History of surah The Cow

Name
Why is it called Al-Baqarah?
Al-Baqarah (The Cow) got its name from the incident involving the Cow in this Surah (67-73). However, it hasn't been employed as a title to denote the Surah's topic. Because doing so would imply that the Surah dealt with the subject of "The Cow," it would be incorrect to translate the name Al-Baqarah into "The Cow" or "The Heifer" or vice versa for any English name, such as Mr. Baker, Mr. Rice, Mr. Wolf, etc. Even though Arabic is a language rich in vocabulary, many more Surahs of the Quran have been named in the same way to reflect the breadth of the topics covered in them. The truth is that this limitation affects all human languages.
 

Sequence
Despite the fact that it is a Madani Surah, it naturally comes after a Makki Surah Al-Fatihah that concluded with the prayer, "Show us the straight way." This is the Book (that is) guidance, the response to that prayer, opens it.
The majority of Al-Baqarah was revealed to the Holy Prophet during his first two years in Al-Madinah. Because its contents are closely related to those covered in this Surah, the smaller portion that was revealed at a later time has been included in it. For instance, this Surah now includes verses that were originally revealed during the Holy Prophet's final years but were added later. The final two verses of this Surah, which were revealed at Makkah before the Holy Prophet moved to AI-Madinah, have also been included for the same reason.

Historical Perspective

• We must understand the historical context of this Surah in order to comprehend its meaning:
• The Quran generally spoke to ignorant mushrik Quraish in Makkah, but in Al-Madinah it also addressed Jews who were familiar with the belief in the Oneness of Allah, the Prophethood, the Revelation, the Hereafter, and angels. Additionally, they claimed to adhere to the law that was given to their Prophet Moses (Allah's peace be upon him) by Allah. In essence, their way was the same (Islam) that the Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him) was preaching. But throughout the centuries of decline, they had veered off course and embraced a number of un-Islamic beliefs, rites, and practices that were neither mentioned in the Torah nor supported by it. Furthermore, they had altered the text of the Torah by adding their own justifications and interpretations. They had changed even the portions of the Bible that had been preserved in their Scriptures, stripped them of the true spirit of religion, and were now clinging to a lifeless framework of rituals. As a result, their morals, beliefs, and behavior had reached the lowest points of degeneration. It's unfortunate that they not only accepted their situation but also actively sought to maintain it. In addition, they had neither the desire nor the intention to accept any kind of reform. They did everything in their power to thwart any attempts to teach them the correct way, turning into fervent enemies of those who came to do so. Although they were originally Muslims, they had diverged from the true Islam, made changes and innovations to it, and had become victims of sectarianism and hair-splitting. They had abandoned and forgotten Allah and started to serve wealth. So much so that they even changed their original name from "Muslim" to "Jew," making Israel's children the sole purveyors of religion.
• When the Holy Prophet visited Al-Madinah and invited the Jews to the true religion, this was their religious situation. This is the reason why the children of Israel are the subject of more than a third of this Surah. The high moral standard and the core values of the pure religion have been advanced alongside a critical examination of their history, moral degeneration, and religious perversions in order to highlight the nature of the degeneration of a prophet's community when it strays and to draw distinctions between genuine piety and formalism, as well as the essentials and non-essentials of the true religion.
• Islam's main priorities in Makkah were the spread of its core values and the moral upbringing of its adherents. However, following the Holy Prophet's relocation to Al-Madinah, where Muslims had migrated from all over Arabia and where a small Islamic State had been established with the aid of the Ansar (local supporters), it was only natural that the Quran would also need to address the social, cultural, economic, political, and legal issues. This explains why the themes of the surahs revealed in Makkah and Al-Madinah are different. As a result, roughly half of this Surah is devoted to discussing the rules and guidelines that are necessary for a community's unity, integration, and problem-solving.
• The conflict between Islam and non-Islam had also entered a new stage after the migration to Al-Madinah. Before this, the Believers had to face their enemies at their own risk in order to spread Islam among their own clans and tribes. However, things had changed in Al-Madinah, where Muslims from all over Arabia had converged, formed a single community, and created a sovereign city-state. Here, the fight turned into one for the Community's very existence because the entire non-Muslim Arabia was determined and united in its goal to completely destroy it. As a result, this Surah revealed the following directives, upon which not only its success but also its very survival depended:
• The Community should exert all of its zeal to spread its ideology and win over as many people as it can to its cause.
• It ought to expose its opponents in such a way that no sane person could possibly have any doubt that they were taking an entirely incorrect stance.
• It should have given its members—the majority of whom were poor, homeless, and surrounded by enemies—the courage and fortitude necessary for their very survival in the difficult situations they were facing, as well as the training to do so.
• Additionally, it should keep them ready and prepared to face any armed threat that might arise from any direction in an effort to stifle and crush their ideology and to fight it tooth and nail without regard for the enemies' overwhelmingly large numbers of supporters or the abundance of resources they possess.
• Additionally, it ought to instill in them the courage necessary for the destruction of corrupt practices and the establishment of the Islamic Way.
• Because of this, Allah has given instructions in this Surah that may aid in achieving all of the aforementioned goals.
• Munafiqin (hypocrites), a new class of "Muslims," had started to emerge during this time. Even though there had been evidence of deceit in the recent days at Makkah, it was evident in a different way at Al-Madinah. In Makkah, there were some people who claimed to be Muslims but weren't ready to live with the repercussions of their claims, sacrifice their relationships and material interests, and endure the suffering that ineluctably comes with accepting this creed. However, various types of munafiqin (hypocrites) started to appear in Al-Madinah. Some people joined the Islamic community only to undermine it from within. Others had turned into "Muslims'' to protect their material interests because they were surrounded by Muslims. Therefore, they kept up their relations with their adversaries so that, should they succeed, their interests would still be protected. Others, meanwhile, had embraced Islam with their clans despite not having a strong belief in its veracity. Those who were intellectually convinced of Islam's veracity but lacked the moral fortitude to give up their old customs, superstitions, and goals in order to uphold Islamic morality and make the sacrifices required by it were the last group.
• All different kinds of hypocrites had already started to emerge at the time of the revelation of Al-Baqarah. Therefore, Allah has briefly highlighted their traits here. Allah then sent specific instructions regarding them after their evil traits and cunning deeds became apparent.

