Talim-ul-Quran — Page 177
CHAPTER 2. AL-BAQARAH (Revealed after Hijrah). Title, Date of Revelation and Context. This, the longest Surah of the Qur'an, was revealed at Medina in the first four years after the Hijrah and is known as Al-Baqarah. The name was used by the Holy. Prophet himself. The Surah seems to have derived its title from vv. 68-72 where an important incident in the life of the Jewish nation is briefly mentioned. For a long time the Jews had lived in Egypt as serfs and slaves under the most cruel bondage of the. Pharaohs who were cow-worshippers. as is generally the case with subject races, they had borrowed from, and slavishly immitated, many customs and habits of the. Egyptians and consequently had come to possess a strong liking, bordering on adoration, of the cow. When Moses told them to sacrifice a particular cow which symbolized their object of worship, they made a great fuss about it. It is this incident to which vv. 68-72 refer. Besides, Al-Baqarah, the Surah possesses another name Al-Zahra', and both this Surah and Al 'Imran are jointly known as Al-Zahrwän - The. Two Bright Ones (Muslim). The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: 'Everything has its peak, and the peak of the Qur'an is Al-Baqarah' (Tirmidhi). The Surah is placed next to Al-Fatihah because it embodies answers to all the important problems which at once confront the reader when he turns from Al-Fatihah to a study of the main book. . Though generally connected with all the other Sūrahs, Al-Fātiḥah possesses a special relationship with Al-Baqarah which constitutes the fulfillment of the prayer, 'Guide us in the straight path. . . Thy displeasure. ' Indeed Al-Baqarah with its discourses upon the. Signs, the Book, the Wisdom and the Means of purification (2:130), constitutes an appropriate and comprehensive reply to that great prayer. . Subject-Matter. It is sometimes said that the Qur'an starts with this Surah as its very opening verse, viz. , "This is a perfect book; there is no doubt about it. " shows; while. Al-Fatihah being, as it were, the Qur'an in miniature though forming its integral part, possesses an independent and peculiar position of its own (15:88). The subject matter of this long Chapter is epitomized in its 130th verse. This verse contains a prayer of the Patriarch Abraham in which he implores God to raise a Prophet among the. Meccans who should (1) recite to them the Signs of God; (2) give the world a. Scripture containing perfect laws of the Shariyy‘ah; (3) explain the wisdom underlying them; and (4) should lay down principles and rules of conduct which should bring about complete spiritual transformation in their lives and should make them a great and powerful nation, fit to lead the whole world. The four great objects for which. Abraham prayed have been dealt with in this Chapter in the same order in which he 177