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Quran stories

The Cow of Bani Israil: the story in the Quran

The cow that gave Surah Al-Baqarah its name, and the lesson of asking too many questions

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  • Surah Al-Baqarah, 67-73
  • #the story of the Cow of Bani Israil
  • #Quran stories
  • #Surah Al-Baqarah
  • #Prophet Musa
  • #the story of the cow
  • #the yellow cow
  • #Bani Israil

At a glance

Surah
Surah Al-Baqarah, 67-73
Who commanded
Prophet Musa (peace be upon him)
Command
Slaughter a cow
Reason
To uncover an unsolved murder
Lesson
Asking too many questions made the task harder
The surah's name
Surah Al-Baqarah ("The Cow") takes its name from this event

Summary

The story of the Cow of Bani Israil is told in Surah Al-Baqarah (67-73), and this surah takes its name from that cow. Musa (peace be upon him) tells his people that Allah commands them to slaughter a cow. Instead of carrying out the command at once, they make the task harder for themselves by asking about the cow's age, color, and kind. In the end they slaughter a yellow, flawless cow. When a piece of this cow is struck against a murdered man, Allah brings him back to life and the killer is revealed. The event shows both Allah's power to raise the dead and the value of obeying without excessive questioning.

The story

  1. A command that seemed strange

    A murder with no known culprit had taken place among Bani Israil, and people were accusing one another. Musa (peace be upon him) said to his people: "Allah commands you to slaughter a cow." They found this strange and said: "Are you making a mockery of us?"

    Musa answered: "I seek refuge in Allah from being one of the ignorant" (Al-Baqarah, 67). The command was clear: slaughtering any cow would have sufficed. But instead of obeying at once, the people began to ask questions.

  2. Too many questions

    The people went on asking about the cow's age, color, and kind. Each time an answer came, the conditions narrowed further: the cow was to be neither too old nor too young; its color was to be a bright yellow, pleasing to those who looked at it (Al-Baqarah, 69); it was to be one not used to plough the earth or water the crops, flawless and without blemish.

    Finally they said: "Now you have brought the truth" and slaughtered it, though they almost did not do so (Al-Baqarah, 71). Commentators note that if they had slaughtered any cow at the first command, it would have sufficed; by asking so many questions, they made the cow they were looking for harder to find.

  3. The killer revealed by a miracle

    Allah commanded that the murdered man be struck with a piece of the cow: "Thus Allah brings the dead back to life, and shows you His signs so that you may reason" (Al-Baqarah, 73).

    The murdered man was thus brought back to life for a short while, the truth was revealed, and the hidden killer was exposed (Al-Baqarah, 72). This event is also a proof that raising the dead after death, that is, the Resurrection, is easy for Allah.

  4. The event that named the surah

    Surah Al-Baqarah ("The Cow"), the longest surah of the Quran, takes its name from this very cow.

    The event has been remembered for centuries as a lesson: obedience given reluctantly and with doubt turned a simple command into a difficult trial. Carrying out Allah's command wholeheartedly, without excessive questioning, is the right way.

Key verses

Surah Al-Baqarah, 67

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ تَذْبَحُوا بَقَرَةً قَالُوا أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوًا قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ

Transliteration
Wa idh qala Musa liqawmihi innallaha ya'murukum an tadhbahu baqarah. Qalu atattakhidhuna huzuwa? Qala a'udhu billahi an akuna minal-jahilin.
Meaning
Musa said to his people: "Allah commands you to slaughter a cow." They said: "Are you making a mockery of us?" Musa said: "I seek refuge in Allah from being one of the ignorant."

Surah Al-Baqarah, 71

قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَا شِيَةَ فِيهَا قَالُوا الْآنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ

Transliteration
Qala innahu yaqulu innaha baqaratun la dhalulun tuthirul-arda wa la tasqil-hartha musallamatun la shiyata fiha. Qalu al-ana ji'ta bil-haqq. Fadhabahuha wa ma kadu yaf'alun.
Meaning
Musa said: "He says it is a cow not broken in to plough the earth or to water the crops, flawless, with no blemish on it." They said: "Now you have brought the truth." So they slaughtered it, though they almost did not do so.

Surah Al-Baqarah, 73

فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا كَذَلِكَ يُحْيِ اللَّهُ الْمَوْتَى وَيُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

Transliteration
Faqulna idribuhu biba'diha. Kadhalika yuhyillahul-mawta wa yurikum ayatihi la'allakum ta'qilun.
Meaning
We said: "Strike him (the murdered man) with a piece of it." Thus Allah brings the dead back to life, and shows you His signs so that you may reason.

In the Quran

The event is told in verses 67-73 of Surah Al-Baqarah. The verses cover the command, the people's successive questions, the cow's characteristics, the exposure of the murder, and the proof of resurrection. Surah Al-Baqarah ("The Cow"), the longest surah of the Quran, takes its name from this cow.

Lessons and wisdom

  • Carrying out Allah's command without excessive questioning is the right way; asking too many questions makes the task harder.
  • Wholehearted submission is essential in obedience; reluctant compliance ("they almost did not do so") is disapproved of.
  • Nothing is difficult for Allah; He can bring the dead back to life and reveal the truth.
  • Hiding a killer or a sin brings no benefit; Allah reveals what is kept hidden.

Sources

References are drawn from Quran verses, available authentic hadith and reliable scholarship.

  • QuranSurah Al-Baqarah, 67

    Musa's (peace be upon him) delivery of the command to slaughter a cow to his people, and the people's first reaction, are mentioned in this verse.

  • QuranSurah Al-Baqarah, 71

    The cow's final characteristics and the people's reluctant obedience are stated in this verse.

  • QuranSurah Al-Baqarah, 73

    The murdered man being brought back to life with a piece of the cow, and this being a lesson, are narrated in this verse.

  • Scholarly sourceTDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, "Bakara Sûresi"

    Referenced as an academic source for the surah's name coming from this cow event, and for the explanation of the event.

Related stories

Other narratives found in the Quran.

Prophets in this story

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this story.

  • What is the story of the Cow of Bani Israil?

    The story of the Cow of Bani Israil is told in Surah Al-Baqarah (67-73): Musa (peace be upon him) tells his people that Allah commands them to slaughter a cow, the people ask too many questions and make the task harder, and in the end the murdered man is brought back to life with a piece of the slaughtered cow and reveals the killer.

  • Why is Surah Al-Baqarah named this way?

    "Al-Baqarah" means "the cow" in Arabic. Surah Al-Baqarah, the longest surah of the Quran, takes its name precisely from the cow in this story.

  • Why did Musa command that a cow be slaughtered?

    A murder with no known culprit had taken place among Bani Israil. When the murdered man was struck with a piece of the cow slaughtered by Allah's command, he was brought back to life for a short while and the killer was revealed (Al-Baqarah, 72-73).

  • What were the cow's characteristics?

    After the people's questions, it was required that the cow be neither old nor young, of a bright yellow color pleasing to those who looked at it (Al-Baqarah, 69), and one not used to plough the earth, flawless and without blemish (Al-Baqarah, 71).

  • What is the lesson of this story?

    The main lesson is that Allah's command should be carried out wholeheartedly, without excessive questioning. By asking too many questions, the people turned a simple command into a difficult trial for themselves.