2. Al-Baqara

And when you said �Moses we will not endure one sort of food; pray to your Lord for us that He may bring forth for us of what the earth pro- duces-green herbs cucumbers garlic lentils onions�; He said �Would you exchange what is better with what is lowlierḍ� �Go down to a city you shall have what you demanded�; And abasement and wretchedness were cast upon them and they incurred God's wrath; that was because they used to disbe- lieve the signs of God and slay prophets without right; that was because they disobeyed and they were transgressors. They were not content with the goodness of [God] choosing for them nor were they patient in His managing what He desired for them in basic food and clothing. In their confusion they fell back to their customary behavior of eating impure food and finding contentment in a lower state so He returned them to the suffering of ignominy muqāsāt al-hawān and bound them to perpetual disappointment idāmat al-khidhlān. They went so far as to shed the blood of prophets and violated the sanctity of [God's] command with their lack of shame. They did not repent so He punished them for their ugly acts qabīḥ fiʿālihim and returned them to what He had chosen for their souls in their contemptible states khasāÌis aḥwālihim. When sincere counsel naṣīḥa did not succeed with them retribution and humiliation faḌīḥa overtook them. It is said that the children of Israel were divided in their aspirations and scattered in their objectives. They were not content to have just one food for themselves nor were they satisfied with one object of worship in their religion; [this was true] to the point that they said to Moses ���� ������ when they saw people worshiping idols �O Moses make for us a god just as they have gods� [7:138]. This is the attribute of the masters of separation arbāb al-tafriqa. Patience with the One al-wāḥid is hard. God most high said �And when you mention the Lord alone waḥdahu in the QurÌān they turn their backs in aversion� [17:46].

Surely those who believe and those of the Jews and the Christians and the Sabaeans whoever believes in God and the Last Day and performs righteous deeds-their wage is with their Lord and no fear shall befall them neither shall they grieve. The diversity of [religious] paths in spite of the unity of the source does not prevent a goodly acceptance [for all]. For anyone who affirms the Real ������ in His signs and believes in what He has said concerning His truth and attributes the dissimilarity of [religious] laws and diversity that occurs in [the] name[s] [of religion] is not a problem in terms of who merits [God's] good pleasure. Because of that He said �Surely those who believe and those of the Jews.� Then He said �whoever believes� meaning if they fear [God] in [their] different ways of knowing [Him] all of them will have a beautiful place of return and an ample reward. The believer muÌmin is anyone in the protection amān of the Real ������. For anyone who is in His protection it is fitting that no fear shall befall them neither shall they grieve.

And when We made a covenant for you and We raised above you the mount �Take forcefully what We have given you and remember what is in it so that you might preserve yourselves.� Then you turned away thereafter and but for God's bounty and His mercy toward you you would have been among the losers. He ������ made a covenant with all responsible beings and some responded willingly because He made Himself known to them and they declared His unity fa-waḥḥadūhu. Other people responded unwill- ingly because He veiled them so they did not want to recognize Him fa-jaḥadūhu. There is no proof more powerful than the eyewitnessing of the mount Ṭūr He raised above them which was a mountain jabal but they lacked the light of inner sight baṣīra and so the witnessing of physical vision baṣar did not benefit them. Then you turned away thereafter that is you returned to disobedience after witnessing the signs with your own eyes. If not for His decree in grant- ing respite and His forbearance through acts of grace He would punish you without delay and cause a great misfortune to descend upon you and your deeds would be entirely a loss.

And verily you know that there were those among you who transgressed the Sabbath and We said to them �Be apes despised!� The metamorphosis maskh of this community occurred in their hearts. When [the children of Israel] abandoned [God's] command and disdained the laws that were imposed on them the punishments came quickly in their disgrace metamorphosis and in the other things which are included in the [QurÌānic text]. Because of their violation of the covenant and rejection of the limit [imposed by God] the community was punished through the metamorphosis of their hearts and the alteration of their states. [God] most high said �And We shall confound their hearts and their eyes; just as they did not believe the first time� [6:110]. The punishments of hearts are far worse than the punishments of the bodily selves. About this they have recited: O you who ask me �How have you been after himḍ� I suffered that which tormented me while it made him happy. I kept strutting about in our togetherness and felt safe from the ruses of time. But the turning away from me went on until not a bit of what I had experienced remained.

