←Prev   Ayah al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:70   Next→ 

Popular and/or Featured Works
Muhammad Asad   
Said' they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like, for to us all cows resemble one another; and then, if God so wills, we shall truly be guided aright!"
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
Again they said, “Call upon your Lord so that He may make clear to us which cow, for all cows look the same to us. Then, Allah willing, we will be guided ˹to the right one˺.”
Safi Kaskas   
They said, "Pray to your Lord for us, to clarify which one she is. The heifers look alike to us. If God wills, we will be guided."

Listen: 
Did you notice?

 You can SEARCH IslamAwakened: 

Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا وَإِنَّا إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَمُهْتَدُون
Transliteration (2021)   
qālū ud'ʿu lanā rabbaka yubayyin lanā mā hiya inna l-baqara tashābaha ʿalaynā wa-innā in shāa l-lahu lamuh'tadūn
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
They said, "Pray for us (to) your Lord to make clear to us what it (is). Indeed, [the] cows look alike to us. And indeed we, if wills Allah, (will) surely be those who are guided."

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
Said' they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like, for to us all cows resemble one another; and then, if God so wills, we shall truly be guided aright!"
M. M. Pickthall   
They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. Lo! cows are much alike to us; and Lo! if Allah wills, we may be led aright
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
They said: "Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us what she is: To us are all heifers alike: We wish indeed for guidance, if Allah wills."
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
Again they said, “Call upon your Lord so that He may make clear to us which cow, for all cows look the same to us. Then, Allah willing, we will be guided ˹to the right one˺.”
Safi Kaskas   
They said, "Pray to your Lord for us, to clarify which one she is. The heifers look alike to us. If God wills, we will be guided."
Wahiduddin Khan   
They said, Ask your Lord to make it clear to us the exact type of heifer she should be, for to us all heifers look alike. If God wills, we shall be rightly guided
Shakir   
They said: Call on your Lord for our sake to make it plain to us what she is, for surely to us the cows are all alike, and if Allah please we shall surely be guided aright
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
They said: Call to thy Lord for us to make manifest to us what she is. Truly, cows resembled one another to us, and, truly, if God willed we would be ones who are truly guided.
T.B.Irving   
They said: "Appeal to your Lord for us, to explain to us what she is like. Cows seem all alike to us and we should be guided properly, if God so wishes."
Abdul Hye   
They said: “Call upon your Lord for us to make clear to us what it is. Surely, the cows are all alike to us. And surely, if Allah wills, we shall be guided.”
The Study Quran   
They said, “Pray for us to your Lord, that He may clarify for us what she is. Cows are much alike to us, and if God will we will surely be guided.
Dr. Kamal Omar   
They said: “Call upon your Nourisher-Sustainer for us to make plain to us what she is: certainly this particular cow has become undefined for us. And certainly, if Allah wished, we shall soon be those who find the clue.”
Farook Malik   
Again they said: "Request your Lord to clarify for us the exact type of cow she should be, for to us all cows look alike; if Allah wills, we shall be rightly guided."
Talal A. Itani (new translation)   
They said, 'Call upon your Lord to show us which one; the heifers look alike to us; and God willing, we will be guided.'
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
They said, "Invoke your Lord for us that He make evident to us what she is; surely the cows to us are similar to each other; and surely in case Allah so decides, we will indeed be rightly-guided."
Muhammad Sarwar   
They said, "We are confused about the cow, for to us all cows look alike. Ask your Lord to tell us exactly what the cow looks like, so that God willing, we shall have the right description."
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
They said, .Pray for us to your Lord that He makes it clear to us of what sort should she be, for this cow has made us confused and, if Allah wills, We shall certainly take the right course
Shabbir Ahmed   
They said, "Pray for us unto your Lord that He make it clear to us what exactly she is. For cows are much alike to us; and if Allah wills, we may be led aright."
Dr. Munir Munshey   
They said, "Call your Lord (again) for us to ascertain (exactly) which (cow) is it? In fact, all cows look alike to us. If Allah wills, we would of course be guided aright (and would find the right cow)."
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
They said: "Pray to your Lord on our behalf to explain to us what it is: To us all calves (heifers) are alike: We truly want guidance, if Allah wills."
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is. Indeed, [all] cows look alike to us. And indeed we, if Allah wills, will be guided."
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
They said: "Call upon your Lord for us that He may clarify which one it is, for the heifers all look alike to us and we will, God willing, be guided."
Abdel Haleem   
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.’
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
They said supplicate for us unto thy Lord that He make manifest unto us whatever she should be, for verily the cow hath become dubious unto us and verily we, if God will, shall beguided
Ahmed Ali   
"Call on your Lord," they said, "to name its variety, as cows be all alike to us. If God wills we shall be guided aright."
Aisha Bewley   
They said, ´Ask your Lord to make it clear to us what it should be like. Cows are all much the same to us. Then, if Allah wills, we will be guided.´
Ali Ünal   
They (still unwilling to carry out the order) replied: "Pray for us to your Lord that He make clear to us what it should be like; cows are much alike to us; and if God wills, we will then be guided (to find the precise type of cow we are commanded to sacrifice, and sacrifice it.)"
Ali Quli Qara'i   
They said, ‘Invoke your Lord for us, that He may clarify for us what she may be. Indeed all cows are much alike to us, and, if Allah wishes, we will surely be guided.’
Hamid S. Aziz   
Again they said, "Pray to your Lord to show us what she is to be; for cows appear the same to us; then we, if Allah will, shall be guided."
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
They said: call on your Master on our behalf to clarify for us which one, because all cows look alike to us, and God willing we will be guided
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
They said, “Ask your Lord on our behalf to make clear to us which kind, to us all heifers are alike. We indeed wish for guidance, if God wills.
Musharraf Hussain   
They again repeated: “Ask your Lord to spell out for us what she looks like, as all cows look similar to us; then, if Allah wills, we shall be guided”.
Maududi   
Again they said, "Pray your Lord to specify for us the kind of cow that is required; for cows (of this type) look alike to us. We shall then find her, if God so wills."
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
They said: "Call upon your Lord for us that He may clarify which one it is, for the heifers all look alike to us and we will, God willing, be guided."
Mohammad Shafi   
They said, "Invoke, for us, your Lord to make clear to us what she is to be like; for, all cows look alike to us! And now, Allah willing, we shall indeed be guided!"

