Al-Baqarah

It is the longest chapter in the Quran and was revealed over a long period. It is a Mediniite Surah dealing with the Hypocrite (Munaafiqoon) and injunctions pertaining to various matters.

It includes many verses which have virtues like the first four and last three verses and the special Verse of the Throne (Aayatul Kursi). Muhammad is reported to have said,

“Do not turn your houses into graves. Verily, Satan does not enter the house where Surat Al-Baqarah is recited.” [Muslim, Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmed]

Ad-Darimi also recorded that Ash-Sha`bi said that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "Whoever recites ten Ayat from Surat Al-Baqarah in a night, then Satan will not enter his house that night. (These ten Ayat are) four from the beginning, Ayat Al-Kursi (255), the following two Ayat (256-257) and the last three Ayat.

The surah addresses a wide variety of topics, including substantial amounts of law, and retells stories of Adam, Ibrahim and Musa. A major theme is guidance: urging the pagans (Al-Mushrikeen) and the Jews of Medina to embrace Islam, and warning them and the hypocrites (Munafiqun) of the fate God had visited in the past on those who failed to heed his call.[7]

The stories in this chapter are told to help the reader understand the theological conception of truth in Islam.[8]

Surah Baqarah also mentions three qualities of the God-fearing (Al-Muttaqin), that is those who possess Taqwa: 1) They believe in the unseen. Faith (Imaan) is believing and accepting something one cannot see i.e. trusting in Muhammad and the Quran. It is believing everything which is part of Imaan, the Angels, destiny etc. 2) They establish Prayer (Salah). The major sign of a person with Taqwa is they perform Prayer/Salaah. “Establishing” Salaah is fulfilling its requirements, internally with feelings in the heart, and externally fulfilling its requirements (Wudu, compulsory elements (Fard), Sunnahs, reciting with tajwid etc.) and feeling a connection with Allah. In a tradition or hadith, Muhammad said, “Prayer is the Mi’raaj of a Mu’min” and in Mi’raaj he spoke to Allah. (In the Surah preceding Surah Al Baqarah, i.e. Surah Fatiha Muslims are believed to have a dialogue with Allah). 3) They spend from what Allah has given them, as this is a form of worship too- namely, considered a financial worship. Spending in the way of God (i.e. giving Sadaqah), is to spend from what Muslims believe that Allah Himself gave them. Sadaqah comes from “Sidq” which means “True” as it shows the truth of a Muslim's Imaan (faith).

Verses 8-20 in Surah Al Baqarah refer to the hypocrites (Munafiqun). In the Meccan phase of Muhammad, there existed two groups, the Believers and the Mushrikeen (non-believers). However, after Hijrah (Emigration to Medina) Muhammad had to deal with the opposition of those who openly accepted Islam while secretly plotting against Muslims. Their leader was Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy who was about to be crowned king before the arrival of Muhammad in Medina. The hypocrites benefitted from the Muslims while not losing their association with the disbelievers. They were considered disloyal to either parties and inclined towards those who benefited them the most in the worldly sense

The surah also sheds light on the concept of Nifaq, which is opposite of sincerity. It is of two types:

1) Nifaq in belief: outwardly showing belief however in reality there is no belief 2) Nifaq in practice: where people believe however they act like hypocrites. The signs of a hypocrite are lying, breaking promises, not keeping an amaanah or trust and when they argue they curse or use bad language.

According to a prominent scholar, Kamaluddin Ahmed, Nifaq is something that is within the heart, hence no one knows of its existence except Allah. Therefore, no one can be called a hypocrite or Munaafiq through one's own self-assessment. This would amount to making Takfeer i.e. calling someone a Kafir (non-believer) since Nifaq (hypocrisy) in belief is kufr.

Condemnation of alcoholic beverages and gambling is also first found in the chapter,[9] and it is one of only four chapters in the Quran to refer to Christians as Nazarenes instead of the more frequent terms People of the Book or "Helpers of Christ."[10]

Al-Baqarah contains several verses dealing with the subject of warfare. Verses 2:190-194 are quoted on the nature of battle in Islam.

The surah includes a few Islamic rules related to varying subjects, such as: prayers, fasting, striving on the path of God, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the change of the direction of prayer (Qiblah) from Jerusalem to Mecca, marriage and divorce, commerce, debt, and a great many of the ordinances concerning interest or usury.[7]

Surat al-Baqarah is arranged in ring composition structure. The structure of the surah has been commented on by Dr. Raymond Farrin, Arabic professor at the American University of Kuwait. He notes in his book Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation[12] that the themes of the surah form a ring, where the first themes resemble the last themes, the second themes resemble the second last themes, and so on. The middle theme group includes verse 143 of the surah, that talks about the change in prayer direction.

A more detailed description of the ring composition of this surah is demonstrated here.

It is also worth noting that the 143rd verse of surat al-Baqarah, which is composed of 286 verses, contains the word "middle" (143 is half of 286)[13]

• Ayatul Kursi
• Verse of Loan

Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Holy Qur'an (Maulana Muhammad Ali)/2. The Cow

• "The Cow", a manuscript, dating from the 13th-century, of the al-Baqarah via the World Digital Library
• Qur'anic Verses, a manuscript for al-Baqarah from the 13th-century