48 Fun Facts About Surah Al-Baqarah

In which city was most of Surah Al-Baqarah revealed?

Medina, where the Prophet settled after the Hijra, put him among Jewish tribes, so much of the surah addresses the Children of Israel and urges them to accept Islam.

What subject does verse 282 of Surah Al-Baqarah, the longest single verse in the Quran, deal with?

Recording a debt in writing, the verse says, is more just, stronger as evidence and less likely to leave doubt, though trades settled on the spot require no record.

Which surah does a hadith in Sahih Muslim pair with Al-Baqarah as 'the two bright ones'?

Al Imran and Al-Baqarah will come on Judgment Day like two clouds or two shades, the hadith says, pleading for the people who recited them.

A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari says reciting the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night does what?

It suffices them, the Prophet said, and in another report an angel called these verses one of two lights given to no earlier prophet, promising benefit for every letter recited.

In one hadith report, during which event was the Prophet given the closing verses of Surah Al-Baqarah?

The Night Journey brought three gifts in this report: the five daily prayers, these closing verses, and forgiveness of grave sins for believers who associate no partner with God.

Which disconnected letters open Surah Al-Baqarah and five other chapters?

Alif Lam Mim also opens Ar-Rum, whose next verses promised that the defeated Byzantines would reverse their loss within a few years.

What Arabic term names the disconnected letters opening Surah Al-Baqarah and 28 other chapters?

Muqatta'at have been read by some commentators as abbreviations standing for God's qualities or their surahs' content, while many held their meaning is known to God alone.

Who alone refused when the angels were commanded in Surah Al-Baqarah to prostrate before Adam?

Iblis refused, and elsewhere the Quran gives his reason: he said he was superior to Adam, because God made him from fire and Adam from clay.

What did God teach Adam in Surah Al-Baqarah, knowledge the angels confessed they lacked?

The names of all things were taught to Adam, and when the angels admitted they knew only what God had taught them, Adam told them the names himself.

What does God announce He is placing on earth in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 30, prompting the angels' question?

A successor, 'khalifah' in Arabic, is the word used, and the angels asked whether this creature would shed blood and spread corruption. God answered, 'I know what you do not know.'

What were the Israelites told to say while entering a city's gate with humility in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 58?

'Absolve us', hittah in Arabic, was the required word, and the next verse says the wrongdoers swapped it for another. Forgiveness and extra reward were promised to those who obeyed.

What does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 63 say God raised above the Israelites while taking their covenant?

The mountain was raised over them as they were told to hold firmly to what they were given, yet when the scene returns in verse 93 they answer, 'We hear and disobey.'

What did the Israelites worship in Surah Al-Baqarah while Moses was away for forty nights?

The calf was worshipped in his absence, an act verse 51 calls wrongdoing. The next verse adds that God pardoned them afterwards so they might be grateful.

What did Moses strike with his staff when praying for water in Surah Al-Baqarah?

A rock was struck, and twelve springs gushed from it, so that each tribe knew its own drinking place.

What did the Israelites ask Moses for in Surah Al-Baqarah, weary of eating one kind of food?

Herbs, lentils and onions, with cucumbers and garlic, were their demand, and Moses told them to go down to any town, where they would have what they asked.

What colour did the Israelites learn the sacrificial animal in Surah Al-Baqarah's title story had to be?

Yellow, bright and pleasing to see, was the colour, and after still more questions they finally slaughtered the cow, though they almost did not do it.

What did striking with part of the sacrificed animal achieve in Surah Al-Baqarah's title story?

It revived a murdered man, exposing his killer after the people had disputed who was responsible. Verse 73 calls it a sign of how God brings the dead to life.

In which city does Surah Al-Baqarah place the two angels Harut and Marut, who taught magic as a test?

Babylon is where Harut and Marut taught, and the verse insists it was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils who taught people magic.

What rift did people learn to cause with the magic described in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 102?

Between husband and wife is the rift named, though the verse adds that such magic could harm no one except by God's will. Whoever buys into it, it warns, has no share in the Hereafter.

Which group does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 62 name beside Jews and Christians as able to earn reward with God?

The Sabians, like the Jews and Christians who believe in God and the Last Day and do good, are promised in this verse that they will have no fear and will not grieve.

What does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 106 promise whenever a verse is abrogated or caused to be forgotten?

A better or similar one comes, the verse says, and scholars made it a scriptural basis for naskh, the doctrine that newer rulings can replace earlier ones.

What did Abraham and Ishmael pray for in Surah Al-Baqarah while raising the foundations of the House?

A messenger among them was their prayer, and in a hadith in Musnad Ahmad, Muhammad calls himself the answer to the prayer of his forefather Abraham.

What was Abraham told to take in Surah Al-Baqarah when he asked to see how God gives life to the dead?

Four birds were tamed, cut up and set on separate hills, commentators say, and came back alive when called; Abraham asked only so his heart would be reassured.

What challenge did Abraham set in Surah Al-Baqarah for the king who claimed he too gave life and death?

