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 [Children of Israel], We made a covenant with you and raised the mountain high above you, saying, "Hold fast to what We have given you and bear its contents in mind, so that you may guard yourselves [against evil]." 63 yet after that you turned away, but if not for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy you would have surely been among the losers. 64 And certainly you have known those among you who exceeded the limits of the Sabbath, so We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated. 65 Thus We made their end a warning to the people of their time and succeeding generations, and an admonition for God-fearing people. 66 When Moses said to his people, "God commands you to sacrifice a heifer," they said, "Are you making a mockery of us?" He answered, "God forbid that I should be so ignorant!" 67 They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith, Verily she is a cow neither with calf nor immature; (she is) between the two conditions; so do that which ye are commanded. 68 'Call on your Lord' they said, 'to make known to us what her color shall be.' 'Your Lord says: "The cow is yellow, a rich yellow pleasing to the onlookers."' 69 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 be guided. 70 Moses answered, "Your Lord says, she should be a heifer which has not been yoked to plough the land or water the fields, a heifer free from any blemish." "Now you have told us the truth," they answered, and they sacrificed it, though they would rather not have done it. 71