# The Baqarah Challenge | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #1

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Pause and Reflect
**Published:** 2026-02-19
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/R1JBYy3BO9M
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-1-the-baqarah-challenge
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Summary
In this Ramadan reflection, the speaker presents 'The Baqarah Challenge' — an invitation for Muslims to memorize Surah Al-Baqarah within the year. He opens by citing a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) which states that taking hold of Surah Al-Baqarah is a source of barakah (blessing), leaving it off is a source of regret, and it cannot be overcome by sorcerers. The speaker highlights the extraordinary comprehensiveness of the surah: in fewer than 50 pages, it addresses believers, disbelievers, and hypocrites; covers the story of creation, stories of past nations and prophets, tyrants, and all major pillars of Islam including laws of divorce, hajj, food and drink, finance, and riba — all while seamlessly weaving in deeply personal and beautiful ayat about du'a and closeness to Allah. He notes that it contains Ayat al-Kursi, described as the greatest ayah in the Quran, and the last two ayat of the surah which the Prophet (ﷺ) said were taken directly from the Throne of Allah and are sufficient for a person who reads them at night. The speaker explains the barakah of the surah in practical terms: it expels the shaytan from one's home, expands one's time, memory, wealth, and family blessings, and on the Day of Judgment, Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Ali 'Imran will appear as two canopies shading their reciter. He shares a moving story of a political prisoner who spent nearly two decades in prison and considered his greatest gift to be the ease with which he could now recite Al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran. The speaker issues a formal challenge: commit this year — individually, as a family, or with friends — to memorizing Surah Al-Baqarah, predicting that doing so will inspire a person to eventually complete the memorization of the entire Quran.

## Key Points
- The Prophet (ﷺ) said that holding on to Surah Al-Baqarah is a source of barakah, leaving it is a source of regret, and sorcerers cannot overcome it.
- Surah Al-Baqarah is less than 50 pages yet comprehensively covers theology, stories of prophets and nations, all pillars of Islam, laws of divorce, hajj, food, finance, and riba, as well as intimate ayat about du'a.
- The surah contains Ayat al-Kursi, considered the greatest ayah in the Quran, and the last two ayat which the Prophet (ﷺ) said were given directly from the Throne of Allah.
- Reciting Surah Al-Baqarah expels the shaytan from one's home — shayateen will not dwell in a house where it is regularly recited.
- On the Day of Judgment, Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Ali 'Imran will appear as two canopies or flocks of birds shading the person who held on to them.
- The barakah of Surah Al-Baqarah expands a person's time, memory, wealth, and family blessings — reading the longest surah counterintuitively does not take away from one's time.
- Most hadith about the virtues of specific surahs are fabrications, making the many authentic narrations about Surah Al-Baqarah especially significant.
- The speaker issues a Ramadan challenge: memorize Surah Al-Baqarah within the year, individually or with family and friends, predicting it will lead to completing the full memorization of the Quran.

## Transcript
**[0:00]** I hope, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, that the challenge that I'm about to make, some of you will remind me about this challenge next year if we are still alive, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, iqra'u Surah Al-Baqarah. He said, read Surah Al-Baqarah.

**[0:24]** Some riwayat, ta'allamu, learn Surah Al-Baqarah. He said, fa-inna akhzaha barakah, wa tarkaha hasrah, wala tastatee'uha al-batalah, ayy as-saharah. He said, to take it, to be consistent with it,

**[0:43]** to have Surah Al-Baqarah is barakah, is the expansion of blessings, and to leave it off is regret. And it cannot be dealt with or it cannot be overcome by the sorcerers, by as-saharah. Now, subhanAllah, before I even talk about this hadith and what this hadith actually means and

**[1:01]** the implications of it in our lives, I want you to think about how incredible the surah actually is, and we really only get to appreciate it for the most part in Ramadan. Because most people will only engage this surah in Ramadan. It's not a surah that is commonly memorized by the Muslims.

**[1:19]** It's not a surah that you'll hear being read in the salawat on a regular basis. But when you come into the masjid and you hear Alif Lam Meem, dhalika al-kitabu la rayba feeh, it's a sign that Ramadan is starting. For many, it's the only time that you do a khatm of the Quran. May Allah 'azza wa jall allow us to

**[1:35]** complete, but also be preserved by the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and contemplate upon it. It is Alif Lam Meem, dhalika al-kitabu la rayba feeh. And this surah is a challenge in and of itself, because I want you to think about this. It's less than 50 pages, and there is nothing missing from

**[1:56]** this surah. If you were to take these 48 pages and compare them to an entire holy book outside of it, what is missing from Surah Al-Baqarah? It addresses the believers, the disbelievers, the hypocrites. It addresses the story of creation in the heavens and the stories of nations that came before.

**[2:15]** It addresses the prophets of old. It addresses tyrants. It gives you a framework for how to deal with laws and rituals. Every single one of the pillars of Islam, laws of divorce, laws of hajj, laws of food and drink, laws of finance and riba and debt. Everything is in it, and somehow

**[2:33]** it seamlessly weaves in as well some of the most personal and beautiful ayat. These beautiful ayat about supplication and du'a and closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It talks about the law and how to receive the law. Hearts that are capable of receiving the law and

**[2:52]** hearts that are not capable of receiving the law. And as you read through the surah, at no point does it feel like an unnatural disconnect. The balaghah, the perfection of the flow and the language is so clear that it seamlessly goes from topic to topic. And it is no coincidence that it is in this surah

**[3:11]** that Allah 'azza wa jall says, that if you're in doubt of what has been revealed to our servant, you try to produce a surah like this. It's an incredible surah. It is a complete surah. It has in it the greatest ayah in the book

**[3:34]** of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is what? Ayat al-Kursi. It has in it two ayat that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that he took directly from the throne of Allah and that if a person reads them at night, it is sufficient for him. And which two ayat are they? The last two ayat.

