This is the longest
Sorah of the Quran, it consists of 286 Aiah.It is called Al Baqarah, the Cow, as the
story of the Children of Israel and the cow is mentioned in this Sorah.This Sorah was sent down in Medina,
that is, after the migration of the Muslims from Makah to Medina.Therefore we will find that it contains some Shariaa (Islamic law) for
this began to be sent down in Medina
where the Muslims had a state where this law could be enforced.Also we will find a great deal has been said
about the Jew in this Sorah as there were three Jewish tribes in Medina and there was a
great deal of dealings with them.
Sorah Al Baqarah
has special character and special blessings.
1-Satan does not enter
the home where Sorah Al Baqarah is recited.Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him
said: “Do not let your homes be like graves, Satan does not enter the home
where Sorah Al Baqarah is recited”(M:Musafreen;208)
2-It is a great
blessing, will intercede for the Muslim and will shade him on the Day of
Judgment, and is protection against black magic.Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him
said: “Read and recite the Quran, for it will be an intercessor for its people
on the Day of Resurrection.Recite the
two illuminating ones, Al Baqarah and Al Emran, for they will come on the Day
of Resurrection as two clouds or canopies or two flocks of birds (giving
shade).Read the Baqarah, for having it
is a blessing, leaving it is sorrow, and the black magicians can not overcome
it”.(M:Mosafreen;252)
3-The angels surround
the Muslim who recites Sorah Al Baqarah to listen.One of Allah’s messengers companions called
Ibn Hadir reported:“I was reciting
Sorah Al Baqarah at night, while his horse was tied near him and his son Yehia
was asleep by him.The horse became
restless, so he stopped, and the horse settled.Then he recited again, the horse became restless, he stopped and the
horse settled.Then he left off ,as he
feared for his son Yehia, who was asleep by him.When he lifted his head he saw a canopy of
little lights.In the morning he went to
see Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him and told him what he saw, he
said to him: “Recite Ibn Hadir, read Ibn Hadir”.Then he told him, do you know what was that
he saw, Ibn Hadir said no.Allah’s
messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “Those were the Angels who came near
to hear you, had you continued to recite it, people would have seen them in the
morning, not hiding from them”.(B:Fadael Al Quran,15 & M;Mosafreen & A:3:81)
4-Sorah Al Baqarah
contains the greatest Aiah in the Quran, Aiah Al Korsi.Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him,
said to one of his companions called Aba Al Monzer: “Aba Al Monzer, do you know
which Aiah of Allah’s book is the greatest?” he said: “Allah and His messenger
know best”.Allah’s messenger, prayer
and peace upon him, repeated the question, the man said:”ALLAH, THERE IS NO GOD
OTHER THAN HIM THE LIVING THE SUSTAINER ……………”Then Aba Al Monzer said: “he (Allah’s messenger) patted my chest and said:
‘By Allah, you enjoy knowledge Aba Al Monzer’”.(M:Mosafreen;258 & D:Horof; 35 &
Da;Fadael al Quran; 14 & A:5;48, 142)
5-The Last Two Aiahs of Sorah Al
Baqarah are particularly blessed. Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him said: “He who recites the last two Aiahs
of Sorah Al Baqarah in a night, they will be sufficient for him”.(B:Fadael Al Quran;10 & T:Fadael Al
Quran, 4 & M:Mosafreen;155,256)
6-Knowing and understanding
Sorah Al Baqarah endows one with a great deal of Islamic knowledge, more than
any other Sorah in the Quran.
Allah’s messenger,
prayer and peace upon him, sent a group of Muslims on a mission. He asked each
of them to tell him how much they knew of the Quran.When he asked the youngest what he knew of
the Quran, he answered: “I know so and so and Sorah al Baqarah”. Allah’s
messenger prayer and peace upon him asked:”Do you have Sorah Al Baqarah
committed to memory?” he said: “Yes”.Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said:”Go, you are their
leader”.(T: Fadael Al Quran; 2)
Historical
background to the Sorah:
This is the longest
Sorah of the Quran, consisting of 286 Ayah.It was all sent down during the Medina
Era.Medina is the name given to the town called
Yathrib, from where the Ansar (supporters) of Allah’s messengers came.It is the town to where the Muslims migrated
13 years after the beginning of Islam.
The Migration to the
Medina was the second Migration.The
first was to Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, and did not involve all the Muslims.Some of the Muslims returned to Makah, before
the Migration to Medina,
when they had false news that things were much better in Makah.The Majority returned after the Migration to
Medina.
Allah’s messenger, prayer and
peace upon him and the rest of the Muslims were persecuted in Makah.He was mocked verbally and physically
abused.They were also made to suffer
financially and socially.There were
long times of boycott.Allah’s messenger’s
daughters, Roqayah and Om Kolthoom, were divorced by their cousins the sons of
Abu Lahab because of their Islam.Some
Muslims were tortured like Belal, and some died under this torture like Amar
Ibn Yasser’s father and mother.
Allah’s messenger and the
Muslims were exiled from Makah where they were boycotted.No one would buy from them, or sell to them,
marry with them, or even sell them food.There were guards around them to enforce this boycott.They became so hungry, that they ate the
leaves of the trees and any piece of dead animal skin they found.
When this boycott was agreed
upon, a patch of leather with its terms written on it was placed inside the
Kabba.
