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 (O Children of Israel, remember) when We took your covenant and We raised above you the Mount (saying): "Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that which is therein so that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V. 2:2). 63 But even after that you forsook the Covenant: nevertheless Allah did not withhold His grace and mercy from you; otherwise you would have been utterly ruined long before this. 64 And you know well the story of those among you who broke Sabbath. We said to them, "Be apes despised and hated by all. 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 And recall what time Musa said unto his people: verily Allah commandeth you that ye slaughter a cow. They said: makest thou a jest of us? He said: I take refuge with Allah that I should be of the ignorant. 67 They said: Call on your Lord for our sake to make it plain to us what she is. Musa said: He says, Surely she is a cow neither advanced in age nor too young, of middle age between that (and this); do therefore 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 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." 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