Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān; Translated and Explained by Muhammad Asad (1980)

(72) For, O children of Israel, because you had slain a human being and then cast the blame for this [crime] upon one another – although God will bring to light what you would conceal 56 – (73) We said: “Apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved murder]:57 in this way God saves lives from death and shows you His will, so that you might [learn to] use your reason.” 58
(74) And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like rocks, or even harder: for, behold, there are rocks from which streams gush forth; and, behold, there are some from which, when they are cleft, water issues; and, behold, there are some that fall down for awe of God.59 And God is not unmindful of what you do!

almost always devoid of details, I would refer the reader to my book State and Government in Islam (pp. 11 ff. and passim). The importance of this problem, illustrated in the above story of the cow-and correctly grasped by the Prophet’s Companions – explains why this sūrah has been entitled “The Cow”. (See also 5:101 and the corresponding notes 120–123.)

56 See note 53 above. The use of the plural “you” implies the principle of collective, communal responsibility stipulated by Mosaic Law in cases of murder by a person or persons unknown. God’s bringing the guilt to light obviously refers to the Day of Judgment.

57 The phrase iḍribūhu bi-baʿḍihā can be literally translated as “strike him [or “it”] with something of her [or “it”]” – and this possibility has given rise to the fanciful assertion by many commentators that the children of Israel were commanded to strike the corpse of the murdered man with some of the flesh of the sacrificed cow, whereupon he was miraculously restored to life and pointed out his murderer! Neither the Qurʾān, nor any saying of the Prophet, nor even the Bible offers the slightest warrant for this highly imaginative explanation, which must, therefore, be rejected – quite apart from the fact that the pronoun hu in iḍribūhu has a masculine gender, while the noun nafs (here translated as “human being”) is feminine in gender: from which it follows that the imperative iḍribūhu cannot possibly refer to nafs. On the other hand, the verb ḍaraba (lit., “he struck”) is very often used in a figurative or metonymic sense, as, for instance, in the expression ḍaraba fi ’l-arḍ (“he journeyed on earth”), or ḍaraba ’sh-shayʾ bi’sh-shayʾ (“he mixed one thing with another thing”), or ḍaraba mathal (“he coined a similitude” or "propounded a parable” or “gave an illustration”), or ʿalā ḍarb wāḥid (“similarly applied” or “in the same manner”), or ḍuribat ʿalayhim adh-dhillah (“humiliation was imposed on them” or “applied to them”), and so forth. Taking all this into account, I am of the opinion that the imperative iḍribūhu occurring in the above Qurʾanic passage must be translated as “apply it” or “this” (referring, in this context, to the principle of communal responsibility). As for the feminine pronoun ha in baʿḍihā (“some of it"), it must necessarily relate to the nearest preceding feminine noun – that is, to the nafs that has been murdered, or the act of murder itself about which (fīhā) the community disagreed. Thus, the phrase iḍribūhu bi-baʿḍīhā may be suitably rendered as “apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved murder]”: for it is obvious that the principle of communal responsibility for murder by a person or persons unknown can be applied only to some and not to all such cases.

58 Lit., “God gives life to the dead and shows you His messages” (i.e., He shows His will by means of such messages or ordinances). The figurative expression “He gives life to the dead” denotes the saving of lives, and is analogous to that in 5:32. In this context it refers to the prevention of bloodshed and the killing of innocent persons (Manār I, 351), be it through individual acts of revenge, or in result of an erroneous judicial process based on no more than vague suspicion and possibly misleading circumstantial evidence.

59 For an explanation of this allusion, see 7:143. The simile of “the rocks from which streams gush forth” or “from which water issues” serves to illustrate its opposite, namely, dryness and lack of life, and is thus an allusion to the spiritual barrenness with which the Qurʾān charges the children of Israel.

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Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān; Translated and Explained by Muhammad Asad, Dar Al-Andalus Limited, 3 Library Ramp, Gibraltar, Consulted online at “Quran Archive - Texts and Studies on the Quran” on 28 Mar. 2024: http://quran-archive.org/explorer/muhammad-asad/1980?page=35