Description
Surah Al-Baqarah is the Surah in the Quran. The Prophet peace be upon him called it the "apex of the Quran". This Surah talks about things. It talks about Tawheed. It talks about how humans were created. It talks about the laws of Islam. It talks about what faith and hypocrisy're. It talks about the story of Banu Israel. It also talks about the verse in the Quran, which is Ayat Al-Kursi.. It has a very comprehensive closing Du'a.
The name of this Surah, Al-Baqarah means The Cow. It gets this name from a story about Banu Israel and a cow that Allah told them to sacrifice.
Why does the longest Surah in the Quran get its name from a cow?
There is a book called Al-Baqarah: The Cow by Manarah Publishing. This book is part of the Animals in the Quran Series. This series is a project that thinks deeply about the Quran. It tries to figure out why Allah named Surahs after animals.. It tries to understand what these animals tell us about the Qurans message.
The story of the cow in Surah Al-Baqarah is simple.. It has a lot of meaning. Allah told Banu Israel to kill a cow. This was part of an inquiry into a murder.. Instead of just doing what they were told they asked a lot of questions. They asked what color the cow should be. They asked how old it should be. They asked what condition it should be in. Each time they asked a question they got a specific answer. This made it very hard for them to find a cow that fit all the criteria. A simple act of obeying Allah became very difficult for them.
Al-Baqarah: The Cow explores things. It explores the story of Banu Israel and the cow they were told to sacrifice. It does this in the context of the Quran.. It uses commentary from old and new scholars.
It explores the lesson of the story. This lesson is about the danger of asking many questions. It is about how this can delay our obedience to Allah.. It is about the beauty of simply saying "we hear and we obey".
It explores the themes of Surah Al-Baqarah. These themes are faith, covenant, law and what it means to submit to Allah.
It explores the cow as a sign of Allahs power. This includes the way the slaughtered animal revealed the truth.. It includes the way the Quran uses cattle as signs of provision.
It explores how the story of Al-Baqarah speaks to Muslims today. It shows how complicating simple obedience is still a problem.
This book is a way to understand the longest Surah of the Quran. It does this through one of its instructive stories. It is perfect, for studies, halaqah circles and personal Quranic study. Surah Al-Baqarah is an important Surah.. Al-Baqarah: The Cow is a very helpful book.
