Critics of Islam often recycle tired allegations about the supposed incoherent structure of the Qur’an. For those who have not fallen prey to their seething prejudice, this mind map of Surah al-Baqarah demonstrates how the chapters of the Qur’an are not only thematically seamless but also miraculously sophisticated.

It being the longest, most comprehensive surah of the Qur’an should render its diverse topics most difficult to harmonize, and yet an aerial view of this chapter quickly reveals a staggering degree of symmetry and synchrony therein. In a word, Surah al-Baqarah is the summary of Islam (submission to God), or call it the story of servitude. Nothing about it falls beyond the scope of that overarching theme. Consider the following, and judge for yourself:

1. The surah begins by capturing the believers’ unwavering “faith in the unseen” (3) and the disbelievers’ defiant rejection “irrespective of what warning signs” are seen (6-7). It ends celebrating a true believer’s “faith in Allah , His Books, Angels, and Messengers—never differentiating between” those they have and have not seen (285), and seeking help against the oppositional disbelievers (286).
2. It then proceeds to unpack the psyche of the hypocrites (8-20); those lost between the faith they profess and the faithlessness they conceal. Returns full circle with reminder that Allah is capable of punishing those secretly harboring ill hearts (284).
3. The surah openly declares its central underlying theme: servitude to Allah (Islam); “O humanity, serve your Lord who created you,” (21) and uniquely honored you by “creating everything on earth for you” (22, 28).
4. Next, we find Adam representing humanity being honored and capable of serving God in ways the angels could not fathom (30-34), despite human limitations such as susceptibility to forgetfulness and the devil (35-37).
5. What follows is a detailed account of the Israelites (40-123); an entire nation honored by God to lead the world in faith, but who ultimately became a people whose hallmarks were ingratitude, pride, cruelty, and disdain for servitude. The very name of the surah, “The Cow,” alludes to a moment when their stubbornness and defiance of God’s Prophets was epitomized.
6. Enter Abraham , whose honorable legacy the Israelites claimed with their tongues and trampled with their actions. The location of these verses seems to declare: You could not even get yourselves to sacrifice a cow after Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, forgetting that it was his “unconditional submission that deemed him a leader for humanity” (124).
7. The honoring has shifted, and the once-chosen Israelites are now taunting the next nation (that of Muhammad ﷺ) because they, unlike them, obeyed God in reverting the qiblah (prayer direction) from Jerusalem to the Sacred House (142) once built by Abraham .
8. With inimitable precision, especially that the Qur’an was spoken and not penned, we find God now declaring, “And thus We have made you a middle (balanced) nation,” in the exact midpoint (143) of the surah. This center point of the symmetry also serves as a conceptual boundary between a nation that submitted genuinely and another satisfied with genealogy.
9. The second half of the surah is replete (153-283) with diverse domains of servitude enjoined upon the nation of Muhammad ﷺ; patience with trials, wholesome eating, social justice, devotional fasting, ethical warfare, Hajj, family law, resisting tyranny, calling to God, charity, fair lending, and more.
10. Finally, God showcases their “wholehearted submission” (208) by prompting them to even regulate their thoughts (284). But upon accepting the impossible mission without reluctance, saying “We hear and We obey” (285), they discovered as Abraham (as) did, that it was only his willingness for servitude being tried, and that “God holds no soul accountable except within its capacity.” (286).

Befittingly, when the Prophet’s Companions came forward and fell on their knees, admitting their inability to guard their passing thoughts (284), the Prophet said,

“The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from His Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers, [saying], ‘We make no distinction between any of His Messengers.’ And they say, ‘We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final destination.” [Surah Al-Baqarah; 2;285]

They in fact said this, and once it started flowing comfortably off their tongues, Allah abrogated this verse and declared, “God burdens no soul beyond its capacity.” [Sahih Muslim 125]

And Allah knows best, and may His finest Peace and Blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad .

Related:

– Structural Cohesion In The Quran: Heavenly Order

– Think Like Ibrahim | The Essence of Surah Baqarah | Shaykh Akram Nadwi