According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website):This method is Ibtila, a Quranic term that means changing the conditions of a person at the order of God so that his talents can burgeon and he gets strengthened on the path of serving God.
When we want to guide a person to an educational destination, we should use means to see how ready he is and accordingly pave the way for him to move toward that destination. This method is called Ibtila.
Ibtila is not just for testing someone to recognize his weaknesses and strengths but it also helps to purify and strengthen him on the path of growth.
Prophet Moses (AS) put Bani Isra’il in such conditions in order to purify their souls.
A person from Bani Isra’il was killed. No one knew who the murderer was. Then there were conflicts among different tribes of Bani Isra’il over the issue, each attributing the murder to another. Ultimately, they went to Moses (AS) for judgment.
“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.” (Verse 67 of Surah Al-Baqarah)
The people started to make various excuses and asking irrelevant questions such as how should this cow be, what color should it be, should it be fat or thin, etc.
Because Bani Isra’il had settled in Egypt for long years, they had adopted some beliefs of Egyptians, including the belief that cows are sacred.
So the order to sacrifice a cow was an Ibtila, meant to help them realize that cows are not sacred.
iqna
