offers the slightest warrant for this highly imaginative explanation, which must, therefore, be rejected - quite apart from the fact that the pronoun hu in idribuhu has a masculine gender, while the noun nafs (here translated as "human being") is feminine in gender: from which it follows that the imperative idribuhu cannot possibly refer to nafs. On the other hand, the verb daraba (lit., "he struck") is very often used in a figurative or metonymic sense, as, for instance, in the expression daraba fi 'l-ard ("he journeyed on earth"), or daraba 'sh-shay' bi'sh-shay' ("he mixed one thing with another thing"), or daraba mathal ("he coined a similitude" or "propounded a parable" or "gave an illustration"), or 'ala darb wahid ("similarly applied" or "in the same manner"), or duribat 'alayhim adh-dhillah ("humiliation was imposed on them" or "applied to them"), and so forth. Taking all this into account, I am of the opinion that the imperative idribuhu occurring in the above Qur'anic passage must be translated as "apply it" or "this" (referring, in this context, to the principle of communal responsibility). As for the feminine pronoun ha in ba'diha ("some of it"), it must necessarily relate to the nearest preceding feminine noun - that is, to the nafs that has been murdered, or the act of murder itself about which (fiha) the community disagreed. Thus, the phrase idribuhu bi-ba'diha may be suitably rendered as "apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved murder]": for it is obvious that the principle of communal responsibility for murder by a person or persons unknown can be applied only to some and not to all such cases.

Lit., "God gives life to the dead and shows you His messages" (i.e., He shows His will by means of such messages or ordinances). The figurative expression "He gives life to the dead" denotes the saving of lives, and is analogous to that in 5:32 . In this context it refers to the prevention of bloodshed and the killing of innocent persons (Manar I, 351), be it through individual acts of revenge, or in result of an erroneous judicial process based on no more than vague suspicion and possibly misleading circumstantial evidence.

So We said: "Strike the dead body with a piece of the slaughtered cow." That's how Allah brought the dead to life to show you His Signs so that you may understand His power to restore life.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We said: Smite him with some of it. Thus Allah bringeth the dead to life and showeth you His portents so that ye may understand.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like rocks, or even harder: for, behold, there are rocks from which streams gush forth; and, behold, there are some from which, when they are cleft, water issues; and, behold, there are some that fall down for awe of God⁵⁹ And God is not unmindful of what you do!

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of this allusion, see 7:143 . The simile of "the rocks from which streams gush forth" or "from which water issues" serves to illustrate its opposite, namely, dryness and lack of life, and is thus an allusion to the spiritual barrenness with which the Qur'an charges the children of Israel.

But even after seeing that your hearts became hard like a rock or even harder, for there are some rocks from which rivers gush out, and there are some which break asunder and water comes out of them, and there are some which fall down with the fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then, even after that, your hearts were hardened and became as rocks, or worse than rocks, for hardness. For indeed there are rocks from out which rivers gush, and indeed there are rocks which split asunder so that water floweth from them. And indeed there are rocks which fall down for the fear of Allah. Allah is not unaware of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

CAN YOU, then, hope that they will believe in what you are preaching⁶⁰ - seeing that a good many of them were wont to listen to the word of God and then, after having understood it, to pervert it knowingly?⁶¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Here the Muslims are addressed. In the early period of Islam - and especially after their exodus to Medina, where many Jews were then living - the Muslims expected that the Jews, with their monotheistic beliefs, would be the first to rally to the message of the Qur'an: a hope that was disappointed because the Jews regarded their own religion as a kind of national heritage reserved to the children of Israel alone, and did not believe in the necessity - or possibility - of a new revelation.

Cf. Jeremiah xxiii, 26- "Ye have perverted the words of the living God".

Do you, O Believers, still hope that they will believe in what you say, when some of them have already heard the word of Allah and perverted it knowingly after they understood it?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have ye any hope that they will be true to you when a party of them used to listen to the Word of Allah, then used to change it, after they had understood it knowingly?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall