1. Ayahs 63 – 73

2. Recap Learned about Mann and Salwa Not making food an obsession or central goal of life Every tribe had its own place of drinking water (learned organization and discipline in a community) Learned the remarkable traits of Musa A.S. as a leader

3. Outline Continuing on with the story of Bani Israel (still in the desert) Musa A.S. given the Torah Concept of the Sabbath Story of the Cow (Baqarah) Asking too many questions

4. And [recall] when We took your covenant, [O Children of Israel, to abide by the Torah] and We raised over you the mount, [saying], "Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that perhaps you may become righteous (develop taqwa)."

5. Roots Waaw Thaa Qaaf – a rope with which a prisoner is tied; in this context it means a contract in which both parties bind each other Meethaaq: 1.a contract that is formal 2.lays responsibility upon the person making the contract 3.made firm by swearing an oath

6. Roots Toor – 1. in Syriac language means a mountain with dense, lush green trees, therefore its not rocky 2. Proper name of Mount Sinai Allah SWT physically lifted the mountain over their heads; suspended over their heads Its as if…are you going to believe now or not? Because they continually denied even after receiving so many blessings

7. Roots Qaaf Waaw Yaa – 1. strength that is physical; force 2. intangible strength: firm resolution; determination Dhaal Kaaf Raa – implementing the book; doing the actions means that you remember the commands The entire book should be recited and followed; do this so you attain Taqwa (develop fear and hope in Allah)

8. Hold it with Strength Take it with Determinat ion Implement its Teachings Follow its Commands Continue to Refer back to it

9. Taqwa Consciousness & Awareness of Allah Become Conscious of Your Deeds Abstinence from Sins from Difficulties in this world from Difficulties of Akhirah

10. Taqwa Hold On to the Book GuidanceIbadah

12. AYAH 64 Then you turned away after that. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have been among the losers.

13. Roots Waaw Laam Yaa – to turn away physically from something after making the promise; couldn’t see the commands Faa Daawd Laam – used for something extra (what you don’t necessarily deserve); it’s a favour Refers to the Bani Israel not being punished immediately

14. When we are in trouble, we make promises with Allah, Once we are out of it, we forget The respite, the delay is a special mercy from Allah. Its Allah’s Fadl that we are here in a gathering of knowledge Our life should be spent with this book  لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

15. Analyze Yourself! With what level of Quwa (strength) am I holding on to the Qu’ran? - No reading, only know it’s the truth – Reading only – Reading with Tajweed – Reading and Understanding – Reading, Understanding, Implementing – Reading, Understanding, Implementing and Teaching (forwarding the message to others)

16. And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the Sabbath, and We said to them, "Be apes, despised."

17. Roots Seen Baa Taa – to cut something; Sabth: used for Saturday; this was a holy day for the Bani Israel. They would cut themselves off from all types of work and do only ibaadah (worship). But they wanted to work everyday Khaa Seen Hamza – those who are humiliated and kicked out; Allah SWT disfigured their faces

18. SABBATHِ Holy DayNo Work Entire Day of Ibadah Forbidden to Fish

19. We shouldn’t prefer this World over Hereafter We should not leave our Faraidh for some more work hours They changed the commands of Allah, and Allah changed their appearance We should trust Allah, that He will provide us

20. Were literally turned into apes, and they knew they had been (mentally they were humans)

21. Do not do what the Jews did that they made the things that Allah made haram halal upon themselves through trickery, deceit.

22. Sabbath Elevator

24. And We made it a deterrent punishment for those who were present and those who succeeded [them] and a lesson for those who fear Allah.

25. Roots Noon Kaaf Laam – neck collar; purpose is to restrain; it’s a warning punishment so we don’t return to the action again; a punishment that’s severe and also becomes an example for others as well Baina Yadaaiha – 1. the people of the nearby cities 2. the rest of the people who didn’t turn into apes

26. نَكَالاً For Everyone مَوْعِظَةً For Muttaqeen

27. Trickery & Deceit is forbidden If someone disobeys Allah through his actions but in his speech he says that he is obeying Allah, he is misguided Intelligent is the one who takes the word of Allah as it is and does not misinterpret it. Allah can make anyone a deterrent Example for Others They changed Allah’s Commands, Allah changed their faces

28. 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."

