What Was the Description of the Cow the Children of Israel Were Ordered to Slaughter?
ما هو وصف البقرة التي أمر الله بني إسرائيل بذبحها؟
First: When they were ordered to slaughter the cow, they said to Moses, peace be upon him: Are you making fun of us? "Are you mocking us?" They mocked Allah's Prophet, accusing him of ridiculing them, and this is a grave sin and a deed that does not befit addressing a Prophet, especially since it was they who had asked Moses about the murderer, and he was not the one who had brought it to them. Their Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, replied to them, "I seek refuge in Allah from acting foolishly!" For the ignorant one is he who speaks words of no benefit and mocks people, while the wise person sees that among the worst faults, shameful to both religion and reason, is mocking a fellow human being; even if he has been favored over him, that favor requires him to thank his Lord and show mercy to His servants. When Moses said this to them, they knew that it was true.
Second: If they had slaughtered any cow, the purpose would have been achieved, but they were tough in their reaction, so Allah the Almighty made things tougher for them. They said to Moses, peace be upon him: "Call upon your Lord to clarify for us what type ˹of cow˺ it should be!" meaning: what is its age? He said: Allah tells you that it is a cow, neither big nor small, but between that, so stop making things difficult and do what Allah the Almighty has commanded.
Third: The people were not satisfied with the first description, so they pressed further and asked Moses, peace be upon him, about the color of the cow, and the answer was that it is a yellow cow, intensely yellow, whose appearance pleased whoever saw it, which means it was dear to its owner.
Fourth: The people were not satisfied with that either, so they said to Moses: "Call upon your Lord so that He may make clear to us which cow, for all cows look the same to us. Then, Allah willing, we will be guided ˹to the right one˺." They said that the cows matching the earlier descriptions were many and the descriptions overlapped, so if only he would add to the description until they knew which cow was meant. There is no doubt that this was obstinacy and strictness, so as not to comply with the command of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. So the answer came to them: the cow is not humbled by working in plowing, nor in watering the land, meaning it is a cow pampered by its owners, especially as it is a cow that pleases onlookers; it is free from any defect, and its color has no mark of any color other than its yellow.
Fifth: When they heard those descriptions, they said: "Now you have come with the truth," meaning: now you have come with the exact description that defines the cow precisely. They slaughtered it after nearly failing to do so, because of their controversy and stubbornness, and because it had become expensive on account of the very descriptions that made it valuable to its owners.
The descriptions of the cow are:
Neither young (a heifer) nor old, but in between. (They said, "Call upon your Lord to clarify for us what type ˹of cow˺ it should be!" He replied, "Allah says, 'The cow should neither be old nor young but in between. So do as you are commanded!'") (Al-Baqarah 2:68)
Its color is yellow. (They said, "Call upon your Lord to specify for us its colour." He replied, "Allah says, 'It should be a bright yellow cow, pleasant to see.'") (Al-Baqarah 2:69)
It was not put to work on the land, so that it remained sound. (He replied, "Allah says, 'It should have been used neither to till the soil nor water the fields; wholesome and without blemish.'" They said, "Now you have come with the truth." Yet they still slaughtered it hesitantly!) (Al-Baqarah 2:71)
أولاً: لما أُمروا بذبح البقرة قالوا لموسى عليه السلام: أتهزأ بنا؟ "أتتخذنا هزواً؟" فوصفوا نبي الله بالسخرية واللعب، وهذا ذنبٌ قبيح ووصفٌ لا يليق بنبيٍّ من أنبياء الله، فضلاً عن أنهم هم الذين سألوا موسى عن القاتل وليس هو الذي عرض عليهم. فرد عليهم نبيهم موسى عليه السلام: "أعوذ بالله أن أكون من الجاهلين"، فإن الجاهل هو الذي يتكلم بالكلام الذي لا فائدة فيه، وهو الذي يستهزئ بالناس، وأما العاقل فيرى أن من أكبر العيوب المزرية بالدين والعقل الاستهزاء بمن هو آدمي مثله، وإن كان قد فضل عليه، فتفضيله يقتضي منه الشكر لربه، والرحمة لعباده. فلما قال لهم موسى ذلك، علموا أن ذلك صدق.
ثانيًا: لو أنهم ذبحوا أي بقرة لحصل لهم المقصود، لكنهم شددوا فشدد الله عليهم، فقالوا لموسى عليه السلام: "ادعُ لنا ربك يبيّن لنا ما هي" أي ما سنها؟ قال: إن الله يقول لكم إنها بقرة ليست كبيرة ولا صغيرة، لكنها بين ذلك، فاتركوا التشديد والتعنت وافعلوا ما أمركم الله به.
ثالثًا: لم يكتف القوم بالوصف الأول فشدّدوا على أنفسهم أكثر وسألوا موسى عن لون البقرة، فكان الجواب إنها بقرة صفراء، شديدة الصفرة، من رآها سُرّ لمظهرها، وهذا يعني أنها محببة عند صاحبها.
رابعًا: لم يكتف القوم بذلك فقالوا لموسى: "ادعُ لنا ربك يبيّن لنا ما هي إن البقر تشابه علينا وإنا إن شاء الله لمهتدون"، قالوا إن البقر الموصوف بما تقدم متعدد والأوصاف مختلطة، فلو زدت في الأوصاف حتى نعلم أي بقرة هي المرادة. ولا شك أن هذا من التعنت والتشدد لئلا يمتثلوا أمر الله عز وجل، فجاءهم الجواب: إن البقرة غير مذللة بالعمل في الحراثة ولا في سقاية الأرض، أي إنها بقرة مدللة عند أصحابها، سيما وهي بقرة تسر الناظرين، وهي سالمة من العيوب، أما لونها فليس فيها علامة من لون آخر غير لونها الأصفر.
