بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
Surah Al-Baqarah
The Cow or al-Baqarah (Arabic: البقرة) is the second and longest chapter (surah) of the Qur'an. It consists of 286 verses (ayat), 6,201 words and 25,500 letters.
It is a Medinan surah, that is to say that it was revealed at Medina after the Hijrah, with the exception of a few verses which Muslims believe was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage, the last Hajj of Muhammad.
This is the longest Surah in the Quran. It was the first Surah to be revealed at Medina, 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 final days of Muhammad, after the conquest of Makkah (Maariful Quran).
Verse 281 in this chapter was the last verse of the Quran to be revealed, on the 10th of Dhul al Hijjah 10 A.H., when Muhammad was in the course of performing his last Hajj, and only 80 or 90 days later Muhammadﷺ died (Qurtubi).
This is the longest Surah in the Quran. It was the first Surah to be revealed at Medina, 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 final days of Muhammad, after the conquest of Makkah (Maariful Quran).
Verse 281 in this chapter was the last verse of the Quran to be revealed, on the 10th of Dhul al Hijjah 10 A.H., when Muhammad was in the course of performing his last Hajj, and only 80 or 90 days later Muhammadﷺ died (Qurtubi).
Contents of the Surah
This Surah contains 286 verses, rendering it the longest Surah in the
Holy Qur'an. It is indisputable that this Surah was not revealed all at
once, but partially and in increments as necessitated by the various
Islamic social circumstances and conditions found at different times in
Medina.
But, the fact is that the inclusiveness of this Surah from the point
of Islamic doctrine in Faith and many practical issues (social,
political, economic, and religious) is not deniable, for, there are
various subjects discussed in it, including the followings:
1. There are some discussions about Monotheism and gaining knowledge of Allah, especially by way of studying the mysteries of creation.
2. There are many statements about the Resurrection and life after
death with a few tangible examples, like the story of Abraham (as) and
how the birds became restored to life, and the story of Ezra.
3. There are some facts about the inimitability of the Qur'an and the significance of this Heavenly Book.
4. There are long discussions and explanations concerning the Jews
and hypocrites and their peculiar positions against Islam and the
Qur'an, evidenced by their various mischievous hindrances against them.
5. There are some narrations about the history of the Great Prophets, including Abraham (as) and Moses (as) in particular.
6. There are some passages that contain a few Islamic rules related
to varying subjects, such as: prayers, fasting, Holy War on the path of Allah, the
pilgrimage to Mecca, the change of the Qiblah (the direction of prayer)
from Jerusalem to Mecca, marriage and divorce, commerce, debt, and a
great many of the ordinances concerning usury.
Donation for the sake of Allah is abundantly discussed. The
problem of retaliation, the banning of different kinds of forbidden
meat, and also gambling and wine drinking are discussed, in addition to a
few other ordinances related to the subjects of writing wills,
testaments, and the like.
The appellation 'Al-Baqarah' (the Cow), the title of this Surah, is taken from the story of the Israelites' Cow, mentioned in verses 67 to 73 of this Surah