Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | MAN IN CHARGE OF THE EARTHthey had not been disposed to believe him.A Murdered Man Brought Back to LifeAs soon as they carried out the command, God revealed to them its purpose:“Having slain a human being, you cast the blame on one another for this [murder]. Godwould definitely reveal what you have concealed. We said, ‘Strike him with a piece of it. ThusGod brings the dead back to life and shows you His signs, so that you may use your reason.’“(Verses 72-73)This is the second aspect of the story, which highlights God’s power, the reality ofresurrection and the nature of life and death. The mode changes from narration todirect speech. God has revealed to the Israelites under Moses the wisdom behindasking them to slaughter a cow. A man had been murdered and, with no witnessesavailable, they were blaming one another for his murder. God wanted todemonstrate to them that He could bring the victim back to life to identify his killeror killers. This was achieved by striking the dead man’s body with a piece of thesacrificial cow. The mystery was solved and justice was done.The question here is why this approach should be necessary when God can restorethe dead to life without the need for anything in particular. What possiblerelationship could there be between the sacrificed cow and the murdered personbeing restored to life?The Jews were accustomed to sacrificing cows, but why should a piece of meatrestore life to a dead body when it had no life and no ability to give life? The logicalanswer is that the whole event was symbolic, intended to demonstrate God’s power,the workings of which human beings cannot comprehend. We see the effects ofGod’s power around us all the time, but we are not able to grasp its reality or theway it works.“Thus God brings the dead back to life... “— just as effortlessly and readily as theyhad seen, though they could not understand how it happened.To the human mind, the contrast between the reality of life and the mystery ofdeath cannot be more bewildering, but to God Almighty the matter poses noproblem whatsoever. But, how is that so? This is the greatest mystery that nocreature can, or ever will, unravel. It is the secret that only the Supreme Being knows,but whose significance and outcome the human mind is able to appreciate andcomprehend, because God “shows you His signs, so that you may use your reason.”(Verse 73)As given in the Qur’ānic superior style, the narrative takes us on a short mysterytour with a story that begins with a command from God to the Israelites to sacrifice a83