خامسًا: لما سمعوا هذه الأوصاف قالوا: "الآن جئت بالحق" أي: الآن جئت بالوصف الدقيق الذي يعيّن البقرة تمامًا، وذبحوها بعد أن أوشكوا ألا يذبحوها بسبب الجدال والتعنت، وبسبب أنها غالية الثمن لأنها ذات أوصافٍ تجعلها غالية عند أصحابها.
إذًا أوصاف البقرة: لا صغيرة (بكر) ولا كبيرة، أي وسطٌ بين ذلك.
(قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا فَارِضٌ وَلَا بِكْرٌ عَوَانٌ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ فَافْعَلُوا مَا تُؤْمَرُونَ) البقرة 2: 68
لونها أصفر.
(قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفْرَاءُ فَاقِعٌ لَّوْنُهَا تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ) البقرة 2: 69
لا تعمل في الأرض حتى تكون صحيحة.
(قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَا قَالُوا الْآنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ) البقرة 2: 71
1. "Are You Mocking Us?" | "أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوًا؟"
The people's very first reaction to the command was not confusion about the cow but an accusation against their own prophet, that he was mocking them. It fits the way they met Allah's favors generally, described in how the Children of Israel met Allah's blessings upon them. Musa's reply, "I seek refuge in Allah from acting foolishly," is a sharp rejection of the charge, made all the more pointed by the fact that they themselves had brought the murder dispute to him in the first place. Who was given the command, and why, is explained in who Allah commanded to slaughter the cow.
لم يكن أول رد فعل من القوم على الأمر تساؤلاً عن البقرة، بل اتهامًا لنبيهم نفسه بالاستهزاء بهم. وجاء رد موسى: "أعوذ بالله أن أكون من الجاهلين" رفضًا حادًا لهذه التهمة، ازداد حدةً كونهم هم من رفعوا نزاع القتل إليه أصلًا.
2. An Age, Then a Color, Then Yet More Questions | سنٌّ، ثم لونٌ، ثم أسئلةٌ لا تنتهي
Each time Allah answered one question, "neither old nor young" (2:68), then "a bright yellow cow, pleasant to see" (2:69), the people responded not with obedience but with a further demand, "for all cows look the same to us" (2:70). The pattern itself is the point: any single cow would have satisfied the original command, but their own escalating stubbornness kept narrowing the field until almost no cow could qualify. The final description is set out in the description of the cow the Children of Israel had to slaughter. How their questions narrowed the description is explained in why Allah made the cow so specific.
كلما أجاب الله عن سؤال، "لا فارض ولا بكر" (البقرة 2: 68)، ثم "صفراء فاقع لونها تسر الناظرين" (البقرة 2: 69)، لم يستجب القوم بالطاعة بل بمطلبٍ جديد: "إن البقر تشابه علينا" (البقرة 2: 70). والنمط نفسه هو المقصود: كانت أي بقرة كافيةً لتحقيق الأمر الأصلي، لكن تعنتهم المتصاعد ضيّق الخيار حتى كادت لا توجد بقرة تصلح.
قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا (البقرة 2: 70)3. The Final, Narrowest Description | الوصف الأخير الأشد تضييقًا
The last description Allah gave left almost no room to escape compliance any further: a cow never used for plowing or irrigation, unblemished, and pure yellow with no trace of another color (2:71). Only at this point, when the description had become nearly impossible to dispute, did the people finally admit, "Now you have come with the truth," and the ayah itself notes, "Yet they still slaughtered it hesitantly!" Their reluctance remained even then.
لم يترك الوصف الأخير الذي أعطاه الله مجالًا كبيرًا للهروب من الامتثال: بقرةٌ لم تُستخدم قط في الحراثة أو السقاية، سليمة من العيوب، وصفراء خالصة لا لون آخر فيها (البقرة 2: 71). وعندها فقط، حين أصبح الوصف يكاد لا يُجادَل فيه، اعترف القوم أخيرًا: "الآن جئت بالحق"، وتذكر الآية نفسها أنهم "ما كادوا يفعلون"، فذبحوها بتردد ظاهر حتى في تلك اللحظة.
قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَا قَالُوا الْآنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ (البقرة 2: 71)4. Stubbornness With a Cost | تعنتٌ له ثمن
Beyond the spiritual lesson, the answer notes a practical consequence: because the final description was so specific, the one cow matching it became expensive precisely because of the very qualities the people themselves had insisted on demanding. Their excessive questioning did not just delay obedience; it raised the price of it, a detail explored further in why the cow proved so hard to find. This entire exchange served the resolution of the murder case covered in why Allah ordered the cow slaughtered in the first place.
إلى جانب الدرس الروحي، يذكر الجواب نتيجةً عملية: بسبب دقة الوصف الأخير، أصبحت البقرة المطابقة له غالية الثمن تحديدًا بسبب الصفات ذاتها التي أصرّ القوم على طلبها. فتشددهم في الأسئلة لم يؤخر الامتثال فحسب، بل رفع ثمنه أيضًا.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did the Children of Israel first react to the command to slaughter a cow?
They accused Moses of mocking them, and he replied that he sought refuge in Allah from acting foolishly.
What was the final description of the cow?
A cow neither old nor young, bright yellow, never used to plow or irrigate, and free of any blemish.
Why did the descriptions keep getting more specific?
Because the people kept asking further questions instead of simply obeying, which the answer describes as obstinacy meant to avoid compliance.
Did they slaughter the cow willingly once it was found?
No, the Quran itself notes they could hardly bring themselves to do it, even after admitting the description was accurate.