Last week we observed the structure and coherence of the final section, Section [A’] - The Struggle of the Believers Against the Disbelievers. This week we will continue our series of Sūrah al-Baqarah with an in-depth look at the overall structure and symmetry of the entire sūrah.
Before delving into the overall sūrah structure, we would like to present a ring structure of the themes present throughout, which may also serve as a reminder of what has been covered previously in our series:
The following analysis will be based on our original breakdown of the sūrah’s structure, shown below:
Connections
The two panels of the sūrah, [ABC] and [C’B’A’], mirror each other and are brought together in the center by D. The first panel of the sūrah [ABC] is largely concerned with with the Children of Israel, and while it introduces the themes of faith and disbelief, the theme of disbelief is discussed in more detail:
In Section [A] - Believers vs Disbelievers, while the believers and their qualities are described briefly (2-5), it is the attributes of the disbelievers, particularly the hypocrites, that are described in detail (6-20). In the subsequent sections, we learn that the latter descriptions relate to people from within the Children of Israel.
Section [B] - Criticism of the Israelites opens with the first address from Allah ﷻ directed to a specific religious community, which are not the Muslims, as one might expect, but the Children of Israel: “Children of Israel, remember My favor that I favored you with…” (41). The entire section goes on to scrutinize the history of the Children of Israel and to highlight their failure to keep the faith and submit to the divine commandments.
Section [C] - Abraham’s Legacy opens with a similar address to the Israelites - “Children of Israel, remember My favor that I favored you with and that I privileged you over all peoples” (122) - and calls especially on them to return to the way of Abraham.
In direct contrast, the second panel of the sūrah ([C’B’A’]) focuses entirely on the new Muslim community. The panel begins with a divine address to the new Muslim nation - “O you who have believed…” (153) - just as sections [B] and [C] of the first panel began with a divine address to the Israelites. While the panel focusing on the Children of Israel highlighted their lapses into disbelief and acts of rebellion, and hence their failure to maintain the legacy of Abraham, this panel focuses on the believers’ faith and submission to Allah ﷻ, and their newly designated roles as the heir of Abraham’s legacy.
Sūrah al-Baqarah revolves around the Ka'bah
Section [D] - The Change of Prayer Direction to the Ka'bah forms the central turning point of the sūrah around which the sūrah could be said to “revolve.” Fittingly, it concerns the shift of direction of prayer to the Ka'bah, which believers literally turn to in ritual prayer and collectively revolve around during the pilgrimage. It is in this section that Allah ﷻ formally announces the establishment of the Muslim community as a “balanced nation.”
Hence, it is with the change of prayer direction from Jerusalem to the Ka'bah, and the revelation of this section, that marks the formal establishment of the Muslims as a the newly divinely selected religious community or nation (ummah), taking place of the Children of Israel in this role. This is made even more clear in āyah 150 in which Allah ﷻ declares, “It is so that I may complete My favor upon you and so that you may be guided” (cf. 1:5-6), recalling the earlier mentions of Allah’s “favor upon” the Children of Israel (āyāt 40, 47, 121). This section therefore provides a very fitting transition from panel [ABC] to panel [C’B’A’].
Finally, it is in this central section that we discover an overarching theme of the sūrah, namely the establishment of the new Muslim nation to restore Abraham’s legacy, a community based on submission to Allah ﷻ and consistent faith in all of Allah’s messengers and revelations (in contrast with the previous religious community, the Children of Israel). Each section and topic within the sūrah fits neatly within this central overarching theme, and contributes to its overall development.
Next week we’ll conclude our series on the amazing structure of Sūrah al-Baqarah!
والله أعلم - And Allah knows best
Sources
Ali Khan, Nouman and Sharif Randhawa. Divine Speech: Exploring the Quran as Literature. Bayyinah Institute, 2016
Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī, Tadabbur-e-Qur’ān: Pondering Over the Qur’ān Volume 1: Tafsīr of Surah al-Fātiḥah and Surah al-Baqarah, trans. Mohammad Saleem Kayani (Kual Lampur: Islamic Book Trust, 2006), 526-527
Mustansir Mir, “The Sūra as a Unity: A Twentieth Century Development in Qur’an Exegesis” in Approaches to the Qur’an, eds. G. R. Hawting and Abdul-Kader A. Shareef, eds. (London: Routledge, 1993), 211-224
Robinson, Discovering the Qur’an, 201-223
A. H. Mathias Zahniser, “Major Transitions and Thematic Borders in Two Long Sūras: al-Baqara and al-Nisā’” in Literary Structures of Religious Meaning in the Qur’an, ed. Issa J. Boulatta (RichmondL Curzon, 2000)
Raymond Farrin, “Surat al-Baqara: A Structural Analysis,” Muslim World 100.1 (2010): 17-32
Nevin Reda El-Tehry, Textual Integrity and Coherence in the Qur’an: Repetition and Narrative Structure in Surat al-Baqara (PhD diss., University of Toronto, Toronto, 2010)
Farrin, Structure and Qur’anic Interpretation, 9-24