Page 112 - The Prophet Moses (pbuh)

THE PROPHET MOSES (PBUH)

were greed and ungratefulness. As sustenance for the Children of Israel, at
one point, Allah miraculously prepared food for them. Some people among
the Children of Israel were very unwise to display an attitude incompatible
with respect despite the fact that this food, referred to as "manna and
quails" in the Qur'an,was a blessing from Allah's Sight:
And We shaded you with clouds and sent down manna and quails
to you: "Eat of the good things We have provided for you." They did
not wrong Us; rather it was themselves they were wronging. (Surat
al-Baqara: 57)
And when you said, "Moses, we will not put up with just one kind of
food so ask your Lord to supply to us some of what the earth pro-
duces—its green vegetables, cucumbers, grains, lentils and onions,"
he said, "Do you want to replace what is better with what is inferi-
or? Go back to Egypt, then you will have what you are asking for..."
(Surat al-Baqara: 61)
This was yet another clear sign of the great ingratitude of some people
among the Children of Israel.

The Story of Cow

Some people of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) clearly at no point seem to
have had a grasp of true faith.
In an attempt to tailor the righteous Divine religion to their own de-
sires and to their ancient superstitious religious practices, they, in their own
way, made deliberate distortions to it. In total disregard for the easy and
clear nature of the religion, they, mindlesslyrendered it complicated and dif-
ficult to practice. They were inclined to worship idols rather than Allah, and
altered the religion into a series of rituals.
Their tendency of some people among the Children of Israel to need-
lessly complicate the religion is best explained in a story related in the Surat
al-Baqara. In this story, Allah commands the Children of Israel to sacrifice a
cow. The command, conveyed by the Prophet Moses (pbuh) to his tribe, is
a very simple one. However, deluded to believe that religion should be
complicated, some people among the Children of Israel tried to compli-

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