Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 67 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:67

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تَذْبَحُوا۟ بَقَرَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوًا ۖ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ

“And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "Indeed, Allāh commands you to slaughter a cow." They said, "Do you take us in ridicule?" He said, "I seek refuge in Allāh from being among the ignorant."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Asked to find a murderer, Mūsā brought one simple command: slaughter a cow; they heard a joke, and he heard the ignorance in mockery.

A reflection

Any cow would have done

A mother asks her fourteen-year-old to tidy his room. He negotiates for an hour: which shelf, which bin, does the desk count, what about the floor under the bed. The tidying itself would have taken ten minutes.

The command in this ayah was as plain as a command can be: 'Allah commands you to slaughter a cow'. Not a particular cow. A cow. An early report preserved in the commentaries says that had they not been fussy, the lowest cow would have been enough for them. But they made it hard on themselves, and so it was made hard on them. Another commentary says the same of the whole passage: they were strict with themselves, so Allah was strict with them.

Scholars did debate whether the first command meant any cow or a particular one not yet described. A classical theologian sets out both views at length. But even those who said a particular cow agree on the lesson of the passage. The questions that followed came from reluctance, not from a sincere need to know.

Why does Allah keep His first commands simple? Not because He gains from our obedience; He needs nothing. 'Allah intends ease for you, and does not intend hardship' (2:185). A simple command obeyed quickly is a mercy. It spares us the burden we build when we keep stalling.

Many people today feel weighed down by religion. Often what they are carrying is not the command but the questions they have piled onto it. The cure is sometimes very plain. Do the clear thing in front of you, the way it was asked, today. Any cow would have done.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.