**[3:50]** Amana ar-rasoolu bima unzila ilayhi min rabbihi wal-mu'minoon. Until the end. It's an incredible surah. It contains virtues that are unlike anything. And the Prophet (ﷺ) brings it back to

**[4:08]** learn it, recite it. And at the bare minimum, the 'ulama say this means al-mudawamatu 'alayha, to be consistent with its recitation. Or some of them say it actually means hifdh, to memorize Surah Al-Baqarah.

**[4:23]** Now it's the longest surah, but the Prophet (ﷺ) said, akhzuha barakah. To keep it, to have it is a source of barakah. Barakah means expansion. What does it expand?

**[4:40]** First and foremost, it does not coexist with the shaytan in a person's house. The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned that it is a source of expelling the shaytan from a person's house. The shayateen will not dwell in a home of Surah Al-Baqarah. That's number one. Number two, the barakah

**[4:58]** that it yields on the Day of Judgment. I mean you imagine the sight when the Prophet (ﷺ) mentions to take hold to Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Ali 'Imran. These two surahs will come on the Day of Judgment like two canopies or two flocks of birds covering

**[5:19]** a person and shading a person. You imagine a person walking around on the Day of Judgment when the sun is this close and you have two canopies over your head as you walk around. Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Ali 'Imran. You know subhanAllah one of the political prisoners that got out recently

**[5:36]** when I went to visit him and he'd been in prison for almost two decades. He said that it's enough that Allah 'azza wa jall gifted me in these two decades that I now read Surah Al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran as easily as I read Al-Fatihah. If that's the only thing I got out of being in prison for almost two decades

**[5:52]** alhamdulillah rabbil 'alameen. The gift of Al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran. So it's barakah on the Day of Judgment. It's barakah here. How? Because if a person reads counterintuitively right the longest surah of the Quran Allah expands their time. Allah expands their memory. Allah expands the blessings of their wealth.

**[6:12]** Things will happen to you. Allah expands barakah in the family. So much happens in a house that has Surah Al-Baqarah. So some of the 'ulama said a person should read Al-Baqarah once every three days for example. Some they tried to give numbers but the Prophet (ﷺ) did not give an exact time period. He simply said the longest surah in the Quran actually expands you in ways that you

**[6:33]** can't imagine. So it's barakah. It's not going to take away from your time. It's not going to make things difficult for you and to leave it off is regret. Now imagine being on the other side on the Day of Judgment when you see people walking around with those canopies of Al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran and you did not take advantage of Al-Baqarah and Ali 'Imran. And he said

**[6:53]** and the saharah, the magicians, the sorcerers cannot overcome it. And so it's a special surah from the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The whole book of Allah is special but it has virtues that are very unique to it. And by the way most of the ahadith about the virtues of certain surahs of

**[7:10]** the Quran are fabrications. Most of them are fabrications. So many authentic virtues about this one surah. So here's my challenge to you. I'm actually going to make a prediction. I'm not going to say a bet because it might be taken literally. If you memorize Al-Baqarah, the

**[7:28]** sweetness that you'll taste from memorizing Al-Baqarah, you will become a hafidh of Quran one day because like that taste of completing the longest surah of the Quran and it's not hard subhanAllah. Like you started and the barakah is also in the ease of its memorization. Once you have that

**[7:48]** committed nothing else is daunting to you in the Quran anymore. Nothing else is daunting to you in the Quran anymore. And so I'm officially on on this day which is the first or second of Ramadan depending on who you ask. I'm making the challenge for you for this year. As a family, as an individual,

**[8:08]** you find a friend and you make your plan that this year you will memorize Surah Al-Baqarah. That's it. This is what you commit to. That next time Ramadan rolls around I will have these less than 50 pages committed to memory. If you do this

**[8:29]** you'll find barakah in your life. You will expel regret and the shayateen will have no power to overcome you. That is my challenge to you. I pray that some of you will take it seriously with your families perhaps, with a group of brothers or sisters in the masjid,

**[8:46]** with a friend. Make this a challenge for this year. May Allah make the entire Quran the spring of our hearts, the alleviator of our distress and may Allah make it the source of our elevation.

## Other Episodes in "Pause and Reflect"
- [Singling Out the 27th Night for Worship? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #12](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-12-singling-out-the-27th-night-for-worship.md)
- [Pay Attention to the Masjid Al-Aqsa Shutdown | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #11](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-11-pay-attention-to-masjid-al-aqsa-shutdown.md)
- [How Can You Despair of the Lord of Laylatul Qadr? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #10](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-10-how-can-you-despair-of-the-lord-of-laylatul-qadr.md)
- [What If Laylatul Qadr Is The Wrong Night? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #9](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-9-what-if-laylatul-qadr-is-the-wrong-night.md)
- [Sharia Takeovers and Middle East Chaos | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #8](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/ramadan-pause-and-reflect-8-sharia-takeovers-and-middle-east-chaos.md)
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- [How Am I Supposed To Feel About Israel vs. Iran? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #6](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/how-am-i-supposed-to-feel-about-israel-vs-iran-pause-and-reflect-6.md)
- [The Only Surah Without Bismillah | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #5](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/the-only-surah-without-bismillah-ramadan-pause-and-reflect-5.md)
- [One Small Sin That Tips the Scale | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #4](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-4-one-small-sin-that-tips-the-scale.md)
- [He Wrote on Himself Mercy | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #3](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-3-he-wrote-on-himself-mercy.md)
- [The Scholars Who Can’t Read | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #2](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-2-the-scholars-who-cant-read.md)