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سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · 2:108
MedinanRevelation order ٨٧Juzʾ ١Page ١٧

أَمْ تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَسْـَٔلُوا۟ رَسُولَكُمْ كَمَا سُئِلَ مُوسَىٰ مِن قَبْلُ ۗ وَمَن يَتَبَدَّلِ ٱلْكُفْرَ بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

١٠٨
Saheeh International · EN

Or do you intend to ask your Messenger as Moses was asked before? And whoever exchanges faith for disbelief has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 108 of Sūrat Al-Baqara (The Cow), the 87th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 1. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
87 of 114
Surah
Al-Baqara (2)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(Or would ye question your messenger�) [2:108]. Said Ibn �Abbas: �This verse was revealed about �Abd Allah ibn Abi Umayyah and a group of people from the Quraysh who had said to the Prophet: �O Muhammad! Turn al-Safa into gold, expand for us the land of Mecca and make rivers gush out throughout it � if you do this, we will believe in you!� Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse as a response to them�. The commentators of the Qur�an also said: �The Jews and other idolaters put their requests to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace; some said: �Bring us an entire book from heaven as did Moses bring the Torah�; some � �Abd Allah ibn Umayyah al-Makhzumi � said: �Bring us a book from heaven which reads: This is from the Lord of the Worlds to Ibn Abi Umayyah: know that I have sent Muhammad to mankind�; others said: �We shall not believe in you until you bring the angels as guarantors�. Hence, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Or do you want to ask your Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) as Musa (Moses) was asked before (i.e. show us openly our Lord)? And he who changes faith for disbelief, verily, he has gone astray from the right way (108) The Prohibition of Unnecessary Questions In this Ayah, Allah forbade the believers from asking the Prophet ﷺ numerous questions about matters that did not occur yet. Similarly, Allah said, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِن تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ وَإِن تَسْأَلُوا عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ (O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you)(5:101). This Ayah means, "If you ask about a matter after it is revealed, it shall be duly explained to you. Therefore, do not ask about matters that have n…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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Provenance

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