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Surah Al-Baqarah, Part 2: The Peak of the Quran
Description
1. The name
Al-Baqarah means the cow.
The surah is named after the account of the Israelites who were commanded to slaughter a cow. This is the only place in the Quran where that account appears.
How surahs are named
* Allah reveals the name directly, and the Prophet ﷺ states it.
* The surah is named after its opening words or letters.
* The surah is named after something unique within it. Surah Alif Lam Mim As-Sajdah takes its name from both its opening letters and the sajdah it contains.
* Some surahs carry more than one name, given by the Companions.
2. Length and nickname
286 ayat — the longest surah in the Quran.
The Prophet ﷺ called it Sanam al-Quran: the peak of the Quran. Note that the nickname is not “the longest.” It is “the peak,” and the image of a mountain explains why.
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A mountain is hard to climb
286 ayat is not Surah Al-Ikhlas. Studying this surah is a climb, and it is meant to be one. The same is true of memorising it: those who complete Al-Baqarah find Ali Imran comparatively easy afterwards, and An-Nisa merely difficult.
A mountain gives you the view
From the summit you see the whole landscape at once. From the top of Al-Baqarah you see the whole shape of the religion, because every subject in Islam is addressed somewhere in this surah.
The limit of the view: from a summit you see the bay, but not the animals moving in it. Al-Baqarah gives the outline of the rulings, not the detail. Marriage and divorce are treated at length in An-Nisa; here they appear in outline. But the detail is difficult to place if the outline has never been seen.
3. The nine parts
* The types of people — ayat 1–20. The Quran is sent as guidance, so the first question is who it is guidance for, and what kinds of human being exist.
* The first command — ayat 21–29. The Quran speaking about itself, and the reason to follow it.
* The first human — ayat 30–39. Prophet Adam.