This sūrah, which is 286 verses long, is the longest sūrah in the Holy Qur’ān. It takes its name from the cow which is mentioned in verses 67-71. The Jews were ordered to slaughter this cow, but they disobeyed, inventing various excuses, and the more they procrastinated, the more difficult Allah made it for them.
This sūrah also deals with the establishment of the Ummah, the Islamic brotherhood of believers, together with the main principles of Islamic law, and lays down ordinances for the structuring of society.
To clearly announce the continuity and essential identity of Islam with all monotheistic religion in the Abrahamic line, the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) originally prayed toward Jerusalem. But because the Jews neither accepted his message, nor spared him their scorning remarks, he wished that Allah would change the qiblah (orientation of prayer) to the old Abrahamic one; the House in: Makkah, built centuries before Jerusalem. Allah responded to His Beloved’s wish and the Kaʿbah became the orientation of believers till the Day of Judgement.
The story of man’s creation is told, and that of the Children of Israel, of the privileges they received and how they refused them. There are references to Moses and Jesus, and their struggle with injustice and cruelty, and their persevering endeavors to establish the true faith.
The Prophet Abraham is mentioned as a most righteous man and leader; he was the progenitor of the Arabs (Ishmael’s line) and the Jews (Israel’s line). Abraham (peace be upon him), aided by his son, Ishmael, built the Kaʿbah and purified it His religion was the universal religion of Islam, nearest to its primordial form.
In this sūrah, issues of prayer, fasting, jihad (struggle for Allah), charity, patience and endurance under cruelty, gambling and wine-drinking, divorce, contract, Pilgrimage, the abolition of usury, and the good treatment of orphans and women are also discussed. With it came the beginning of detailed legislation.
Āyatu’l-Kursī (the Verse of the Pedestal) is also to be found in this sūrah. It is a famous passage, said by the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) to be the greatest verse of the Qur’ān. The sūrah ends with a prayer for the forgiveness of shortcomings.
The period of revelation of this sūrah was during the first and second years A. H. (After Hijra).