Surah Al-Baqarah (الْبَقَرَة) — The Cow
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Al-Baqarah is the longest surah in the Quran. Two hundred and eighty-six verses. It takes up a full juz and a half, which is why most Muslims encounter it spread out over their daily reading rather than in one sitting.
It's a Madani surah, revealed after the Prophet ﷺ (PBUH) moved to Madinah, and it covers more ground than any other surah. Stories of Adam, Ibrahim, Musa, and the Children of Israel. The change of qibla from Jerusalem to Makkah. The rules of fasting in Ramadan. Marriage, divorce, debts, contracts, inheritance. The verse of the throne (Ayat al-Kursi, which a lot of Muslims memorise as a single unit). The longest verse in the Quran, the verse on financial debts. And the famous closing two verses, which the Prophet ﷺ said are enough for anyone who recites them at night.
The surah is named after a specific story. A man among the Children of Israel was killed and the killer was unknown. Allah told them, through Musa, to slaughter a cow and use part of it to identify the killer. They kept asking what kind of cow, what colour, what age, and Musa kept relaying Allah's responses. The story is short but the lesson is about how the Children of Israel made simple commands harder than they needed to be by overthinking them.
There's a hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet ﷺ said the house in which Al-Baqarah is recited isn't entered by Shaytan. A lot of Muslims play recordings of the full surah at home for this reason. It takes about two hours to recite at a normal pace.
How many verses are in Surah Al-Baqarah?
Two hundred and eighty-six verses. It's the longest surah in the Quran.
Why is it called Al-Baqarah (The Cow)?
The name comes from a story in the surah where the Children of Israel are commanded to slaughter a cow to identify a killer. They keep asking unnecessary clarifying questions, and the story shows what happens when simple commands get overcomplicated.
What's special about the last two verses of Al-Baqarah?
There's a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ said whoever recites the last two verses of Al-Baqarah at night, they will be enough for him. A lot of Muslims keep this as a daily Sunnah.