And (remember) when Moosa said to his people, “Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow”; they said, “Are you making fun of us?” He answered, “Allah forbid that I should be of the ignorant!”

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.”

They said, “Pray to your Lord that He may reveal its colour to us”; answered Moosa, “Indeed He says it is a yellow cow, of bright colour, pleasing to the beholders.”

They said, “Pray to your Lord that He may clearly describe the cow to us, we are really in a doubt as to which cow it is; and if Allah wills, we will attain guidance.”

Said Moosa, “He says, ‘She is a cow not made to work, neither ploughing the soil nor watering the fields; flawless and spotless’; they said, “You have now conveyed the proper fact”; so they sacrificed it, but seemed not to be sacrificing it (with sincerity).