Shaytan Fears Surah Al-Baqarah
Shaytan does not enter the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited.
Hadith from Sahih Muslim, Jami’ At-Tirmidhi and Sunan An-Nasai
Abu Hurairah (radi allahu anhu) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) saying: “Do not turn your houses into graveyards. Satan runs away from the house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is recited.”
Shaytan’s Nightmare – Night Recitation
Whoever recites ten Ayat from Surah Al-Baqarah in a night, then Shaytan will not enter his house that night. It will not come near him or his family, nor will he be touched by anything that he dislikes. Also, if these Ayat were to be recited over a senile (weak and aged) person, they would wake him up. These ten Ayat are:
– four from the beginning,
– Ayat Al-Kursi (255),
– the following two Ayat (256-257) and
– the last three Ayat.
Quran’s Highest Peak
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “everything has a hump (or high peek), and Al-Baqarah is the high peek of the Quran. Whoever recites Al-Baqarah at night in his house, then Shaytan will not enter that house for three nights. Whoever recites it during a day in his house, then Shaytan will not enter that house for three days.”
The Path to Jannah with Surah Al-Baqarah
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “learn Surah Al-Baqarah, because in learning it there is blessing, in ignoring it there is sorrow, and the sorceresses cannot memorize it.” He kept silent for a while and then said, “Learn Surah Al-Baqarah and Al Imran because they are two lights and they shade their people on the Day of Resurrection, just as two clouds, two spaces of shade or two lines of (flying) birds. The Quran will meet its companion in the shape of a pale-faced man on the Day of Resurrection when his grave is opened. The Quran will ask him, ‘Do you know me?’ The man will say, ‘I do not know you.’ The Quran will say, ‘I am your companion, the Quran, which has brought you thirst during the heat and made you stay up during the night. Every merchant has his certain trade. But, this Day, you are behind all types of trade.’ Kingship will then be given to him in his right hand, eternal life in his left hand and the crown of grace will be placed on his head. His parents will also be granted two garments that the people of this life could never afford. They will say, ‘Why were we granted these garments?’ It will be said, ‘Because your son was carrying the Quran.’ It will be said (to the reader of the Quran), ‘Read and ascend through the levels of Paradise.’ He will go on ascending as long as he recites, whether reciting slowly or quickly.”
Hadith from Sahih Muslim and Jami’ At-Tirmidhi
Abu Umamah (radi allahu anhu) said he heard Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) say: “Recite the Quran, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite it. Recite the two bright ones, al-Baqarah and Surah ale-Imran, for on the Day of Resurrection they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them. Recite Surah al-Baqarah, for to take recourse to it is a blessing and to give it up is a cause of grief, and the magicians cannot confront it.”
Hadith from Sahih Muslim
An-Nawwas bin Sam’an (radi allahu anhu) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) saying, “The Quran and its people who applied it, will be brought on the Day of Resurrection preceded with Surat Al-Baqarah and Surat Al-‘Imran arguing on behalf of those who applied them.”
Other Interesting Hadiths
Hadith from Jami’ At-Tirmidhi
Narrated Abu Hurairah (radi allahu anhu): The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) sent an expedition force [comprised] of many, and he asked each what he could recite, so each one of them mentioned what he could recite – meaning what he had memorized of the Quran. He came to one of the youngest men among them and said: “What have you memorized O so-and-so?” He said: “I memorized this and that and Surat Al-Baqarah.” He said: “You memorized Surat Al-Baqarah?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Then go, for you are their commander.” A man among their chief said: “By Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) [O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)]! Nothing prevented me from learning Surat Al-Baqarah except fearing that I would not be able to stand with (in voluntary night prayer).” The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Learn the Quran to recite it, for indeed the parable of the Quran for the one who recites it and stands with it (in prayer) is that of a bag full of musk whose scent fills the air all around. And the parable of the one who learns it then sleeps while it is in his memory is that of a bag containing musk that is tied shut.”
Hadith from Sahih Al-Bukhari
Usayd bin Hudayr (radi allahu anhu) reported: He was once reciting Surah Al-Baqarah while his horse was tied next to him. The horse started to make some noise. When he stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving about. When he resumed reading, the horse started moving about again. When he stopped reciting, the horse stopped moving, and when he resumed reading, the horse started to move again. Meanwhile, his son Yahya was close to the horse, and he feared that the horse might step on him. When he moved his son back, he looked up to the sky and saw a cloud radiating with light that looked like lamps. In the morning, he went to the Prophet and told him what had happened and then said, “O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)! My son Yahya was close to the horse and I feared that she might step on him. When I attended to him and raised my head to the sky, I saw a cloud with lights like lamps. So I went, but I couldn’t see it.” The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Do you know what that was?” He said, “No.” The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “They were the angels, they came close hearing your voice (reciting Surah Al-Baqarah), and if you had kept reading, the people would have been able to see the angels when the morning came, and the angels would not be hidden from their eyes.”