29. RRoots Baa Qaaf Raaw – lit. to cut something open; cows that are used for plowing Context: The Bani Israel were told to slaughter any cow but they asked many questions. Why were they told to slaughter a cow? 1. to rid them of the love of the cow they had in their hearts (golden calf) 2. a person from among the Bani Israel was killed and didn’t know who the culprit was

30. Context Response of the Bani Israel: are you serious? Are you messing with us? Response of Musa A.S. : I seek refuge from the Jahileen – Person who does not know – Person has incorrect knowledge, but he/she thinks its true – Person doesn’t act on the knowledge

31. True knowledge is Action When any command comes, we should submit We should honor the commands of Allah, we should take them seriously Beautiful Response of Musa, He didn’t argue back rather he sought refuge in Allah

32. 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 young, but median between that,' so do what you are commanded."

33. Roots Faa Raaw Daawd – cutting something that is firm; cutting/reducing the meat/flesh; used for a cow that has crossed its youth, therefore, not much meat Baa Kaaf Raaw – for female cows; hasn’t given birth yet Aain Waw Noon – has given birth but not too old

34. Questioning starts… How old should this cow be? What should the colour be? What type should it be (what kind)

35. Delaying Tactics are very obvious An arrogant & carefree attitude towards Messenger, does not make him/his ways (sunnah) less important They made things difficult upon themselves, so Allah made it difficult upon them.

36. 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.' "

37. 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."

38. Do not make excuses, do not argue – if Allah has said so, then do it. sami’naa wa ata’naa. A person should not delay in doing good Importance of Insha’Allah No Blames – No Excuses – Show results [M AlShareef]

39. He said, "He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to plough the earth nor to irrigate the field, one free from fault with no spot upon her.' " They said, "Now you have come with the truth." So they slaughtered her, but they could hardly do it.

40. Roots Dhaal Laam Laam – an animal that has been trained to do work; a wild cow Thaa Waw Raaw – to stir something; for land, it means to dig the eart Seen Laam Meem – free from any defect; free from all faults Waaw Sheen Yaa – something that is contrasted to the thing its on; for animals, its used for spots; cow should be one colour

41. Consequence… They said “now you have made the truth clear”…so before it wasn’t? Now we know that you’re not joking with us about slaughtering…but would a Prophet of Allah ever joke about something like this? Kaaf Waw Daal – at the verge of happening; they almost didn’t slaughter it

42. QuestionRelevant Helps Improve Action Irrelevant Wastes Time

43. Do not ask questions that would make the simple Deen difficult. Too many questions are not liked Allah dislikes for you three things: 1) Qeel wa Qaal [He said, she said] 2) Wasting wealth 3) Asking too many questions.

44. Lessons Obey the commands of Allah right away Don’t take the commands of Allah lightly Bani Israel at the time of the Prophet SAW would ask him a lot of random questions to make sure he was a prophet, so they are being reminded Making fun of people is a sign of ignorance

45. And [recall] when you slew a man and disputed over it, but Allah was to bring out that which you were concealing.

46. Roots Daal Raaw Hamza – to push something away; you were pushing something onto one another  hurling the blame on each other because the murderer was not being found

47. So, We said, "Strike the slain man with part of it." Thus does Allah bring the dead to life, and He shows you His signs that you might reason.

48. Context They were told, hit the dead man with some part of the cow. As a result, the man came to life and told them who the killer was and then died again Another miracle for them  Allah can bring back the dead to life Truth will always be exposed

49. Bringing it all back… Keeping our covenant with Allah SWT by holding on to the Qu’ran Your focus will become following the Qu’ran and sunnah and this will keep you away from excessive questioning The beauty of a person’s Islam is that he/she leaves what does not concern him/her (Bukhari)

50. REFLECTIONS