يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَذَرُوا۟ مَا بَقِىَ مِنَ ٱلرِّبَوٰٓا۟ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers.
Introduction
This is āyah 278 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 3. 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.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 87 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Baqara (2)
(O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah, and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury) [2:278]. Muhammad ibn �Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja�far informed us> Abu �Amr ibn Hamdan> Abu Ya�la> Ahmad ibn al-Akhnas> Muhammad ibn Fudayl> al-Kalbi> Abu Salih> Ibn �Abbas who said: �We heard, and Allah knows best, that this verse was revealed about the Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr ibn �Awf, from Thaqif, and Banu�l-Mughirah, from Banu Makhzum, because Banu�l-Mughirah used to borrow from Thaqif money with usury. When Allah, exalted is He, made His Messenger conquer Mecca, He abolished all usurious transactions. Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr and Banu�l-Mughirah, then, went to see �Attab ibn Usayd who was in Mecca. Banu�l-Mughirah said: �Why are we the most wretched of all people? Usury has been cancelled from amongst people, but we still pay it�. The Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr said: �The treaty that we have stipulates that usury is paid to us�. �Attab sent a letter to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, regarding this matter. Then this verse and the verse after it (And if ye do not, then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His messenger�) were revealed. The Banu �Amr knew that they would not be paid usury when the result involves a war from Allah and His Messenger. Allah, exalted is He, says: (And if ye repent, then ye have your principal (without interest)) such that you would not take more (Wrong not, and ye shall not be wronged) by being given less than your capital�. �Ata� and �Ikrimah also said: �This verse was revealed about al-�Abbas ibn �Abd al-Muttalib and �Uthman ibn �Affan who had lent someone dates. When it was time for the collection of the dates, the owner of the dates said to them: �If you take all of what is due to you what remains will not be enough for me and my dependents. Why do you not take half of what is due to you and I will double the interest that was initially agreed?� They both agreed. When the term was due, they both asked the man to pay what was agreed. This reached the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he warned them against going ahead with it.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- 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
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- 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.
And now — what do you think?
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