According to Taberî, the person who was killed was commanded to be struck with a part of the cow, and Allah revived him so that he could tell who had been killed; this event was mentioned against the polytheists as proof of Allah's power to revive. Scholars have disagreed about which organ of the cow was used for the striking (thigh, space between shoulder blades, bone, etc.); however, Taberî states that there is no definitive evidence in the verse and reports about this matter, that knowing which organ it was does not provide benefit, and that what is important is the reality that Allah revived the dead.

ولا دلالة في الآية ولا خبر تقوم به حجة على أي أبعاضها التي أمر القوم أن يضربوا القتيل به. وجائز أن يكون الذي أمروا أن يضربوه به هو الفخذ، وجائز أن يكون ذلك الذنب وغضروف الكتف وغير ذلك من أبعاضها. ولا يضر الجهل بأي ذلك ضربوا القتيل، ولا ينفع العلم به مع الإقرار بأن القوم قد ضربوا القتيل ببعض البقرة بعد ذبحها، فأحياه الله.

According to Zemahşerî, this expression conveys the intention of making an explanation/statement so that the addressee fully understands what is being said, grasps its meanings, and does not experience any obscurity or confusion. In other words, the purpose here is to ensure that the meaning reaches the addressee clearly and distinctly.

إرادة أن تفهموه وتحيطوا بمعانيه ولا يلتبس عليكم

According to this exegete, the report narrated from Ibn Abbas about searching for and finding the cow for forty years contradicts the apparent meaning of the Qur'an; because the fa particle (fa) expresses immediate succession and it is established in the principles of jurisprudence that carrying out the command requires dismissal from duty. Furthermore, regarding which part of the cow was used to strike the body of the one who was killed, different views have been reported from the tongue (lisan), the right thigh, the tail, the bone near the cartilage, or the space between the two shoulder blades, but it is noted that the Qur'an does not indicate any of these. The text also explains that there is an omission (hazif/mahzûf) in the sentence, that the interpretation is 'faqlunâ idribûhu bibacdihâ fadarabûhu bibacdihâ fahayya' and that this was omitted by the indication of the following verse.

إلا أن هذه الرواية على خلاف ظاهر القرآن لأن الفاء في قوله تعالى : للتعقيب ، وذلك يدل على أن قوله : حصل عقيب قوله تعالى : والإتيان بالمأمور به يدل على الخروج عن العهدة على ما ثبت في أصول الفقه ، وذلك يقتضي التخيير

Kurtubî explains in this text that the particle 'lealle' (it is hoped that) in the expression 'la'allekum ta'kılûn' carries a meaning of expectation/hope directed not toward the Qur'an or Allah, but toward the addressees (people). He also reports that the expression 'enzelnâhu' could mean the transmission of the news of the story of Joseph, that this was revealed as an answer to a question posed by the Jews to the Prophet, and that it contained supplementary information consistent with knowledge in the Torah. In this case, different views from Ibn Isa and Ibn Zeyd are transmitted regarding whether the address is specific to Arabs and non-Arabs (non-Arabs).

وقيل : لعلكم تعقلون أي لتكونوا على رجاء من تدبره فيعود معنى الشك إليهم لا إلى الكتاب ولا إلى الله عز وجل

Ibn Kesîr states that Allah left unspecified which organ of the cow was used for the striking, because if there were any religious or worldly benefit in knowing this, Allah would have clarified it. For this reason, he says that such details that do not come from a sound and infallible source should also be left unspecified. He then transmits that the event of the dead person informing about his killer is a miracle and proof of Allah's power to revive the dead, and evidence that puts an end to enmity among peoples.

وقد كان معينا في نفس الأمر فلو كان في تعيينه لنا فائدة تعود علينا في أمر الدين أو الدنيا لبينه الله تعالى لنا ولكنه أبهمه ولم يجيء من طريق صحيح عن معصوم بيانه فنحن نبهمه كما أبهمه الله

According to Beydâvî, the verse describes the situation of the people who fell into disagreement regarding the person who was killed; by Allah's command, striking the dead with a part of the cow caused the dead to come back to life and reveal the truth. Besides this, the exegete points out through a symbolic reading that the specific characteristics of the cow (virginity, age of femaleness, not being used for work, etc.) indicate cutting off the lustful power that drags the soul to real death, and thereby that the struggle between reason and suspicion is eliminated.

وأن من أراد أن يعرف أعدى عدوه الساعي في إماتته الموت الحقيقي، فطريقه أن يذبح بقرة نفسه التي هي القوة الشهوية حين زال عنها شره الصبا، ولم يلحقها ضعف الكبر