Surah Al-Baqara

Al-Baqara, "The Cow", is the second surah of the Quran and its longest, with 286 verses. A Medinan surah, it is 87th in the traditional order of revelation and counted among the first surahs revealed after the Hijra. It contains Ayat al-Kursi (2:255), the longest verse of the Quran (2:282) and many of the rulings that shaped the first Muslim community.

Name and context

The surah is named after the cow that the Children of Israel were ordered to sacrifice, which they did only after much hesitation (2:67–73). The Prophet ﷺ called it and Aal-e-Imran az-zahrawan, "the two radiant ones" (Muslim 804). Its verses came down over several years in Medina: Aisha said that Al-Baqara and An-Nisa were revealed while she was living with the Prophet (al-Bukhari 4993), and Ibn Abbas reported that its verse on usury was the last one revealed (al-Bukhari 4544), one of several reports about the final revelation.

Main themes

• Guidance, and three responses to it: the God-conscious, the deniers and the hypocrites (2:1–20).
• The creation of Adam, made a vicegerent on earth, and Iblis's refusal to bow (2:30–39).
• A long address to the Children of Israel recalling God's favours and their covenant (2:40–123), including the story of the cow.
• Abraham and Ishmael raising the foundations of the Kaaba (2:124–141), then the change of the qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca (2:142–150).
• The laws of the new community: fasting in Ramadan (2:183–187), pilgrimage (2:196–203), fighting and its limits, marriage and divorce (2:221–242), charity, the prohibition of usury (2:275–281) and the writing down of debts (2:282).
• The story of Talut (Saul), Jalut (Goliath) and David (2:246–251).
• The closing verses (2:285–286), a profession of faith and a prayer: "God does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear."

Notable verses

Ayat al-Kursi, "the Throne Verse" (2:255), describes God as the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all, whom neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes; the Prophet called it the greatest verse of the Book of God (Muslim 810). It is followed by "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256).

Virtues

• "Do not turn your houses into graves. Satan flees from the house in which Surat Al-Baqara is recited" (Muslim 780).
• "Recite Surat Al-Baqara, for taking it is a blessing, leaving it is a cause of regret, and the sorcerers cannot withstand it" (Muslim 804).
• Reciting Ayat al-Kursi at bedtime brings God's protection until morning (al-Bukhari 5010).
• Whoever recites the last two verses of the surah at night, "they will suffice him" (al-Bukhari 5009, Muslim 807). With Al-Fatiha, they are one of the two lights given to the Prophet (Muslim 806).

The saying that Al-Baqara is "the summit of the Quran" (at-Tirmidhi 2878) is graded weak by hadith scholars.