 

Theme: Guidance
All the stories, incidents, etc. in this surah center on the idea that it is a call to Divine Guidance. Since this Surah is specifically directed at Jews, many historical instances from their own traditions have been used to caution and advise them that accepting the Guidance revealed to the Holy Prophet is in their best interests. They ought to be the first to accept it since it was essentially the same revelation that was given to Prophet Moses (may Allah have peace upon him).
 

Topics and their Interconnection
These opening verses establish the Quran as the Book of Guidance, list the three main tenets of the Faith — belief in Allah, the Prophethood, and Life After Death — and categorize people into three main categories based on whether they accept or reject the Quran: Believers, Disbelievers, and Hypocrites. 1-20
Allah invites people to voluntarily accept His guidance, submit to Him as the universe's Lord and Creator, and believe in the Quran, His guidance, and life after death. 21 - 29
To demonstrate to mankind (Adam's offspring) that accepting and adhering to the Guidance is the only proper course of action for them, the story of Adam's appointment as Allah's Vicegerent on Earth, his life in the Garden, his succumbing to Satan's temptations, and his repentance and acceptance of it, has been told. This story demonstrates that Islam is the first religion practiced by humans and that its teachings are identical to those given to Adam. 30-39
The children of Israel have been specifically invited to the Guidance in this passage, and both their past and present attitudes have been criticized to demonstrate that their degradation was caused by their departure from the Guidance. 40 - 120
Jews were advised to follow Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him), who had arrived with the same Guidance and who was a descendant and follower of Prophet Abraham, whom they highly revered as their ancestor and professed to follow as a prophet. Because it was going to become the qiblah of the Muslim Community, the tale of him building the Kaabah has been mentioned. 121-141
As a symbol of the transition of power from the children of Israel to the Muslim Community, the declaration of the change of the qiblah from the Temple (Jerusalem) to the Kaabah (Makkah) has been made in this passage. The Muslim Community has also been warned to be on the lookout for the same transgressions against the Guidance that had resulted in the deposition of the Jews. 142-152
The Muslims have been given practical instructions in this section to help them fulfill the significant leadership duties that have been given to them in order to spread the guidance. For the Ummat's moral upbringing, Salat, Fast, Zakat, Haj, and Jihad have been prescribed. The believers have been urged to follow rules, act justly, keep their word, abide by agreements, and spend their money in Allah's will, among other things. For the organization, cohesion, and conduct of daily life as well as the resolution of social, economic, political, and international problems, laws, rules, and regulations have been established. However, in order to prevent the Ummat from disintegrating, certain activities have been outlawed, such as drinking, gambling, lending money with interest, and so forth. The foundational tenets of the Faith have been reemphasized at appropriate points in between because only they can help one adhere to the Guidance. 153-251
The proscription against interest-bearing loans is introduced in these verses. In order to keep the sense of responsibility alive, the true nature of Allah, the Revelation, and Life after Death have been emphasized. In order to demonstrate that Allah is All-Powerful and has the ability to raise the dead and hold them accountable, the stories of Prophet Abraham (may Allah have mercy on him) and the person who awoke after a hundred-year nap have been told. Therefore, the Believers should keep this fact in mind and avoid developing a financial interest. 252-260
Resuming the theme from verses 153-251, the believers are urged to spend in Allah's way in order to please Him alone. In contrast, they have been cautioned about the dangers of interest-bearing loans. Additionally, guidelines have been provided for conducting regular business dealings honestly. 261-283
Here, at the conclusion of the Surah, the fundamental tenets of the Faith have been restated exactly as they were stated at the beginning. The Surah concludes with a prayer, which the Muslim Community desperately needed at that time when they were facing unimaginable difficulties in spreading the Guidance. 284-286