Authentic hadiths on the virtues of Surat Al-Baqarah and commentary on them
In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful
Praise be to God and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of God.
1. Its reader is a prince over others :
On the authority of Abu Hurairah ( may Allah be pleased with him ), who said: The Messenger of Allah ( peace and blessings be upon him ) sent out a large group of people, and he asked them to recite the Qur’an. He asked each man to recite what he had memorized of the Qur’an. Then he came to one of their youngest men and said, “ What do you have with you , so-and-so?” He said, “ I have such-and-such and Surat al-Baqarah .” He said, “Do you have Surat al-Baqarah with you?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “ Then go, for you are their leader .” A man from among their nobles said, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, nothing prevented me from learning Surat al-Baqarah except the fear that I would not be able to stand up to perform it.” The Messenger of Allah ( peace and blessings be upon him) said , “ Learn the Qur’an, recite it, and teach it, for the example of the Qur’an for the one who learns it, recites it, and stands up to perform it is like a bag filled with musk, the fragrance of which spreads everywhere. The example of the one who learns it and sleeps with it in his stomach is like a bag full of musk .” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: This is a hasan hadith. It was also narrated by al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih.
To elevate the status of the one who has memorized the Quran, especially Surat Al-Baqarah, the Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him ) appointed him as a leader over his people, even though he was the youngest among them. When the Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him ) wanted to send out an army, he asked each one of them to recite what he had memorized of the Quran. The Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him ) said to one of the youngest men among them: What do you have with you, so-and-so? He said: I have such-and-such and Surat Al-Baqarah. The Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him ) said: Do you have Surat Al-Baqarah with you ? He said: Yes. He said: Then go, you are their leader . This is a teaching from the Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him ) and we must follow his example .
1. It is the pinnacle of the Qur’an and repels Satan :
On the authority of Abdullah bin Masoud – may God be pleased with him – on the authority of the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – who said: “ Everything has a peak, and the peak of the Qur’an is Surat Al-Baqarah. When Satan hears Surat Al-Baqarah being recited, he leaves the house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is being recited .” (Narrated by Al-Hakim in the Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an and said: Its chain of transmission is authentic. Al-Dhahabi agreed with him and said: It is authentic. Al-Bayhaqi narrated it in Shu’ab Al-Iman, Chapter on the veneration of the Qur’an. The hadith was mentioned by Sheikh Al-Albani in Silsilat Al-Ahadith Al-Sahihah, No. (588), and he said: It was narrated by Al-Hakim and said: Its chain of transmission is authentic. Al-Dhahabi agreed with him and I consider it to be good.)
Al-Mubarakfuri said in “Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi” 8/146: His statement – may God bless him and grant him peace – “ For everything there is a hump ” with the letter seen open, meaning elevation and height. It was borrowed from the hump of a camel, and then its use became so widespread that it became a proverb. From this, Surat al-Baqarah was named the hump of the Qur’an, as al-Tayyibi said. Ibn al-Athir said in al-Nihaya: The hump of everything is its highest point .
His saying – may God bless him and grant him peace – “ The pinnacle of the Qur’an is Surat Al-Baqarah ” is either because of its length and the many rulings it contains, or because it commands jihad, which brings great elevation .
In another narration: “ Do not make your homes into graves .” Al-Mubarakfuri said in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: His statement: “ Do not make your homes into graves ” means empty of remembrance and supplication, so that they become like graves and you are like the dead in them, or it means do not bury your dead in them. The first meaning is indicated by his statement: “ The house in which Surat al-Baqarah is recited, the devil does not enter it. ” This is the narration of al-Tirmidhi. As for the first narration of Muslim, it says: “ The devil flees from the house in which Surat al-Baqarah is recited .”
In the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa`d, narrated by Ibn Hibban: “ Whoever recites it – meaning Surat Al-Baqarah – at night, the devil will not enter his house for three nights, and whoever recites it during the day, the devil will not enter his house for three days .” He singled out Surat Al-Baqarah for this because of its length and the many names of God Almighty and the rulings contained in it .
A thousand commands, a thousand prohibitions, a thousand rulings, and a thousand pieces of news have been said about it. This is what is stated in Al-Marqah .
