Last week we observed the structure and coherence of Section [B’] - Laws for the New Muslim Nation. This week we will continue our breakdown of Sūrah al-Baqarah with the final section, Section [A’] - The Struggle of the Believers Against the Disbelievers.
As a reminder, the entire sūrah is structured as so:
The final section concludes a number of key topics of the sūrah: faith versus disbelief, and in particular the struggle to liberate the Ka‘bah from the disbelievers; Allah’s power over the creation and to resurrect the dead; the Day of Judgment; and laws regarding financial dealings. Once again, we will see how such apparently unconnected topics tie in together.
As a whole, the section has the following ring structure:
The central message [D] assures the believers that, despite their small numbers and resources in comparison to the disbelieving Quraysh, Allah ﷻ is able to give them victory.
Embedded Ring Structures
Inside the above ring structure are four observable symmetrical structures. The first captures āyāt 243-251:
Note how the centerpiece reinforces a message similar to the one in the larger ring.
The next ring is found in āyāh 255, famously known as Āyah al-Kursi, which we’ve discussed in detail previously. We’ve reproduced the ring structure below:
Additionally, we find a symmetrical structure embedded within āyāt 261-274:
Finally, there appears to be a ring structure for āyāt 275-281:
In addition to the symmetrical structures above, Reda (cited below) observes that the entire section is a mosaic of alternations between various themes and methods of narration. For example, the content of this section switches between the themes of spending and Allah’s power over life and death:
Additionally, there is alternation between the themes of faith and action:
Finally, there is alternation between narrating a story and mandating laws or other forms of instruction:
Next week we’ll conclude our series on Sūrah al-Baqarah with an in-depth look at the overall structure and symmetry of the entire sūrah.
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 Sūrah al-Fātiḥah and Sūrah 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