Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "If the Children of Israel had taken any ordinary cow and slaughtered it, it would have been sufficient for them, but they themselves made it difficult (i.e., by asking unnecessary questions repeatedly). And if they had not said: 'If Allah wills, we will surely be guided' (QUR_2:70), they would not have found it (the required cow)."