This hadith encourages people to recite the Qur’an at home, especially Surat Al-Baqarah .
The word “yanfar” and “yafar” were mentioned in the two previous narrations, and both are correct .
2. The Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – called his companions with it :
On the authority of Kathir ibn Abbas, on the authority of his father, he said: I was with the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace , on the day of Hunayn, and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was on his mule, which the leper (Farwah ibn Amr ibn al-Nafirah) had given him as a gift. When the Muslims turned away, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to me : “ O Abbas, call out and say: O companions of the tamarisk tree (the tree near which the Pledge of Ridwan took place) , O companions of Surat al-Baqarah .” I was a man with a loud voice, so I said: O companions of the tamarisk tree, O companions of Surat al-Baqarah. They returned in a circle like a cow in a circle around its young, and their voices rose, saying: O group of Ansar, O group of Ansar. Then the call was limited to Ibn al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj. He said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, stood up while he was on his mule and said: “ This is when the battle has become intense ” (a metaphor for the intensity of the matter and the raging of the war), and he said: “ Go forward, O Abbas .” Then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, took pebbles and threw them. Then he said: “By the Lord of the Kaaba, they will be defeated .” Narrated by Imam Ahmad, with this wording, and by Muslim and Al-Bayhaqi .
Scholars said: His – may God bless him and grant him peace – riding a mule in a battlefield and when the battle is intense is the ultimate in bravery and steadfastness, and because he would be relied upon and the Muslims would return to him and their hearts would be reassured by him and his location. He did this intentionally, otherwise he – may God bless him and grant him peace – would have had well-known horses, and the Companions – may God be pleased with them – reported his – may God bless him and grant him peace – bravery in all situations .
The fact that the Prophet ( peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) ordered Al-Abbas to call out to those who fled on the day of Hunayn and to remind those of them who had memorized Surah Al-Baqarah that it is not appropriate for those of them who had memorized this Surah to flee and leave the battlefield due to the greatness of this Surah and what it contains of faith and certainty in Allah and the command to fight the enemies of Allah in His saying: { And fight them until there is no more persecution and [until] religion is for Allah alone } [Al-Baqarah 2:193]. The fact that the Prophet ( peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) ordered Al-Abbas to call out this is evidence of the greatness of this Surah .
In this sense, there are mursals: On the authority of Talha bin Misr al-Yami, who said: When the Muslims were defeated on the day of Hunayn, they were called: “O companions of Surat al-Baqarah.” So they returned weeping. A mursal hadith whose men are trustworthy .
In this sense, there are some hadiths that have been stopped: “On the authority of Hisham ibn Urwah, on the authority of his father, who said: The slogan of the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, on the day of Musaylimah was: ‘O companions of Surat al-Baqarah.’” Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah and Sa’id ibn Mansur, and its chain of transmission is sound .
3. Angels descend to read it :
On the authority of Usaid ibn Hudhair, who said: While he was reciting Surat Al-Baqarah at night and his horse was tied up next to him, the mare bolted. He was silent, but it calmed down. Then he recited and the mare bolted. He was silent, but the mare calmed down. Then he recited and the mare bolted, so he turned away. His son Yahya was close to it, and he was afraid that it would strike him. When it was about to attack, he raised his head to the sky so that he could not see it. When morning came, he told the Prophet ( peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I was afraid that it would trample Yahya, who was close to it. So I raised my head and turned back to it. Then I raised my head to the sky and saw something like a canopy with lamps in it. I went out so that I could not see it.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “ Do you know what that was ?” He said: “No.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “ Those were the angels who drew near at the sound of your voice. If you had recited, people would have been able to see them in the morning, and they would not have been hidden from them .” Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim .
Something similar to this happened to Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas ( may Allah be pleased with him ), as narrated by Abu Ubaid on the authority of Jarir ibn Yazid, that the elders of Medina told him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him ) was asked: “Didn’t you see that the house of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas was still shining with lights last night?” He said: “ Perhaps he recited Surat Al-Baqarah .” Thabit was asked, and he said: “ I recited Surat Al-Baqarah .”
Ibn Kathir said: This is a good chain of transmission, except that it contains some ambiguity. It is also mursal, and God knows best .
