# The Miracle of the Longest Surah of the Qur’an | Ramadan Reflections

**Author:** Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy
**Series:** Ramadan Reflections (2025)
**Published:** 2025-03-17
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/U2-z1yg7nwY
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-reflections-2025/miracle-of-the-longest-surah-of-the-quran-ramadan-reflections
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
“The Qur’an has no structure.” This is a common claim made by critics, but is it true? How does Surah Al-Baqarah, the longest surah in the Qur’an, actually reveal a perfect, interconnected design? In this reflection, Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy walks through the structure of Surah Al-Baqarah, showing...

## Transcript
**[0:00]** You know, some of the Orientalist critics of Islam, they claim that the Qur'an is incoherent. They claim that the Qur'an doesn't make any sort of sense. It doesn't have any sort of structure. That it's always jumping in and out of subjects, and from one scene to another, and then sometimes even coming back to that scene.

**[0:22]** And this is why we began our series together, talking about the fact that we must be certain, confident, unwavering. First step, this is Allah speaking, Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this needs to get confirmed within us and reconfirmed time and again, because it could get crowded.

**[0:41]** With the misconceptions, the doubts in the ether, in the air. And then yesterday we said of what helps here is to remember that Allah called it a surah. What does a surah mean? Mashallah, mashallah, I can sleep happy tonight.

**[0:57]** A gate. Allah, Allah, nobody else. Allah gated off this set of verses from that set of verses. So there must be a wisdom here. There must be a linear logic. There must be dots to be connected. There must be an internal relationship between these sets of verses.

**[1:18]** And I want today to walk you through the longest surah of the Qur'an. Allah help me. Just to establish that point. The point is not really to develop sort of a deep understanding of the whole surah.

**[1:34]** But rather the aerial view, one more time, how everything in that surah is related. Because we said of the ways to reflect is to keep on hand the central theme of the surah. We said number one by considering the name. The name is very telling. The name of the surah.

**[1:50]** We said also look at the symmetry. The front and the back of the surah to tell you what exists in between. What's couched between it. The third one we're going to do tonight inshallah. Though it will be a mix of everything. Is an exercise in connecting the dots within a surah that don't seem related.

**[2:06]** Don't seem symmetrical or mirroring each other. But they very much are. So we're going to be stringing the pearls together within one surah. Surah Al-Baqarah. And Surah Al-Baqarah is the longest. And so maybe it is the easiest they think.

**[2:22]** These critics to say it's a little bit of everything but it's not really saying anything. That's what they say. I seek refuge with Allah. For us, Surah Al-Baqarah is the most important also of the seven long surahs. And Surah Al-Baqarah, let me tell you up front and you decide for yourself.

**[2:38]** If it falls in line or not. If it's seamless or not. Surah Al-Baqarah is the summary of Islam. Islam is what? Submission. Islam is surrender to Allah. Wholeheartedly, lovingly and willingly surrendering ourselves to Allah.

**[2:53]** Accepting to be His servants. We believe in Him and we surrender to Him. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. The whole surah doesn't step outside of that theme. First stop. The surah begins by saying

**[3:10]** There are these believers who believe in even the things they don't see. They trust God. Right? And the surah ends by saying And the believers, all of them, believe in Allah. Allah Azza wa Jal, Subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[3:29]** I'm just going to be taking, plucking flowers, right? Throughout the surah. The very last, second to last ayah, it says Meaning whether they see those other prophets or not, met them or not, it makes no difference. They believe in the things they haven't even seen and they believe in everything and don't differentiate.

**[3:48]** Also in the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah, few ayahs later, Allah says Some of them will not believe no matter how much proof they see. No matter what you do, they won't believe.

**[4:04]** And in the end of the surah, those believers, in the very last words of the surah, they say what? Oh Allah, help us against these disbelieving people. These adamantly defiant people in denial, in rejection. Okay. And then after that intro of the believers, the disbelievers, the hypocrites,

**[4:23]** then the theme of the surah is laid out right in front of you. Oh humanity, Serve your Lord. Who created you and created those before you. So he creates you, he provides for you, he reveals to you, he honored you.

**[4:39]** So worship him. So worship him. That's the theme of the surah. That is the summary of the surah and of Islam. And then the surah continues now. To speak about the very first servant that Allah honored, Adam alayhis salam.

**[4:54]** We had the angels prostrate too. And he was human. He forgot one time and you as well. You don't need to be an angel, but you need to be a servant. You need to not be rebellious. That's the idea. And then it goes on for a great length to speak about what?

**[5:10]** A nation now that Allah honored to lead the world in servitude. Banu Israel. And they failed. Right? Over and over again.

**[5:25]** We don't want this food. Give us some other food that can be halal for us. Halal food. Give us something else. Right? And then they are pulled out from Egypt and they are told, you know, we want to drink. Okay, here drink.

**[5:42]** You know when it says Musa alayhis salam struck the rock. Twelve springs of water came out so every people can have their own drink because they were in fighting. They were fighting with each other. It was always conflict. Always sort of, you know, the reluctance. Always the noncompliance.

**[5:58]** Always the non-submission. They're told, But it's mentioned, They are told, don't fish on Saturday. Okay, okay. We won't fish on Saturday. We're going to put the net in on Friday and we're going to pull it out on Sunday.