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
They said, "Pray to Your Lord that He explain clearly to us, what kind of cow is that. Certainly, we have become dubious about cows, and if Allah wills, we shall get the guidance.
Rashad Khalifa   
They said, "Call upon your Lord to show us which one. The heifers look alike to us and, GOD willing, we will be guided."
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
'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.
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
They said: Call on thy Lord for our sake to make it clear to us what she is, for surely to us the cows are all alike, and if Allah please we shall surely be guided aright
Muhammad Ahmed - Samira   
They said: "Call for us your Lord He clarifies to us what it is, that the cows looked alike/resembled (each other) , on (to) us and that we are if God willed/wanted guided (E)."
Bijan Moeinian   
They [continued their jokes and] said: “Ask <u>your</u> Lord to be more specific as there are so many cows with these characteristics! then <u>God willing</u>, we will find it.”
Faridul Haque   
They said, "Pray to your Lord that He may clearly describe the cow to us, we are really in a doubt as to which cow it is; and if Allah wills, we will attain guidance."
Sher Ali   
They said, `Pray for us to thy Lord that HE make plain to us what she is, for all such cows appear to us alike; and if ALLAH please, we shall indeed be guided aright,
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
(This time) they said: ‘Pray for us to your Lord that He may make clear to us what exact type of cow it is (because) the cow has become doubtful to us, and if Allah so wills, we shall indeed be guided aright.
Amatul Rahman Omar   
They said, `Pray for us to your Lord to make clear to us what it (- the cow in question) is (definitely like); for (all such) cows are much alike to us, and we shall indeed, if Allah will, be guided to the right goal.
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
They said, "Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us what it is. Verily to us all cows are alike, And surely, if Allah wills, we will be guided."

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
They said, 'Pray to thy Lord for us, that He make clear to us what she may be; cows are much alike to us; and, if God will, we shall then be guided.
George Sale   
They said, pray for us unto thy Lord, that He would further shew us what cow it is, for several cows with us are like one another, and we, if God please, will be directed
Edward Henry Palmer   
Again they said, 'Pray thy Lord to show us what she is to be; for cows appear the same to us; then we, if God will, shall be guided.
John Medows Rodwell   
They said, "Call on they Lord for us that He would make plain to us what cow it is - for to us are cows alike, - and verily, if God please, we shall be guided rightly:"
N J Dawood (2014)   
‘Call on your Lord,‘ they said, ‘to make known to us the exact type of cow she shall be; for to us cows look all alike. If God wills we shall be rightly guided.‘

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
They said, “Ask for us for your Lord to explain exactly which one it is. Cows all look alike to us. We want guidance if Allah wills.”
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
They said: "Appeal to your Lord for us, to explain to us what she is like. Cows seem all alike to us and we should be guided properly, if Allah (God) so wishes."
Sayyid Qutb   
They said, 'Pray on our behalf to your Lord to make plain to us of what exact type she should be, for to us cows are much alike. We shall, God willing, be guided aright.'
Ahmed Hulusi   
(Further insisting) they said, “Turn to your Rabb to make clear to us exactly the kind of cow He wants us to slaughter; for many cows fit this description? Allah willing, we will find the right cow...”
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
They said:'Ask your Lord for us to make it clear to us what kind of cow must it be, for surely to us the cows are all alike, and, if Allah wills, we shall surely be guided aright.'
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim   
Again they said to Mussa: "Beseech Allah, your Creator, on our behalf to specify the characteristic features of the cow since to us all cows are alike, and Allah willing we will be able to find the cow meeting the said features"
Mir Aneesuddin   
They said, "Call on your Fosterer on our behalf to make clear to us, what is it (exactly), cows are certainly alike to us, and if Allah wills, we shall certainly be guided."
The Ascendant Qur‘an, Muhammad H. al-‘Asi   
Said they, “Pray on our behalf unto your Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to be like, for to us all cows resemble one another; and then, if Allah so wills, we shall truly be guided aright!

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
They said: "Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us what she is: To us are all heifers alike: We wish indeed for guidance, if God wills."
OLD Literal Word for Word   
They said, "Pray for us (to) your Lord to make clear to us what it (is). Indeed, [the] cows look alike to us. And indeed we, if wills Allah, (will) surely be those who ar