And We made it an exemplary punishment for all the former times and for the latter and an admonition to those who fear. Thus the states of those who were tried by abandonment muniya bi-l- hijrān and branded with disappointment wusima bi-l-khidhlān became a lesson-to look at what happened to them is to choke on grief. The one who is reduced to misery after having had status becomes an object of scorn before every ignoble person. This is what remains for those who have been brought low after [experiencing] the wrath of kings and [being] shunned by chieftains: The youths surrounded and ganged up on me. From behind they called the dogs on me.

And When Moses said to his people, “God commands you to sacrifice a cow.” This story of the cow of the Children of Israel in these verses and the mention of its attributes is one of the subtle points of wisdom and exalted pearls of the Qur'an. The Qur'an itself is the all-encom- passing ocean. Many are the kingly pearls and night-brightening gems found in the ocean's depths. You should read everything that the Exalted Lord said about the cow of the Children of Israel as an allusion to your own attributes. Then you will reach the station of worthiness to dive into this ocean and He will give you access to its deposited wonders and unseen pearls. Altogether the attributes that He clarified in these verses are three: first, neither old nor virgin [2:68]; second, golden, bright her color [2:69]; third, not abased to plow the earth [2:71]. First, neither old nor virgin. He says it should not be broken down and old, nor newly born and immature. In other words, the feet of these chevaliers will go straight in the circle of the Tariqah when the intoxication and greediness of youth no longer veil them, and when the weakness of old age does not hinder them. Do you not see that revelation reached MuṣṬafā when he was not a newly born youngster, nor had his days reached the worst state of life [16:70]? If there had been a state more complete, revelation would have reached him at its time. Whenever desire for God pairs itself with the intoxication of youth, there is fear of the high- waymen. It is rare that a youngster in his new desire remains secure from the highwaymen. If it does happen in the empire, it seldom does. This is why MuṣṬafā said, “Your Lord marvels at a young man who has no youthful fervor.” The second attribute is golden, bright her color, gladdening the gazers. When the chevaliers step into the field of the Tariqah in the state of the perfection of mortal nature and stand straight in it, the Unity will bring them into the color of love, and the color of love is colorlessness. It will wash them of anything mixed with colors-We shall strip away all the rancor that is in their breasts [7:43].

And when Moses said to his people �God commands you to sacrifice a cow.� It was obligatory for them to execute the command directly but they wasted time with external appearances imagining that they had the leisure to linger in their digression from the obligation of the covenant. So their misery was doubled and the ignominy they had been warned about overtook them. When He said: �She is a cow neither old nor virgin middling between the two... � [2:68] it meant she would be neither young nor aged but some- where between the two. The allusion is to the fact that one who is suited for this path Ṭarīqa is one who is neither attracted by the impetuosity of youth and its drunkenness nor paralyzed by the weakness and frailty of old age. Rather he is alert; he has regained consciousness from his drunkenness yet retains some of the vigor of his youth.

�... a golden cow bright in color gladdening to beholders.� They said �Pray to your Lord for us that He make clear to us what she may be; the cows are all alike to us; and if God wills we shall then be guided.� Just as her [bright] color would have been perceived by the eyes the allu- sion here is to those of the people of the story ahl al-qiṣṣa whose witnessing overwhelms the hearts [of others] because of that which is clothed with the garment of invincibility jabarūt and made to rise from the witness of the unseen. One notices that someone like this is oblivious to human states and is overtaken by the remembrance of the Real. Thus in the transmitted tradition: The friends of God are those who when they are seen God is remembered.

�... a golden cow bright in color gladdening to beholders.� They said �Pray to your Lord for us that He make clear to us what she may be; the cows are all alike to us; and if God wills we shall then be guided.� Just as her [bright] color would have been perceived by the eyes the allu- sion here is to those of the people of the story ahl al-qiṣṣa whose witnessing overwhelms the hearts [of others] because of that which is clothed with the garment of invincibility jabarūt and made to rise from the witness of the unseen. One notices that someone like this is oblivious to human states and is overtaken by the remembrance of the Real. Thus in the transmitted tradition: The friends of God are those who when they are seen God is remembered.