Verse 2:74 in Context

Translator Abdel Haleem

70 قَالُوا۟ ٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ یُبَیِّن لَّنَا مَا هِیَ إِنَّ ٱلۡبَقَرَ تَشَـٰبَهَ عَلَیۡنَا وَإِنَّاۤ إِن شَاۤءَ ٱللَّهُ لَمُهۡتَدُونَ ۝٧٠ qālū ud'ʿu lanā rabbaka yubayyin lanā mā hiya inna l-baqara tashābaha ʿalaynā wa-innā in shāa l-lahu lamuh'tadūn They said, ‘Call on your Lord for us, to show us [exactly] what it is: all cows are more or less alike to us. With God’s will, we shall be guided.’ 71 قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ یَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةࣱ لَّا ذَلُولࣱ تُثِیرُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَلَا تَسۡقِی ٱلۡحَرۡثَ مُسَلَّمَةࣱ لَّا شِیَةَ فِیهَاۚ قَالُوا۟ ٱلۡءَـٰنَ جِئۡتَ بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا۟ یَفۡعَلُونَ ۝٧١ qāla innahu yaqūlu innahā baqaratun lā dhalūlun tuthīru l-arḍa walā tasqī l-ḥartha musallamatun lā shiyata fīhā qālū l-āna ji'ta bil-ḥaqi fadhabaḥūhā wamā kādū yafʿalūn He replied, ‘It is a perfect and unblemished cow, not trained to till the earth or water the fields.’ They said, ‘Now you have brought the truth,’ and so they slaughtered it, though they almost failed to do so 72 وَإِذۡ قَتَلۡتُمۡ نَفۡسࣰا فَٱدَّ ٰرَءۡتُمۡ فِیهَاۖ وَٱللَّهُ مُخۡرِجࣱ مَّا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ ۝٧٢ wa-idh qataltum nafsan fa-iddāratum fīhā wal-lahu mukh'rijun mā kuntum taktumūn Then, when you [Israelites] killed someone and started to blame one another- although God was to bring what you had concealed to light 73 فَقُلۡنَا ٱضۡرِبُوهُ بِبَعۡضِهَاۚ كَذَ ٰلِكَ یُحۡیِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ وَیُرِیكُمۡ ءَایَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ ۝٧٣ faqul'nā iḍ'ribūhu bibaʿḍihā kadhālika yuḥ'yī l-lahu l-mawtā wayurīkum āyātihi laʿallakum taʿqilūn We said, ‘Strike the [body] with a part of [the cow]’: thus God brings the dead to life and shows His signs so that you may understand

74 ثُمَّ قَسَتۡ قُلُوبُكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ ذَ ٰلِكَ فَهِیَ كَٱلۡحِجَارَةِ أَوۡ أَشَدُّ قَسۡوَةࣰۚ وَإِنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡحِجَارَةِ لَمَا یَتَفَجَّرُ مِنۡهُ ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُۚ وَإِنَّ مِنۡهَا لَمَا یَشَّقَّقُ فَیَخۡرُجُ مِنۡهُ ٱلۡمَاۤءُۚ وَإِنَّ مِنۡهَا لَمَا یَهۡبِطُ مِنۡ خَشۡیَةِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ ۝٧٤ thumma qasat qulūbukum min baʿdi dhālika fahiya kal-ḥijārati aw ashaddu qaswatan wa-inna mina l-ḥijārati lamā yatafajjaru min'hu l-anhāru wa-inna min'hā lamā yashaqqaqu fayakhruju min'hu l-māu wa-inna min'hā lamā yahbiṭu min khashyati l-lahi wamā l-lahu bighāfilin ʿammā taʿmalūn Even after that, your hearts became as hard as rocks, or even harder, for there are rocks from which streams spring out, and some from which water comes when they split open, and others which fall down in awe of God: He is not unaware of what you do

75 ۞ أَفَتَطۡمَعُونَ أَن یُؤۡمِنُوا۟ لَكُمۡ وَقَدۡ كَانَ فَرِیقࣱ مِّنۡهُمۡ یَسۡمَعُونَ كَلَـٰمَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ یُحَرِّفُونَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمۡ یَعۡلَمُونَ ۝٧٥ afataṭmaʿūna an yu'minū lakum waqad kāna farīqun min'hum yasmaʿūna kalāma l-lahi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu wahum yaʿlamūn So can you [believers] hope that such people will believe you, when some of them used to hear the words of God and then deliberately twist them, even when they understood them 76 وَإِذَا لَقُوا۟ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قَالُوۤا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَا بَعۡضُهُمۡ إِلَىٰ بَعۡضࣲ قَالُوۤا۟ أَتُحَدِّثُونَهُم بِمَا فَتَحَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَیۡكُمۡ لِیُحَاۤجُّوكُم بِهِۦ عِندَ رَبِّكُمۡۚ أَفَلَا تَعۡقِلُونَ ۝٧٦ wa-idhā laqū alladhīna āmanū qālū āmannā wa-idhā khalā baʿḍuhum ilā baʿḍin qālū atuḥaddithūnahum bimā fataḥa l-lahu ʿalaykum liyuḥājjūkum bihi ʿinda rabbikum afalā taʿqilūn When they meet the believers, they say, ‘We too believe.’ But when they are alone with each other they say, ‘How could you tell them about God’s revelation [to us]? They will be able to use it to argue against you before your Lord! Have you no sense?’ 77 أَوَ لَا یَعۡلَمُونَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ یَعۡلَمُ مَا یُسِرُّونَ وَمَا یُعۡلِنُونَ ۝٧٧ awalā yaʿlamūna anna l-laha yaʿlamu mā yusirrūna wamā yuʿ'linūn Do they not know that God is well aware of what they conceal and what they reveal 78 وَمِنۡهُمۡ أُمِّیُّونَ لَا یَعۡلَمُونَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ إِلَّاۤ أَمَانِیَّ وَإِنۡ هُمۡ إِلَّا یَظُنُّونَ ۝٧٨ wamin'hum ummiyyūna lā yaʿlamūna l-kitāba illā amāniyya wa-in hum illā yaẓunnūn Some of them are uneducated, and know the Scripture only through wish-ful thinking. They rely on guesswork