**[6:13]** That's what they did. Right? Noncompliance, noncompliance, noncompliance. Slaughter a cow. You see, this is now the culmination. Name of the surah points to the theme. The culmination of their resistance was what? Just slaughter a cow.

**[6:28]** You committed murder. You're hot. Slaughter a cow. Okay, what kind of cow? Okay, what color cow? Listen, Musa alayhis salam. These cows are very confusing. We are always mixing them up. That's why it was called, It is the symbol of their refusal to enlist in the servitude of Allah.

**[6:47]** Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right? So that's Banu Israel. And then how does it end? It ends by pointing them to the person that they claim to follow. And that's why they lead the world. Which is who?

**[7:02]** Ibrahim alayhis salam. The perfect submitter. It's all tied in. Right? Your Lord tested Ibrahim with so many commands. Even slaughter your own kid with your own two hands.

**[7:17]** He submitted to everything. With flying colors. I said to him, I am making you a leader for all of humanity. This is a pointing to Banu Israel.

**[7:32]** You guys are not actually following Ibrahim. Enough is enough. And then it moves on to tell you what? The Qibla is now changing. Which boiled their blood. Because here is the symmetry in Surah Al-Baqarah. Now the honoring is moving from Banu Israel.

**[7:50]** Another nation is being given a chance to submit. Which is now the Ummah of Muhammad. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The Qibla is now being changed. The ayat right in the middle of Surah Al-Baqarah. The turn. The symmetry, right? From Jerusalem, the home of the Israelites.

**[8:06]** And their kingdom at one point in time that Allah had chosen for them. If they would have kept their deal with him. Now it's being moved to Mecca. And then what does it say right in the middle? وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا And thus we have made you, O Ummah of Muhammad, a perfect nation.

**[8:23]** Wasat means perfect. Wasat also means balanced. And balance is perfect, right? We made you a perfect balanced nation. And subhanAllah of the most intriguing reflections you have about Surah Al-Baqarah and its structure. Surah Al-Baqarah is 286 verses.

**[8:40]** Right in the middle. At the turning point. At ayah 143, Allah says we made you a middle nation. Gives you shivers really. Like this is Allah speaking. Who can do this in spoken word? Right in the middle, say middle.

**[8:57]** And then you have, and I have no time to go through it at length. You have the whole second juz basically. Every command you can think of. Now we'll see if this Ummah submits. It talks about legal retribution. Right? Like eye for an eye through a court of course.

**[9:13]** And then it talks about jihad. And it talks about siyam. And it talks about finance. Like riba and charity. And it also talks about marriage and divorce. And it also talks about dietary restrictions. All of that is there. Why?

**[9:28]** To show that the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ) is not like the previous Ummah. They actually submit. They're not selectively submitting. They're not one foot in, one foot out. As the ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah says. Enter into submission wholeheartedly.

**[9:46]** Not reluctantly. Not foot draggingly. My last stop with the surah. And I'm not teaching you what exists in Surah Al-Baqarah. That's a shoreless ocean in every surah. I'm teaching you inshallah, if there's any teaching happening here,

**[10:01]** how to look at the surah of the Qur'an. At the very end of here are now the tests of submission for the Ummah of Muhammad. There is one last test in the surah. That is very very similar to the most difficult test of Ibrahim alayhis salam.

**[10:20]** Which was what? Slaughter your son. Allah told him slaughter your son. Even though he didn't want him to slaughter his son. To demonstrate for the world his willingness to slaughter his son. Right? In the very end of Surah Al-Baqarah, the last test of the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ), of the Sahaba.

**[10:37]** And then by extension us. Allah says. Whether or not you admit your thoughts, Allah will hold you accountable for them.

**[10:52]** Or Allah can hold you accountable for them. The Sahaba heard this verse and they ran to the Prophet (ﷺ). And they fell on their knees. And they said, Ya Rasulullah, all of these obligations that came down we can handle. But this is the one we can never handle.

**[11:08]** We can't handle regulating our thoughts. How do you control your thoughts? Passing thoughts? And so what did he say? He knew the theme of Surah Al-Baqarah. And he knows that they should know the theme of Surah Al-Baqarah. He said, are you saying what Banu Israel said? It's all tied together.

**[11:24]** Sama'na wa asayna, we hear and we disobey. Just say sama'na wa ata'na. Just say we hear and we obey, O Allah. The narrator says, falamma qaluha wasalaqat biha alsinatuhum. When they just said it. I don't know how I'm going to do this, but we hear and we obey, O Allah.

**[11:41]** We are your servants. We hear and we obey. Allah sent down the last ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah. Or the last two ayahs. One of them that says the believers accept it all. We covered that already. And la yukallifu Allahu nafsan illa wus'aha.

**[11:56]** Allah will not hold you to account for this. It was to demonstrate their willingness to submit without restriction. Without reservation. It is the Surah. It is the constellation. It's all tied together. And thus is the same in diverse ways of every Surah of the Qur'an.

**[12:13]** May Allah teach us that which benefits us and benefit us with that which he has taught us. And increase us in knowledge. Allahumma ameen. Wasallallahu wasallamu alabaraka anabiyyina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een. Jazakallah khairan.

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