The Significance and Origins of the Name ‘Surah Al-Baqarah’ "The Cow"

The story of the cow of the Bani Israel

Have you ever wondered why Surah Al-Baqarah is the longest surah in the Qur’an? Despite its length, many people don't realize the fascinating story behind its name. Prepare to be mesmerized as you discover the great event behind the title of this wonderful surah.

The longest surah in the Qur’an! With 286 verses distributed into 40 sections, and it contains the longest verse, which is the verse (Al-Din), and also the greatest verse, which is the verse (Al-Kursi), this wonderful Surah was revealed in the first place in Medina, except for the Almighty’s saying: “And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.” (Al-Baqarah: 281) For it is the last verse to be sent down from heaven, and it was revealed on the Day of Sacrifice during the Farewell Pilgrimage at Mina.

The main theme of this surah is to remind us not to worship anyone other than God, and to resist the temptation to establish equals to Him. It detailed the rulings of the religion, its laws, and its dealings, and opened with an explanation of the purpose of this great book, which is {hudan lilmuttaqeen}, for this book was sent down for guidance and guidance. Then the Surah clarifies people’s reactions to this book, dividing them into (a believer, an infidel, and a hypocrite).

Story quotient

The outcome of this story is shown in the following verses:
﴿وَإِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوۡمِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ أَن تَذۡبَحُواْ بَقَرَةٗۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوٗاۖ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ أَنۡ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡجَٰهِلِينَ ٦٧ قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ لَّا فَارِضٞ وَلَا بِكۡرٌ عَوَانُۢ بَيۡنَ ذَٰلِكَۖ فَٱفۡعَلُواْ مَا تُؤۡمَرُونَ ٦٨ قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوۡنُهَاۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ صَفۡرَآءُ فَاقِعٞ لَّوۡنُهَا تَسُرُّ ٱلنَّٰظِرِينَ ٦٩ قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ ٱلۡبَقَرَ تَشَٰبَهَ عَلَيۡنَا وَإِنَّآ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَمُهۡتَدُونَ ٧٠ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ لَّا ذَلُولٞ تُثِيرُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَلَا تَسۡقِي ٱلۡحَرۡثَ مُسَلَّمَةٞ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَاۚ قَالُواْ ٱلۡـَٰٔنَ جِئۡتَ بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُواْ يَفۡعَلُونَ ٧١ وَإِذۡ قَتَلۡتُمۡ نَفۡسٗا فَٱدَّٰرَٰٔتُمۡ فِيهَاۖ وَٱللَّهُ مُخۡرِجٞ مَّا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ ٧٢ فَقُلۡنَا ٱضۡرِبُوهُ بِبَعۡضِهَاۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُحۡيِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ وَيُرِيكُمۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ ٧٣﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 67-73). These are the events of the story as mentioned in the Qur’an in general.

Story telling in detail

One day, there was a rich man from the people of Israel. He had a great fortune, but he had no heir except his nephew. Unfortunately, this nephew was consumed by greed and selfishness, which led him to kill his uncle in the hope of inheriting his fortune. The news quickly spread among the people that the rich man had been killed, and they wanted to know who was responsible. They turned to Moses (peace be upon him) for help, recognizing him as a just arbitrator who could bring justice to the situation.

When the people went to Moses (peace be upon him) and told him about the murder, he asked God Almighty to guide them on what he should do next. So God Almighty commanded Moses (peace be upon him) to slaughter a cow and place part of its meat on the dead person. This would reveal the identity of the killer. However, people thought that Moses (peace be upon him) was joking, and they mocked him for suggesting such a strange solution. They did not believe that killing a cow could help identify the killer.

In Quran ,
And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow." They said, "Do you take us in ridicule?" He said, "I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant." — Surah al-Baqarah, Ayah 67
وَإِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوۡمِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ أَن تَذۡبَحُواْ بَقَرَةٗۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوٗاۖ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ أَنۡ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡجَٰهِلِينَ ٦٧

So they decided, to mock Allah (swt) and Musa (as) and asked Musa (as), what kind of cow it should be? Musa (as) was so disappointed in his people and said it can be any kind of cow, yet the Bani Israel were rebellious and arrogant and wanted to make things more difficult. So, they said:

In Quran ,
They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is." [Moses] said, "[Allah] says, 'It is a cow which is neither old nor virgin, but median between that,' so do what you are commanded." — Surah al-Baqarah, Ayah 68
قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ لَّا فَارِضٞ وَلَا بِكۡرٌ عَوَانُۢ بَيۡنَ ذَٰلِكَۖ فَٱفۡعَلُواْ مَا تُؤۡمَرُونَ ٦٨

