The name and the number of verses

According to the ahadeeth of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) and the reports relating to his blessed Companions (radiallahu anhum), the name of this Surah is Al-Baqarah. The riwayah or narration which prohibits this name is not authentic (Ibn Kathir). It comprises of 286 verses, 6201 words and 25500 letters (Ibn Kathir).

The period of revelation

The Surah is Madinite - that is to say, it was revealed at Madinah after the Hijrah; some of the verses included here were revealed at Makkah at the time of the last Hajj of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), but, in accordance with the terminology of the commentators, they too are regarded as Madinite. This is the longest Surah in the Holy Qur'an.

It was the first Surah to be revealed at Madinah, but different verses were revealed at different times, covering quite a long period so much so that the verses with regard to riba (interest or usury) were revealed in the last days of the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), after the conquest of Makkah.

Actually, the verse: "Fear the day when you will return to Allah." (2:281), is the very last verse of the Holy Qur'an to be revealed - this happened on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah 10 A.H., when the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) was in the course of performing his last Hajj, and only eighty or ninety days later he departed from this world, and the process of Divine Revelation came to an end for ever. (Qurtubi)

The Merits of Surah Al-Baqarah

It is not only the longest Surah in the Holy Qur'an, but also contains quite a large number of injunctions. The Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) has said: "Make a habit of reading the Surah Al-Baqarah, for reading it brings down on you the barakah or blessings of Allah, and neglecting it is a matter of regret, and a misfortune. And men of falsehood cannot overcome it." Al-Qurtubi (rahmatullahi alaih) cites the blessed Companion Mu'awiyah (radiallahu anh) to the effect that the men of falsehood referred to here are sorcerers, and the implication is that one who keeps reading this Surah becomes immune to the effect of black magic (Qurtubi, from Muslim, as narrated by Abu Umamah Bahili).

The Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam), has also said that Shaytan (Satan) flees from the house in which this Surah is read or recited. (Ibn Kathir from Hakim). Another hadith says that this Surah is the apex of the Holy Qur'an, and that a retinue of eighty angels had accompanied each of its verses when it was revealed (Ibn Kathir from Musnad Ahmad). The blessed Companion Abu Huraira (radiallahu anh) reports from the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasalllam), that there is a verse in this Surah which enjoys a superiority over all the other verses of the Holy Qur'an, and that verse is the Verse of the Kursi (Ayat al-Kursi 2:255) (Ibn Kathir from Tirmidhi).

The blessed Companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ood (radiallahu anh) says that ten verses of this Surah have such an efficacy that if one recites them at night, neither Shaytan (Satan) nor the jinn would enter one's house, nor would one and one's family be afficted with illness or calamity or sorrow that night, and that if they are recited over a man suffering from a fit of madness, his condition will improve. The ten verses are these: the first four verses of the Surah, three verses in the middle (that is, the Ayat al-Kursi, and the two following verses), and the last three verses of the Surah.

This Surah enjoys, with regard to its contents as well, a special distinction. Ibn al-'Arabi (rahmatullahi alaih) reports from his elders that in this Surah there are one thousand injunctions, one thousand prohibitions, one thousand subtle points of wisdom, and one thousand parables and references to historical events (Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir). That is why the great Caliph `Umar (radiallahu anh), spent twelve years in learning and meditating over this Surah, and the blessed Companion Abdullah ibn `Umar (radiallahu anhuma) spent eight years to learn it. (Qurtubi)

As we have said, the Surah Al-Fatihah is the gist and the essence of the Holy Qur'an. It deals with three basic themes - firstly, the affirmation of Allah as the Lord (Rabb) of the universe; secondly, the affirmation that Allah alone, and none else, is worthy of being worshipped; thirdly, the prayer for guidance. Thus, the Surah Al-Fatihah ends with the request for the straight path, and the whole of the Qur'an is, in fact, an answer to this request - that is to say, the man who seeks the straight path will find it only in the Holy Qur'an.

Hence it is that the Surah Al-Fatihah is immediately followed by the Surah Al-Baqarah which begins with the words, "That is the Book", indicating that this book is the straight path one has been seeking and praying for. Having defined the nature and function of the Holy Qur'an, the Surah proceeds to state in a very brief manner the basic principles of the Islamic faith - namely, oneness of God, prophethood and hereafter (Tawhid, Risalah, Akhirah). These principles have been presented in detail at the end of the Surah. In between, the Surah lays down the basic principles, and sometime even secondary rules in detail, for providing guidance to man in all spheres of life, modes of `ibadah (worship), ethics, individual and social behaviour, economic relationships, ways and means of improving oneself externally and internally.

[Ma'ariful Qur'an, Volume 1]

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 3rd January 2011

0 Comments