ONE AYAT A DAY
قَالَ اِنَّهٗ يَقُوْلُ اِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا ذَلُوْلٌ تُثِيْرُ الْاَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِى الْحَرْثَۚ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَّاشِيَةَ فِيْهَا ۗ قَالُوا الْـٰٔنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ فَذَبَحُوْهَا وَمَا كَادُوْا يَفْعَلُوْنَ ࣖ
Qāla innahū yaqūlu innahā baqaratul lā żalūlun tuṡīrul-arḍa wa lā tasqil-ḥarṡ(a), musallamatul lā syiyata fīhā, qālul-'āna ji'ta bil-ḥaqqi fażabaḥūhā wa mā kādū yaf‘alūn(a).
He said, "He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to plow the earth nor to irrigate the field, one free from fault with no spot upon her.'" They said, "Now you have come with the truth." So they slaughtered her, but they could hardly do it.
The Stubbornness of the Jews regarding the Cow; Allah made the Matter difficult for ThemAllah mentioned the stubbornness of the Children of Israel and the many unnecessary questions they asked their Messengers. This is why when they were stubborn, Allah made the decisions difficult for them. Had they slaughtered a cow, any cow, it would have been sufficient for them, as Ibn `Abbas and `Ubaydah have said. Instead, they made the matter difficult, and this is why Allah made it even more difficult for them. They said, ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّنَ لَّنَا مَا هِىَ(Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!), meaning, "What is this cow and what is its description" Musa said, إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لاَّ فَارِضٌ وَلاَ بِكْرٌ(He says, `Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young'), meaning, that it is neither old nor below the age of breeding. This is the opinion of Abu Al-`Aliyah, As-Suddi, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, `Atiyah Al-`Awfi, `Ata', Al-Khurasani, Wahb bin Munabbih, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ibn `Abbas. Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn `Abbas said that, عَوَانٌ بَيْنَ ذلِكَ(But (it is) between the two conditions) means, "Neither old nor young. Rather, she was at the age when the cow is strongest and fittest." In his Tafsir Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that, فَاقِـعٌ لَّوْنُهَا(bright in its colour) "A deep yellowish white." As-Suddi sai…