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 when We made a covenant with you and raised the Mount above you; “Accept and hold fast to what We give you, and remember what is in it, so that you may attain piety.” 63 And you turned away after that! And had it not been for God's favour upon you and His grace, you would surely have found yourselves among the lost; 64 And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected." 65 So We made this punishment an example to their own and to succeeding generations and a lesson to those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V. 2:2). 66 AND LO! Moses said unto his people: "Behold, God bids you to sacrifice a cow." They said: "Dost thou mock at us?" He answered: "I seek refuge with God against being 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 Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what her colour should be. "[Moses] answered: "Behold; He says it is to be a yellow cow, bright of hue, pleasing to the beholder." 69 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.” 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