The words of Allah – the Most High – have virtues, and reciting them brings tranquility, reassurance, and awe, and contemplating them brings humility, submission, and pleasure. When their unbeliever heard them, he said: By Allah, they have sweetness, they have freshness, their top is fruitful, and their bottom is abundant. Every word that is repeated and repetitive becomes boring and weak, except for the Qur’an, which does not wear out with frequent repetition, and knowledge cannot be satisfied with it. A beautiful voice and precise, delicate recitation increase its sweetness and freshness. If this is its effect on humans, then what about its effect on Allah’s angels?
Asid bin Hudhair, the great companion with the beautiful and delicate voice, was reading Surat Al-Baqarah in his house in the dead of night. He had tied his horse in its stall with a double rope, because it was a wild horse. His son Yahya slept on the ground near the horse, and Asid sat or stood praying in a place near his son, in a small wall that was used as a storehouse for dates to be dried and preserved. They did not have houses with rooms, mattresses, or beds. In the stillness and terror of the night, the voice of Asid bin Hudhair resounded with the Holy Quran and Surat Al-Baqarah. The angels of Allah heard the delicate voice reading Surat Al-Baqarah, so they descended to him from close by, until they approached the horse. The horse saw it as if a cloud was descending upon it, so it was startled and began to strike the ground with its legs and turn its neck and head to the right and to the left, trying to run and flee in fear and terror. Asid stopped reading, so the horse calmed down and became still as if the cloud had disappeared when he was still. He read, so the horse was startled, and he was still, so the horse calmed down. He read, so it became agitated. It was strange that he saw a canopy with lamps in it approaching and approaching, and the horse sensed it and saw it and was shunned, and the boy was close to the horse, fearing that it might trample him with its hooves as it ran wild. His fatherly feelings drove him to lift his son and move him away from the horse and then return to reading, but – alas – as soon as he got up to go to his son, he saw the canopy limping and moving towards the sky until it disappeared from his sight. So he began to tell the Messenger of God – may God bless him and grant him peace – about this amazing matter, and he – may God bless him and grant him peace – said to him, “ If only you had continued reading until morning. It is tranquility and the angels have come to listen to your reading. If you had stayed reading until morning, they would have remained busy listening and would not have covered themselves so that people could see them .”
4. The Companions’ veneration of her :
On the authority of Hisham ibn Urwah, on the authority of his father, that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq – may God be pleased with him – prayed the dawn prayer and recited Surat al-Baqarah in both rak’ahs. (Narrated by Imam Malik in the Book of Prayer and by al-Tahawi in Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar, and its chain of transmission is authentic.)
On the authority of Anas bin Malik – may God be pleased with him – that Abu Bakr recited Surat Al-Baqarah in the dawn prayer, and when he finished, Umar said to him: The sun is about to rise. He said: If it had risen, you would not have found us heedless. (Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in Al-Musannaf, Abd Al-Razzaq in his Musannaf, and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan Al-Kubra. Ibn Hajar mentioned it in Fath Al-Bari and said: It was narrated by Abd Al-Razzaq with a sound chain of transmission.)
On the authority of Abdullah ibn Masoud – may God be pleased with him – that he went to the Great Jamarat with the Kaaba on his left and Mina on his right, and he threw seven stones and said: This is how the one to whom Surat al-Baqarah was revealed threw them. Narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah .
Ibn Al-Munir said: Abdullah bin Masoud – may God be pleased with him – mentioned Surat Al-Baqarah specifically because it is the one in which the throwing is mentioned. He indicated with that that his action – may God bless him and grant him peace – is a clarification of the will of God Almighty.
Ibn Hajar said: I did not know where the stoning was mentioned in Surat Al-Baqarah. It appears that he wanted to say that many of the actions of Hajj are mentioned in it, pointing out that the actions of Hajj are determined by divine decree. It was also said that Surat Al-Baqarah was singled out for that because of its length, great importance, and the many rulings it contains, or he indicated by that that it is prescribed to stand at it for the length of Surat Al-Baqarah. In this hadith is a statement of what the Companions – may God be pleased with them – did in terms of taking into account the state of the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – in every movement and posture, especially in the actions of Hajj .
May God bless and grant peace to our Prophet Muhammad, and praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.