Once again, instead of listening to Musa (as), they asked more questions! “What color must it be?” Musa (as) all fed up with his people, once again asked Allah (swt) and He replied,

In Quran ,
They said, "Call upon your Lord to show us what is her color." He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in color - pleasing to the observers.' " — Surah al-Baqarah, Ayah 69
قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوۡنُهَاۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ صَفۡرَآءُ فَاقِعٞ لَّوۡنُهَا تَسُرُّ ٱلنَّٰظِرِينَ ٦٩

Bani Israel were still not satisfied and asked for more details. Their ungratefulness and arrogance led them to ask more questions. So, Musa (as) asked Allah (swt) once AGAIN, and He replied,

In Quran ,
They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is. Indeed, [all] cows look alike to us. And indeed we, if Allah wills, will be guided." — Surah al-Baqarah, Ayah 70
قَالُواْ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ ٱلۡبَقَرَ تَشَٰبَهَ عَلَيۡنَا وَإِنَّآ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَمُهۡتَدُونَ ٧٠

So Moses (peace be upon him) asked God Almighty again and he replied:

In Quran ,
They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is. Indeed, [all] cows look alike to us. And indeed we, if Allah wills, will be guided.” — Surah al-Baqarah, Ayah 71
قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٞ لَّا ذَلُولٞ تُثِيرُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَلَا تَسۡقِي ٱلۡحَرۡثَ مُسَلَّمَةٞ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَاۚ قَالُواْ ٱلۡـَٰٔنَ جِئۡتَ بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُواْ يَفۡعَلُونَ ٧١

Finally, they were satisfied with the requirements. And so they went out in search of such a cow. The only cow that matched those requirements was owned by an orphan who inherited the cow from his father. This orphan’s father was a very pious man. On his deathbed, the father said, “O Allah, I place my wife, my little son, and my only possession, a calf, in Your care.” Oddly, he asked his wife to lead the cow into the nearby forest and leave it there. He did this because he didn’t trust the other Bani Israel members, as they were selfish and greedy.

When the Bani Israel found the orphan, they asked him how much he would sell his cow for. He told them he would have to ask his mother before he could sell it. A while later, they came to his house and offered 3 gold coins for the cow. The mother refused and said the cow was worth much more than 3 gold coins. They kept increasing their offer and the mother kept on turning their offers away. And so the orphan finally interjected and said, “I will not sell the cow without my mother’s approval, even if you offered me its skin filled with gold!” Upon hearing this, his mother smiled and said, “Let that be the price: Its skin filled with gold.” The people were disappointed but had no choice but to pay up since no other cow could fulfill the requirements. They agreed and bought the cow with its skin filled with gold.

With the cow slaughtered, they took a piece of its flesh and put it on the dead man. The dead man at once arose and revealed his nephew as the murderer and then died once again.

Therefore, the main lesson and integral message from this story is that to believe in Allah (swt), we have to adhere to ALL His commandments and orders irrespective of whether they make sense to us or not. The human mind is so limited and we do not have the capabilities to comprehend certain things Allah (swt) orders us to do. Why do we do tawaf 7 times? Why do we fast for 30 days (or 29) in Ramadan? Why do we pray 5 times a day and not 10 times? So many things in our deen may not make sense to the human mind but whatever Allah (swt) wills, we do. Submitting to Allah (swt) is the basic essence of Islam and defines being a true servant of the Almighty. Rejecting or neglecting his commandments easily puts one on the path to earning the anger and wrath of Allah (swt). The Bani Israel questioned Allah’s (swt) commandments repeatedly and he proceeded to make things difficult for them. This is the central message and belief that the story of the cow details.

After Ibn Kathir gave a number of narrations regarding the story of the cow of the Children of Israel, he said: “It appears that it was taken from the books of the Children of Israel, and it is permissible to transmit it, but we do not believe or lie, so we do not rely on it except what agrees with the truth with us.” These words of Ibn Katheer indicate that such narrations are acceptable in general terms, as long as they agree with the Qur’anic information. As for delving into their details, one should not pay attention to them or rely on them.

What matters to us in the end is to firmly believe that these stories are not symbolic or imaginary stories, but rather real incidents, told to us by the Qur’an. Let us learn from it and benefit from it. We can only accept the information of the Qur’an, whether our minds understand it or not.