They said: 'Do you mock us?

They said: 'Do you mock us?' He said: 'I take refuge with Allah from being one of the ignorant!' " 68. "They said ' Ask your Lord for us to make it clear to us what she is.' Moses said: 'He says: Surely she is a cow neither old nor young, but of middle age; so do what you are commanded’." 69. "They said: ‘Ask your Lord for us to make it clear to us what colour she should be. 'Moses replied: 'He says she should be a yellow cow, bright in colour, giving delight to the beholders’." 70.

"They said: 'Ask your Lord for us to make it clear to us what kind of cow must it be, for surely to us the cows are all alike, and, if Allah wills, we shall surely be guided aright.'" 71. "(Moses) said: ‘Verily, He says: Verily, she is a cow not (yet) trained to till the soil or to water the fields; sound and without blemish. They said: 'Now you have brought the truth. Then they offered her in sacrifice, though they had not the mind to do (it)." 72.

"And (remember) when you killed a man and disputed thereon: but Allah was to bring forth what you were hiding." 73. "So, We said: ‘Strike him (the corpse) with a part of it (the sacrificed cow)’. Thus, Allah gives life to the dead and shows you of His signs, so that you might understand." 74.

"Then your hearts hardened after that as stones or even worse in hardness; for verily, among stones there are some from which rivers gush forth, and others that split asunder and water issues out of them, and others tumble down through fear of Allah, and Allah is not heedless of what you do. " The Story of the Israelites' Cow Among what we have already studied about the Children of Israel in Surah Al-Baqarah, all of the facts were mentioned shortly and briefly.

The event of the Israelites' Cow which is referred to in the above verses, in contrast to all of the previous incidents, is explained in detail and comprehensively. This is so, perhaps, for the reason that this story is mentioned in the Qur'an only once. Besides that, there are many instructive subjects involved in it which requires such an extensive explication. One of these subjects which are vividly seen throughout the story is the persistency of the Israelites in seeking for excuses.

It also illustrates their level of faith in the revelations brought forth by Moses (as). Most important of all is that the story provides clear emphatic evidence to the possibility of the Resurrection.