Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] - those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve. 62 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." 63 Then after that, you turned away; and were it not for the munificence of Allah and His mercy, you would be among the losers. 64 And indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday). We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected." 65 So We made this incident (of that town) a warning to the surrounding towns (others of their time) and to succeeding generations, and a lesson for the pious. 66 When Moses said to his people, "God commands you to sacrifice a cow," they asked, "Are you mocking us?" "God forbid, how would I be so ignorant," said Moses. 67 They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!" He said, "He says, 'Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but (it is) between the two conditions', so do what you are commanded." 68 They said: "Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us Her colour." He said: "He says: A fawn-coloured heifer, pure and rich in tone, the admiration of beholders!" 69 'Call on your Lord' they said, 'to make known to us which cow she shall be; to us cows look alike. If Allah wills, we shall be guided' 70 He said, 'He says she shall be a cow not broken to plough the earth or to water the tillage, one kept secure, with no blemish on her.' They said, 'Now thou hast brought the truth'; and therefore they sacrificed her, a thing they had scarcely done. 71