002
(Surah 002)
ٱلْبَقَرَة
Surah Al-Baqarah
Al-Baqarah · Two Hundred and Eighty-Six Verses
The Cow
Compiled for Mike Rashid King
Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.
The Name · Bismillah
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
✦
The Surah · In Six Parts
Al-Baqarah is the longest chapter in the Quran and the first one revealed in Madinah. It is where a persecuted community became a society, and its subjects are the subjects of a society: prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, war, marriage, divorce, debt, orphans, trade, inheritance, and what people owe one another.
It opens on three kinds of reader and spends twenty verses distinguishing them before it teaches anything.
It contains the moment the angels asked a question about a creature not yet made, and were answered by that creature naming what they could not name.
It contains the change of the prayer direction, the verses of fasting, the longest verse in the Quran on recording a debt, and the strongest passage in the Book on interest.
It contains Ayat al-Kursi. Ubayy ibn Ka’b reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked him which verse of the Book of Allah was greatest, and when he answered with Ayat al-Kursi the Prophet struck him on the chest and confirmed it. Reported in Sahih Muslim.
And it ends on two verses that Abu Dharr reported were given from a treasure beneath the Throne, reported by Ahmad in the Musnad. Ibn Abbas reported an angel telling the Prophet that he had been given two lights never given to any prophet before him, the opening of the Book and the closing verses of Al-Baqarah, reported in Sahih Muslim. And Abu Hurayrah reported that the closing prayer of the chapter was answered clause by clause with the words, I have done it, also in Sahih Muslim.
Six parts, in order. The longest chapter, taken in order, with nothing skipped.
Part One Three Kinds of Reader. Twenty verses spent sorting the people about to read the Book, and the proportions are the argument. A bed, a roof and water offered as the case for worship. The angels' question, and four words in answer. The Cow. The sea parted, the calf made, and a community that asked for detail until the detail became the burden. The chapter takes its name from an animal and from the questions asked about it. The Direction You Face. Ibrahim raising the foundations of the House, the prayer he made for a community after him, and the change of the qiblah, with the objection answered before it was raised. Seek Help Through Patience and Prayer. Fear, hunger and loss named in advance as the test. The verses of fasting. What righteousness actually consists of. And the man whose speech about this life is impressive. Enter Into Peace Entirely. Marriage, divorce, orphans, war and spending, legislated for a community that had just become one. And the middle prayer, singled out and guarded. The Greatest Verse. Ayat al-Kursi. No compulsion in religion. The strongest passage in the Book on interest, the longest verse in the Quran on recording a debt, and the two closing verses.Verses 1 to 48
Verses 49 to 103
Verses 104 to 152
Verses 153 to 207
Verses 208 to 252
Verses 253 to 286
آمِين
Prepared with discipline · Ameen