The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

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The Quran 2: 69
but in between, so do as you are commanded.’ 69 They said, ‘Call on
your Lord for us, to show us what colour it should be.’ He answered,
‘God says it should be a bright yellow cow, pleasing to the eye.’
70 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 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 Then, when you [Israelites] killed someone and
started to blame one another – although God was to bring what you
had concealed to light – 73 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 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 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 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 Do they not know that
God is well aware of what they conceal and what they reveal? 78 Some
of them are uneducated, and know the Scripture only through wishful
thinking. They rely on guesswork. 79 So woe to those who write
something down with their own hands and then claim, ‘This is from
God,’ in order to make some small gain. Woe to them for what their
hands have written! Woe to them for all that they have earned!
80 They say, ‘The Fire will only touch us for a few days.’ Say to them,
‘Have you received a promise from God – for God never breaks His
promise – or are you saying things about Him of which you have no
real knowledge?’ 81 Truly those who do evil and are surrounded by
their sins will be the inhabitants of the Fire, there to remain, 82 while
those who believe and do good deeds will be the inhabitants of the
Garden, there to remain.
83 Remember when We took a pledge from the Children of Israel:
‘Worship none but God; be good to your parents and kinsfolk, to