Why Did Allah Order the Children of Israel to Slaughter a Cow?
لماذا أمر الله بني إسرائيل أن يذبحوا بقرة؟
Among the Children of Israel there was a man with much wealth and no children, and his only heir was his nephew. The nephew grew impatient for the inheritance and killed his uncle, then carried his body and threw it at a man's door, accusing the owner of the house of killing him. The people took up arms and prepared to confront the killer, and evil was about to break out among them, so the people of sound judgment urged them to go to Moses, peace be upon him, and consult him. Moses replied that Allah Almighty commanded them to slaughter a cow, and He then ordered them to strike the dead man with any part of the slaughtered cow.
Allah the Almighty says: (˹This is˺ when a man was killed and you disputed who the killer was, but Allah revealed what you concealed. So We instructed, "Strike the dead body with a piece of the cow." This is how ˹easily˺ Allah brings the dead to life, showing you His signs so that you may understand.) (Al-Baqarah 2:72-73)
كان في بني إسرائيل رجلٌ عنده مالٌ كثير وليس له أولاد، وكان وارثه الوحيد ابن أخيه، فاستعجل ابن الأخ الميراث وقتل عمه، ثم حمله وألقاه على باب رجل، وادّعى على صاحب البيت أنه قتله. وتسلح الناس واستعدوا لمواجهة القاتل وكاد الشر أن يقع بينهم، فدعاهم ذوو الرأي أن يذهبوا إلى موسى عليه السلام يستشيرونه، فقال لهم موسى: إن الله يأمرهم أن يذبحوا بقرة، وأمرهم أن يضربوا الميت بأي جزء من أجزاء هذه البقرة المذبوحة.
قال الله تعالى: (وَإِذْ قَتَلْتُمْ نَفْسًا فَادَّارَأْتُمْ فِيهَا وَاللَّهُ مُخْرِجٌ مَّا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ ﴿٧٢﴾ فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا كَذَلِكَ يُحْيِي اللَّهُ الْمَوْتَى وَيُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ) البقرة 2: 72-73
1. A Killing Driven by Greed | جريمةٌ دافعها الطمع
The command to slaughter a cow only makes sense against its backdrop: according to reports Ibn Kathir transmits, and describes as narrations of the Children of Israel that are neither affirmed nor denied, a nephew, set to inherit his wealthy uncle's estate, killed him and left the body at another man's door to escape blame entirely. The first killing ever committed on earth is told in what the first crime on earth was and who committed it. Surah Al-Baqarah 2:72 opens with exactly this dispute, "you disputed who the killer was."
لا يُفهم أمر ذبح البقرة إلا في ضوء خلفيته: فبحسب روايات ينقلها ابن كثير ويصفها بأنها من أخبار بني إسرائيل التي لا تُصدَّق ولا تُكذَّب، كان ابن أخٍ سيرث عمه الغني، فقتله ودبّر جثته عند باب رجلٍ آخر للإفلات من التهمة تمامًا. وتفتتح سورة البقرة 2: 72 بهذا النزاع بالضبط: "فادّارأتم فيها".
2. A Sign That Revealed the Concealed Killing | آيةٌ كشفت القتل المكتوم
Allah brought to light the killing they had concealed (2:72). Striking the body with a piece of the slaughtered cow and briefly restoring it to life was a direct miracle, not a method Musa (peace be upon him) devised himself, and the Ayah closes by naming its purpose explicitly: "so that you may understand" (2:73). Allah showed His power to give life to the dead in another way in Ibrahim's request to be shown how Allah gives life to the dead.
وأخرج الله ما كانوا يكتمونه من أمر القتل (البقرة 2: 72). وضرب الجثة بجزءٍ من البقرة المذبوحة وإحياؤها لفترةٍ قصيرة كان معجزةً مباشرة، لا طريقةً ابتكرها موسى بنفسه، وتختتم الآية بذكر الغاية صراحة: "لعلكم تعقلون" (البقرة 2: 73).
3. A Simple Command Made Hard | أمرٌ يسيرٌ صار عسيرًا
Which cow qualified became its own extended dispute, covered in full in the description of the cow the Children of Israel were commanded to slaughter, where their own excessive questioning turned a simple command into a drawn-out ordeal. Why the cow they finally had to find was so hard to obtain is explained in why the cow was so hard to find.
تحوّلت مسألة أي بقرةٍ تحديدًا إلى نزاعٍ ممتد بحد ذاته، مشروحٍ بالتفصيل في صفحة وصف البقرة التي أمر الله بني إسرائيل بذبحها، حيث حوّل إفراطهم في السؤال أمرًا بسيطًا إلى محنةٍ طويلة.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did Allah order the Children of Israel to slaughter a cow?
So a murdered man could be struck with a piece of it and briefly restored to life to name his real killer.
Who committed the murder, and why?
According to reports the commentators transmit from the Children of Israel, the victim's own nephew, who wanted the inheritance and then falsely accused someone else.
What was the stated purpose of the miracle?
That Allah brings the dead to life and shows His signs so that people may understand.