Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 68

Mufti Taqi Usmani

They said, “Pray for us to your Lord that He makes it clear to us what sort (of cow) should she be.” He said, “He says she should be a cow neither too old, nor too young - of some middle age in between. Now, do what you are being asked to do.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

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!’”

Ruwwad Translation Center

They said, “Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what [type of cow] it is.” He said, “Allah says, ‘It is a cow that is neither too old nor too young, but somewhere in between. So do as you are commanded!’”

A. J. Arberry

They said, 'Pray to thy Lord for us, that He may make clear to us what she may be.' He said, 'He says she is a cow neither old, nor virgin, middling between the two; so do that you are bidden.'

Abdul Haleem

They said, ‘Call on your Lord for us, to show us what sort of cow it should be.’ He answered, ‘God says it should be neither too old nor too young, but in between, so do as you are commanded.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

They said: supplicate for us unto thy Lord that He make manifest unto us whatever she should be. He said: verily He saith, she should be a cow neither old nor young, but middle-aged betwixt that; do then as ye are commanded.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They said; "Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us what (heifer) it is!" He said; "He says; The heifer should be neither too old nor too young, but of middling age. Now do what ye are commanded!"

Abul Ala Maududi

Then they said, "Please make a request to your Lord to give us some details of the cow." Moses answered, "Allah says that the cow should neither be old nor immature but of middle age. Do, therefore, as you are bidden."

Ahmed Ali

"Call on your Lord for us," they said, "that He might inform us what kind she should be." "Neither old nor young, says God, but of age in between," answered Moses. "So do as you are bid."

Ahmed Raza Khan

They said, “Pray to your Lord that He may describe the cow”; said Moosa, “He says that it is a cow neither old nor very young but between the two conditions; so do what you are commanded.”

Ali Quli Qarai

They said, ‘Invoke your Lord for us that He may clarify for us what she may be.’ He said, ‘He says, she is a cow, neither old nor young, of a middle age. Now do what you are commanded.’

Ali Ünal

They said, "Pray for us to your Lord that He may make clear to us what it should be like." He (Moses) answered: "He says, it should be a cow neither old nor virgin, middling between the two. So do what you are commanded."

Amatul Rahman Omar

They said, `Pray for us to your Lord to make clear to us what (kind of a cow) it is.´ He replied, `Says He, "It indeed is a cow neither too old nor too young, (but) of middle age, in between." Now do as you are commanded.´

English Literal

They said: "Call for us your Lord He clarifies for us what it is." He (Moses) said: "That He says that it is a cow not (an) old aged animal , and nor first born/virgin , middle aged between that, so make/do what you are ordered/commanded."

Faridul Haque

They said, "Pray to your Lord that He may describe the cow"; said Moosa, "He says that it is a cow neither old nor very young but between the two conditions; so do what you are commanded."

Hamid S. Aziz

They said, "Then pray to your Lord for us to show us what she is to be." He answered, "He said it is a cow, not old, nor young, of middle age between the two; so do as you are bid."

Hilali & Khan

They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!" He said, "He says, 'Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but (it is) between the two conditions', so do what you are commanded."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

They said: Call on thy Lord for our sake to make it plain to us what she is. (Moses) said: He says, Surely she is a cow neither advanced in age nor too young, of middle age between these (two); so do what you are commanded.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

They said: Call on your Lord for our sake to make it plain to us what she is. Musa said: He says, Surely she is a cow neither advanced in age nor too young, of middle age between that (and this); do therefore what you are commanded.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith, Verily she is a cow neither with calf nor immature; (she is) between the two conditions; so do that which ye are commanded.

Muhammad Sarwar

They demanded, "Ask your Lord to describe the kind of cow He wants us to slaughter." Moses explained, "It must be neither too old nor too young, thus do whatever you are commanded to do." Moses then told them to do as they were ordered.

Qaribullah & Darwish

'Call on your Lord' they said, 'to make known to us what she shall be' He said: "He says she is a cow neither old, nor virgin, middling between both." Therefore, do as you have been ordered'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!" He said, "He says, `Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but (it is) between the two conditions', so do what you are commanded."

Wahiduddin Khan

They said, "Ask your Lord to make it clear to us what sort of heifer she should be." He answered, "God says she should be neither too old nor too young, but in between, so do as you are commanded."

Talal Itani

They said, “Call upon your Lord to show us which one.” He said, “He says she is a heifer, neither too old, nor too young, but in between. So do what you are commanded.”

Tafsir jalalayn

But when they realised that he was being serious, They said, `Pray to your Lord for us, that He may make clear to us what she may be', its true nature, He, Moses, said, `He, God, says she is a cow neither old, nor virgin, that is, young, middling between the two, in terms of age; so do what you have been commanded', by way of sacrificing it.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Stubbornness of the Jews regarding the Cow; Allah made the Matter difficult for Them

Allah 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.

Allah tells;

قَالُواْ ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لّنَا مَا هِيَ قَالَ

They said, "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 وَلَا 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.

عَوَانٌ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ

but (it is) between the two conditions',

Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn Abbas said that,

it means, "Neither old nor young. Rather, she was at the age when the cow is strongest and fittest."

فَافْعَلُواْ مَا تُوْمَرونَ



so do what you are commanded."

قَالُواْ ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفْرَاء فَاقِـعٌ لَّوْنُهَا تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