Surah Baqarah (2) — text, translation & virtues
Qur'an, chapter 2 · 286 verses · Madinan · also written Al-Baqarah, "The Cow".
The opening verses in Arabic
الم ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
Translation (Saheeh International)
"Alif, Lam, Meem. This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah." (2:1–2)
Its authentic virtues
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Do not make your houses graves. Indeed, Satan does not enter a house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited" (Sahih Muslim 780). He also said: "Whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5009). And of Al-Baqarah and Aal-'Imran together: "Recite the two bright ones… for they will come on the Day of Resurrection as two clouds interceding for their companions" (Sahih Muslim 804).
What the surah is about
Al-Baqarah is the longest chapter of the Qur'an and the first revealed in Madinah. It opens by dividing people by their response to guidance, retells the story of Adam and of the Children of Israel — including the cow that gives the surah its name (2:67–73) — and then lays down much of the community's practical law: prayer direction, fasting in Ramadan, pilgrimage, marriage and divorce, debt and trade, and the prohibition of usury. It contains Ayatul Kursi (2:255), and closes with the supplication of 2:285–286: "Allah does not charge a soul except with that within its capacity."
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Related: Ayatul Kursi (2:255) · Surah Al-Kahf (18) · Surah Yaseen (36) · Surah Al-Mulk (67)