Make the sun rise westward was Abraham's dare, since God brings the sun from the east, and the disbeliever was dumbfounded; commentators identify the king as Nimrod.

For how long did God cause the traveller who passed a ruined city to die in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 259?

A hundred years had passed, yet his food and drink had not changed, though he guessed he had stayed only a day or part of a day.

With what does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 253 say God supported Jesus, son of Mary, after giving him clear proofs?

The holy spirit, which commentators identify as Gabriel, supported Jesus, yet the verse says succeeding generations still fought one another after the clear proofs came.

What does verse 261 of Surah Al-Baqarah liken charity to?

A grain with seven ears is the image, and the verse adds that God multiplies the reward further for whomever He wills.

Toward what does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 144 tell believers to turn their faces, wherever they are?

The Sacred Mosque in Mecca became the qibla with this verse, and verse 150 repeats the command so that people would have no argument against the believers.

Toward which city did Muslims pray before Surah Al-Baqarah's verses changed the qibla?

Jerusalem was faced for more than a year after the Hijra, and verse 143 says the change showed who would follow and who would turn back on their heels.

What kind of community does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 143 say God made the believers, as witnesses over humanity?

An upright one, a just or balanced nation, and a hadith says it will testify on Judgment Day that Noah delivered his message when his own people deny it.

According to Surah Al-Baqarah verse 256, there is 'no compulsion' in what?

Religion admits no compulsion, and one report says the verse came when Ansar parents wanted to keep sons raised as Jews from leaving with the exiled Banu Nadir.

Which two states does Ayat al-Kursi in Surah Al-Baqarah say never overtake God?

Drowsiness and sleep never overtake God, and a hadith in Sahih Muslim adds that it does not befit Him to sleep, and that His veil, if lifted, would burn His creation.

Which pair of divine attributes opens Ayat al-Kursi, right after its declaration of God's oneness?

The Ever-Living, All-Sustaining pair recurs in two other surahs, and a report in Sunan Ibn Majah says God's greatest name, which answers any prayer made with it, lies in those three surahs.

When does a Bukhari report say reciting Ayat al-Kursi earns a guardian from God?

When going to bed was the advice a food thief gave Abu Hurayrah, and the Prophet said the thief had told the truth, though he was a liar.

Under Surah Al-Baqarah, if two male witnesses cannot be found for a contract, who may witness instead?

One man and two women may stand in, so that if one of the women forgets, the other can remind her.

Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183 says fasting was prescribed for believers just as it had been prescribed for whom?

Those before them had fasting prescribed too, and the verse gives the purpose of the fast: so that believers may become righteous.

What does Surah Al-Baqarah tell someone ill or travelling in Ramadan to do about fasting?

Make up the days later is the rule, since the verse says God wants ease for them and does not want hardship.

What compensation does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 184 set for those who can fast only with extreme difficulty?

Feeding a needy person is the ransom; Ibn Abbas said it is for the old and frail, while another companion said the next verse abrogated this choice.

Until what moment does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 187 allow eating and drinking before each day's fast begins?

Dawn is the cut-off: Adi ibn Hatim put a white and a black thread under his pillow, and the Prophet explained the verse meant night's darkness and dawn's light.

What does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 275 say God has permitted, in the same breath as forbidding interest?

Trading is permitted while interest is forbidden, answering those who said trade is just like interest, and whoever stops after the warning may keep past gains.

According to the final verse of Surah Al-Baqarah, God never requires of a soul more than what?

It can afford is the limit, and Sahih Muslim says this verse came after companions protested they could not live up to an earlier verse holding them to account for hidden thoughts.

What sign of Talut's kingship did the Israelites' prophet promise in Surah Al-Baqarah, carried by angels?

The Ark had been captured from the Israelites, commentators say, so its return, borne by angels and holding relics of Moses and Aaron, proved Talut was chosen.

With what did Talut test his soldiers in Surah Al-Baqarah, permitting only a scoop by hand?

A river was the test, and nearly all of them drank from it, so only a few crossed to face Goliath, trusting that a small group can overcome a large one.

Who does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 251 say killed Goliath, in the battle fought by Talut's small remaining force?

David killed Goliath and was given kingship and wisdom, and the verse adds that without God checking some people by means of others, the earth would be corrupted.

Talut, the king the Israelites' prophet announced in Surah Al-Baqarah, is identified with which biblical king?

Saul is how translations render Talut, and when the people objected that he had no wealth, the prophet said God had given him knowledge and stature instead.

How did Moses reply in Surah Al-Baqarah when accused of mocking his people?

He sought refuge from foolishness, and commentators say any cow would have done, but each question the people asked made the requirement stricter.

Before granting the new qibla, what does Surah Al-Baqarah verse 144 say the Prophet was turning his face toward?

Heaven is where he kept turning his face, hoping for a new direction, and the verse promised him one that would please him.

What does God say He does when His servants call on Him, in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 186?

Responds is the promise, since God says He is near, and in turn the verse asks His servants to respond to Him and believe in Him.