Some idle worshipping men,
felt sorry about what was happening to the Muslims, after all, they were all
either blood relatives or related by marriage.They gathered together and demanded to nullify this very oppressive
agreement.Allah the Highest, meanwhile,
told His prophet, prayer and peace upon him, that Allah had commanded a small
insect to eat this patch of leather.These
men, who wanted the boycott lifted, went to Mohamed, prayer and peace upon him,
to tell him that they were going to destroy the boycott document, Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him, told them that Allah had already
destroyed it. When they(the Mekkans), went to see it, they found it all eaten
up, except the words “In the name of Allah”.The boycott was lifted.
Soon after this, Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him, lost both his wife, Khadeja and his uncle
Abu Taleb in quick succession.By their
deaths, he lost some of his protection and also the emotional support of his
wife.This is known as the year of grief.
Allah’s messenger, prayer and
peace upon him, used to meet the Arabs who came to Makah during the Hajj season
for pilgrimage.The Hajj was still going
on, after starting at the time of Ibrahim, prayer and peace upon him, but in a
perverted way.There were over 360 idles
around the Kabba.There was an Idle by
the Safa and another by the Marwa, these are small hills, at that time just
outside Makah, which form part of the Hajj. Some of the pilgrims used to do the
Tawaf (the encirclement of the Kabba by Hajj pilgrims) naked.Also there were other perversions of the Hajj.When he met the Arabs from various tribes he
used to tell them about Islam, but none answered him positively.
Yathrib:
This is a town about
450 km north of Makah.It was
inhabited by 3 Jewish tribes, Bano Al-Nadeer, Bano-Qynoqa and Bano Al-Qurizah,
and two Idles worshipping Arab tribes, Al-Aws and Al-Khazrag.Bano Qurizah was allies to Al-Aws, and Bano
Qynoqa and Bano Al-Nadeer were allies to Al-Khazrag.Al-Aws and Al-Khazrag used to fight a great
deal, and when they fought, the Jewish tribes also fought each other.
The Jews in Yathrib knew that
a new prophet was due to appear.They
talked about him to the Arab tribes and often told them that, when He arrived,
they would follow him and fight the idle worshippers.This made the Arab tribes of Yathrib know
about the coming of a prophet and anticipate his appearance.
In the 11th year of
the beginning of Islam, Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him, met 6 men
from Yathrib, they were all from the Al-Aws.He told them about Islam and recited some of the Quran to them, and they
all embraced Islam.They also promised
to tell their people about Islam.
The next year, Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him, met 12 men from Yathrib, 10 from Al-Khazrag
and 2 from Al-Aws.They met in a place
called Aqaba near Makah, the men from Yathrib, embraced Islam and gave Allah’s
messenger their covenant to believe in no god other than Allah and to commit no
sin.This was the “First Covenant of
Aqaba”.Mosaab Ibn Omir, was sent to
Yathrib with them to teach them about Islam and to help spread the Faith.Mosaab was the first Ambassador in Islam.
Islam spread in the Arab
tribes of Al-Aws and Al-Khazrag.By the next
year a group of 75 people, 73 men and 2 women from Yathrib met Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him, at Aqaba and gave him their covenant to
believe in no god other than Allah, commit no sin, and to protect Allah’s
messenger and the Muslims of Makah from the disbelievers when they migrated to
Yathrib.This was called the second
covenant of Aqaba.All the above
mentioned meetings were made in total secrecy.
Then Allah’s messenger, prayer
and peace upon him, commanded the Muslims to migrate to Yathrib, which was
later called Medina.They did not want the Makans to know,
otherwise they would have been hurt, stopped or imprisoned, so they left in
secret, and only a few at a time. They
could not sell their homes and possession because of attracting attention, so
they had to leave most of their possessions behind and take only what they
could carry. Although, after years of persecution, many had very little left
anyway.
Abu Bakr kept asking Allah’s
messenger, prayer and peace upon him, for permission to migrate and the answer
was always to wait, for Allah might give
him a companion.Abu Bakr knew that
Allah’s messenger, prayer and peace upon him, meant himself.Abu Bakr bought two strong camels and kept
feeding them to prepare them for this day.When there were no Muslims left except those who could not migrate, the
disbelievers of Makah decided to assassinate Mohamed, prayer and peace upon
him.They selected a strong man from each
family or tribe, this totaled 40, gave them swords and told them to wait
outside Allah’s messenger’s door.Wait
for him to go out to pray, and then kill him. As many men, from many families,
would have killed him, his family would have had to accept the compensation,
and the whole matter would have to end.
Allah the Highest, sent Gabriel
down with to Mohamed, prayer and peace upon him, with this information.Allah the Highest, made the forty men unable
to see Mohamed, prayer and peace upon him, when he went out in the middle of
the night in front of their very eyes.He left Ali Ibn Abi Taleb to sleep in his place covered with cloak.When they looked through the crack in the
door they saw a man lying down.Ali was
also commanded to stay, so that he could give back the deposits, which the
Makans had entrusted to Mohamed, prayer and peace upon him.They used to deposit their valuables with him
because of what they knew of his honesty.
The rest of the events of the
migration can be read in Serah books.
The spread of Islam in Medina, as well as the Makan Muslims migration to Medina, meant that there the
Muslims became the majority, contrary to how they were in Makah.This lead to the emergence of a new group of
people the Muslims did not encounter in the past, the Hypocrites.They are those people who claim to be Muslims,
to please the majority Muslims, without actually being true Muslims.Some of the Jews of Medina believed, but the
majority did not.This meant that there
were 4 groups of people in Medina:
1-Muslims.
2-Hypocrites.
3-Jews.
4-Few Disbelievers.
Naturally, the Hypocrites were
the only group not easily recognizable.
We will go through the Ayahs
of Sorah Al-Baqarah one by one, to try to throw some light on their meaning and
the rules and lessons that can be extracted from them.
