Surah Al-Baqarah named after the story of the cow details how the Israelites fashioned a golden calf for worship in the absence of Musa (Alayhis Salaam) as he went to receive the Torah from Allah (verses 67-71). Al-Baqarah is the longest surah in the Qur’an with 286 verses. A prevalent theme interwoven throughout the chapter is guidance.
Before delving into the first page of the surah, I would like to begin with the virtues of Surah Al- Baqarah.
Here are 4 virtues:
1. The devil does not enter the home where Surah Al-Baqarah is recited:
Abu Huraira narratd that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: “Do not turn your houses into graves. Verily, Shaytan does not enter the house where surah Al-Baqarah is recited" (Muslim)
2. Angels come close to the one who recites Surah Al-Baqarah
Al-Bukhari recorded that;
Usayd bin Hudayr said that he was once reciting Surah Al-Baqarah while his horse was tied next to him. The horse started to make some noise. When Usayd stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving about. When he resumed reading, the horse started moving about again. When he stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving, and when he resumed reading, the horse started to move again. Meanwhile, his son Yahya was close to the horse, and he feared that the horse might step on him. When he moved his son back, he looked up to the sky and saw a cloud radiating with light that looked like lamps. In the morning, he went to the Prophet and told him what had happened and then said, "O Messenger of Allah! My son Yahya was close to the horse and I feared that she might step on him. When I attended to him and raised my head to the sky, I saw a cloud with lights like lamps. So I went, but I couldn't see it.''
The Prophet said, "Do you know what that was?''
He said, "No.''
The Prophet said,
They were the angels, they came close hearing your voice (reciting Surah Al-Baqarah), and if you had kept reading, the people would have been able to see the angels when the morning came, and the angels would not be hidden from their eyes. (Bukhari)
3. A blessing, protection from sorrow, and the ones who practice dark magic.
Imam Ahmad said that Abu Nu`aym narrated to them that Bishr bin Muhajir said that Abdullah bin Buraydah narrated to him from his father,
"I was sitting with the Prophet and I heard him say, Learn Surah Al-Baqarah, because in learning it there is blessing, in ignoring it there is sorrow, and the sorceresses cannot memorize it.
4. Intercessor on the Day of Judgment
An-Nawwas said,
"The Prophet set three examples for these two Surahs [Al-Baqarah and Ale-Imran] and I did not forget these examples ever since. He said,
They will come like two clouds, two dark shades or two lines of birds arguing on behalf of their people.” (Sahih Muslim)
This Ramadan let us familiarize ourselves with Surah Al-Baqarah. Very often we are intimidated by the length of this Surah. A tip that I found useful was to read the translation of a handful of verses by dividing up the surah into different segments. This method helps in getting a bird’s eye view of the contents of the Surah and the many gems it contains.
Before delving into the first page of the surah, I would like to begin with the virtues of Surah Al- Baqarah.
Here are 4 virtues:
1. The devil does not enter the home where Surah Al-Baqarah is recited:
Abu Huraira narratd that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: “Do not turn your houses into graves. Verily, Shaytan does not enter the house where surah Al-Baqarah is recited" (Muslim)
2. Angels come close to the one who recites Surah Al-Baqarah
Al-Bukhari recorded that;
Usayd bin Hudayr said that he was once reciting Surah Al-Baqarah while his horse was tied next to him. The horse started to make some noise. When Usayd stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving about. When he resumed reading, the horse started moving about again. When he stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving, and when he resumed reading, the horse started to move again. Meanwhile, his son Yahya was close to the horse, and he feared that the horse might step on him. When he moved his son back, he looked up to the sky and saw a cloud radiating with light that looked like lamps. In the morning, he went to the Prophet and told him what had happened and then said, "O Messenger of Allah! My son Yahya was close to the horse and I feared that she might step on him. When I attended to him and raised my head to the sky, I saw a cloud with lights like lamps. So I went, but I couldn't see it.''
The Prophet said, "Do you know what that was?''
He said, "No.''
The Prophet said,
They were the angels, they came close hearing your voice (reciting Surah Al-Baqarah), and if you had kept reading, the people would have been able to see the angels when the morning came, and the angels would not be hidden from their eyes. (Bukhari)
3. A blessing, protection from sorrow, and the ones who practice dark magic.
Imam Ahmad said that Abu Nu`aym narrated to them that Bishr bin Muhajir said that Abdullah bin Buraydah narrated to him from his father,
"I was sitting with the Prophet and I heard him say, Learn Surah Al-Baqarah, because in learning it there is blessing, in ignoring it there is sorrow, and the sorceresses cannot memorize it.
4. Intercessor on the Day of Judgment
An-Nawwas said,
"The Prophet set three examples for these two Surahs [Al-Baqarah and Ale-Imran] and I did not forget these examples ever since. He said,
They will come like two clouds, two dark shades or two lines of birds arguing on behalf of their people.” (Sahih Muslim)
This Ramadan let us familiarize ourselves with Surah Al-Baqarah. Very often we are intimidated by the length of this Surah. A tip that I found useful was to read the translation of a handful of verses by dividing up the surah into different segments. This method helps in getting a bird’s eye view of the contents of the Surah and the many gems it contains.
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